Truth Magazine

By Marvin Cossey

A familiar verse in the New Testament and one that is often quoted is Matthew 7:1 where Jesus says, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” Unfortunately, many people quote this verse for the purpose of justifying sin.

When one rebukes or criticizes a sinful practice he is often met with the reply “judge not.” Liberal columnists implore their readers not to be judgmental. There is the familiar T.V. line, “How dare you judge me!” recited when wrongdoing is challenged.

The homosexual defends his perverted lifestyle and quotes Matthew 7:1 to discourage criticism. The abortion advocate cries “judge not” to defend the sin of abortion. Still others consider any criticism of sin to be “judging.”

Did Jesus forbid the rebuking of sin when he said, `.`Judge not, that ye be not judged”? Does Matthew 7:1 prohibit all criticism of sin and immorality?

An honest study of the Scriptures will show that the answer to both questions is a resounding no!

If Matthew 7:1 does not forbid the condemnation of sin, what does it forbid? Let’s read further in the same chapter. In verses 3 and 4, Jesus discusses the person who is concerned about the mote in his brother’s eye and does not consider the beam in his own eye. Verse 5 reads: “Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”

Paul says in Romans 2:1, “Therefore thou are inexcusable, 0 man, whosoever thou art that judgest; for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.”

Jesus, in Matthew 7:1, and Paul, in Romans 2:1, were speaking of those who would judge others while doing the same things! The action forbidden by these passages is hypocritical judgment.

We must not be guilty of hypocritical or unrighteous judgment. This is made clear by the Scriptures. This fact, however, in no way nullifies the Christian’s obligation to condemn sin. To put it simply, we must judge only “righteous judgment” (Jn. 7:24).

Those who quote the Bible to justify sin can find no comfort in the words of Jesus. Let us understand that the Bible justifies no sin, but rather condemns all sin!

The Christian must ever be ready to speak out against unrighteousness. We must not be deterred by those who would falsely accuse us. “Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear” (1 Tim. 5:20).

Guardian of Truth XXXVII: 11, p. 13
June 3, 1993

By Murray C. Wade

In recent times, efforts to spread the gospel have been focused primarily on sending preachers out to areas lacking congregations of the Lord and on providing congregations with “full-time” evangelists. The idea is also prevalent that without “fully-salaried” preachers the Lord’s work will not be accomplished and a congregation is not doing its job. The point of this article is not to de-emphasize the importance of “fully-supported” evangelists in the Kingdom of the Lord. They are and will continue to be an important part of the Lord’s work. However, while focusing so much of our time and effort on the full-time evangelist, we may neglect and overlook the importance of the other evangelists.

I have known many preachers and teachers of the gospel who have chosen to provide for their families by working an occupation in the world. For myself, there came a point in my maturing as a Christian when I had to think long and hard, spending time in prayer and Bible study, to decide whether I should pursue the occupation of an evangelist. My decision was to support my family with a secular job (as a biologist) while working as hard as I could as a preacher and teacher for the Lord. I do not think this decision was inconsistent with the apostle Paul’s decision to provide for himself at certain times in his life as a Christian while still preaching and teaching at every opportunity (Acts 18:1-3; 20:34-35; 1 Cor. 4:12; 1 Thess. 2:9; 2 Thess. 3:7-9).

My situation is by no means unique. I dare say that there are thousands of Christian men who have made a similar choice. But from time to time I have heard brothers and sisters in the Lord belittle the importance of this type of life when compared with the life of a “fully-supported” evangelist. The idea is that if a church does not have a “full-time” preacher they are either unfortunate or failing. Acts 8:4 describes early growth in the church as not necessarily the result of supported evangelists. Yet there remain those who may not appreciate the efforts of the other evangelists of the Lord.

Another group of Christians we sometimes overlook in the work of evangelism are the elders, men who have proven themselves as strong Christians, who preach and teach God’s word, and who stand up for truth (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Tit. 1:5-9). Those who rule well are worthy of payment for their efforts (1 Tim. 5:17-18). With the office of elder comes the awesome task of leading, defending, and caring for the flock of God. These responsibilities demand much time, love, and patience. Surely if we can support evangelists for their dedication to preaching and teaching we can support elders for the tremendous work that they do (1 Tim. 5).

Many times we will send young preachers to difficult areas, such as the northeast. I saw in my years in New York that many of those would get discouraged, abandon the work very quickly and relocate, or leave the faith completely. Others would preach conditionally upon obtaining full sup-port. Maybe in such cases where strong mature Christians are needed to spread the gospel we should consider sending those who have met the qualifications of elders. Those who will remain firm in the truth no matter what, who will in-still the wisdom of their years to young converts, who will make sure the gospel is preached, and who have the experience to deal with trying areas (2 Tim. 2:2).

The Bible gives a picture of strong churches with elders sending out preachers (Acts 11:19-26; 15:22; 1 Pet. 5:1). Would a church be a failure if the duties of preaching and teaching were carried out by non-supported elders and the other Christian men of the congregation, while the congregation provided for sending out evangelists? Certainly not, and as a matter of fact there are congregations of the Lord that have decided to do this. To me this describes a mature church. But many today might say, we need a “fully-supported evangelist.”

Constantly we stress the importance of the “full-time” evangelist. Yet a Christian is to be full-time in his work to the Lord no matter what his occupation (Lk. 9:23). We are to be subjects of our King whether at work, in our neighborhood, in our homes, or in the assembly. Our lives need to be the Lord’s (Gal. 2:20) and our work is to stand for truth as being good examples (Col. 4:5-6; 1 Pet. 3:13-17) that others may be influenced to turn to God (Jas. 5:10-20). Each one of us comes in contact with people every day whose only chance to learn of God may be through our efforts (2 Cor. 3:2-3).

Whether we are working as Christians, elders, evangelists (supported or not), or teachers, we are all necessary to accomplish the Lord’s will in spreading his word (Gal. 4:7-16). The “big I’s and little you’s” that a brother once expressed to me does not apply in the Lord’s Kingdom. We all have gifts and should appreciate them, not over or under emphasizing a particular group (1 Pet. 4:7-11). We should all encourage one another in the talents we have (Matt. 25:14-30; Rom. 12:6-8).

There are many Christians working hard in the Lord’s Kingdom who are teaching, preaching, and spreading the gospel who would not be defined as “a fully supported evangelist.” The Lord needs all of us to accomplish his will (Eph. 4:16). I pray he will continue to provide us with the strength to carry on, for the rest we all long for is not in this world. Our rest remains in heaven where we can all be together someday (Heb. 4:8-10).

Guardian of Truth XXXVII: 11, p. 8-9
June 3, 1993

By J. Wiley Adams

Recently a friend of mine, who is a car salesman and who is a member of a popular denomination, was discussing some religious-minded friends of his with me. He seemed greatly impressed with their apparent piety and devoutness, thinking perhaps that I also would be impressed if he told me about them. In fact, he said he had known them to drive as much as fifty miles to attend a revival. “Yessiree, Mr. Adams, I tell you they are real, full-blooded Christians!”

I thought about that all the way home. Then it seemed to me there had to be a lesson in there somewhere. What is a full-blooded Christian? We hear of full-blooded dogs, cats, horses, and take great pride in their pedigrees. We sometimes say they are “registered.” Well, I have a beige-colored poodle who has “papers.” But something is wrong somewhere. The “papers” declare positively that he is a “toy poodle” but he is much closer to the next class which is a “miniature.” Now the papers from the kennel club certify him to be full-blooded in his class. But I know better than that. All you have to do is look at him. Now I like him and all that but he surely has some “off-blood” from somewhere in the past.

I read in the New Testament about how to become a Christian. We are to be born of the water and the spirit. (In. 3:3-5). We must learn from the Scriptures to establish faith (Rom. 10:17) because without it we cannot please God (Heb. 11:6). When we believe we must confess it (Rom. 10:10). To those on Pentecost who had reached that point, the command was given to “repent and be baptized” (Acts 2:38). Those who did this were added to the church by the Lord (Acts 2:47). These believers were disciples of Christ and thus Christians (Acts 11:26). These Christians, set apart for the Lord’s service having been redeemed from sin by the blood of Christ were to conduct themselves in such a way that others could just look at them and see the difference between them and the world. Jesus said to them, “Ye are the light of the world” in Matthew 5:14. He then added, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

But, I tell you brethren, the way some of the so-called saints act, you would never be able to look at them and come to the conclusion that they are “full-blooded” Christians. The mark of the world is on them. There is as much darkness as there is light in their lives. John wrote to the church at Smyrna in Revelation 2:10b and commanded them to be faithful to death. The apostle Paul told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15:58 to “always abound” in the work of the Lord. The same writer also commended young Timothy for his sincerity and unfeigned faith (2 Tim. 1:5).

Let us strive, brethren, to be genuine and true and always abound. Let us strive for purity and holiness in all we do. Let us be what we purpose to be. Let’s be “full-blooded” Christians.

Guardian of Truth XXXVII: 11, p. 9
June 3, 1993

By Ken Sils

Not long ago, our great summer national pastime, baseball, began for 1993. President Clinton threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the game in Baltimore. Former president George Bush was watching a ball-game in Houston. However, the story which captured the hearts of most people on opening day happened in Cleveland. You see, just a few weeks before, two very promising pitchers of the Cleveland Indians were killed in a boating accident in Florida during spring training. On opening day at Cleveland stadium, there was a moment of silence in memory of these two men and honors were given their grieving widows and families. It was a very touching scene transcending baseball from a game to real life.

The national media spent a lot of time talking about this incident which killed these two strong, young men. Many have mentioned their good character and showered accolades on the strength of their wives and the ball team they were a part of. Many reporters and ballplayers have publicly grieved from the sudden shock of losing someone they cared for.

But, friends, one very important thing is mysteriously missing from the discussion of almost everyone involved; from the family, ball team and the media. That is a reasonable discussion about the probable cause of the accident. At the scene, the boat had a cooler filled with beer and a bottle of liquor. One of the ballplayers had a blood-alcohol level of .14 which is above the legal limit. This boat was traveling at a high rate of speed at night and ran into an elongated boat dock. No doubt, this tragedy could have been prevented. These men could have been pitching today if they would have heeded the wisdom of God. Proverbs 20:1 says, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging; and whosoever is deceived by it is not wise.” This wisdom from God cannot be disputed, intoxicants have been mocking, deceiving and killing for many centuries.

Our country has seen so many innocent people killed from drunk drivers that organizations like M.A.D.D. and S.A.D.D. have been formed, attempting to force our government to crack down on drunken drivers. In most areas of the country, the legal age to buy intoxicants is 21. However, teenagers can purchase or obtain alcohol with surprising ease. It has gotten so bad that courageous senior high teenagers from their school districts have been on T.V. encouraging other seniors not to drink and drive on prom night! Yet, America continues to glamorize this sinister demon: alcohol.

Did you know that almost every refrigerator or home in America has some type of intoxicant in it? What about yours? Children really do learn from their parents. Parents, are you teaching your children that getting drunk is sinful and God will exact a high price for tasting its sinful pleasure? Paul said in I Corinthians 6:10, “. . . nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God!” Not only can alcohol take your life on this earth, it will take it away from all eternity. Drinking is not a sickness, it is a sin, an additive sin which will affect every facet of your life over time. It’s time for parents to rise up and conquer this lust for the bottle, starting with their own lives and the lives of their children.

Another picture I remember seeing while watching the Chicago sports segment on opening day was their report of over 400 kegs of beef being sold at Wrigley Field. I wonder how many kegs of beer were sold at Cleveland stadium while the people there were grieving the loss of these two pitchers? Probably just as many. People never seem to learn from the penalties of sin around them. I hope that you are willing to learn from God and find life through study and application of his divine message. Baseball is fun, but, our enjoyment of it and every other pleasure in life can be stripped from us in a moment. Then, we must give account for the things done in the body to the Almighty God of your Bible (2 Cor. 5:10). Now is the time to hear the warnings of God about alcohol, for if you wait until tomorrow, tomorrow may never come. Then, what will be of your friends, family and most importantly, your eternal destiny?

Guardian of Truth XXXVII: 11, p. 15
June 3, 1993