Truth Magazine

By William C. Sexton

I have just received and read Ron Halbrook’s booklet Trends Pointing Toward a New Apostasy. I’m impressed with it, because it covers a number of things that I have been concerned about for some time.

It consists of 50 pages of challenging material — pointing to things which are undeniable to any close observer of the last decade in the body of Christ, but which is evidently overlooked by many.

It has an “Introduction” by brother Donald Tinsley, who preaches in the congregation where the sermon was first delivered. He looks backward to seed planted years

Brother Ron points to specific problem areas, identifying sources and principles. He shows the need for scriptural solution and capable and effective personnel, calling for courageous action. He aims at awakening us to recognize various problems, examine them calmly and resolve to stand up — challenging us to imitate the character Jeremiah points to in Jeremiah 6:16 one who please the Lord and is successful in his spiritual battle.

I believe the time has arrived to speak out as Ron has in this printed sermon. I’m ready to point others to this material, and to give encouragement to all who might be timid in speaking so plainly and to the point — identifying trouble spots and scriptural solutions.

Like Ron, I am neither an “alarmist nor a pessimist,” but I am a realist. I am determined to go to heaven, and while here in preparation, I want to do what I can to help others go there too (cf. 2 Tim. 4:6-8). There-fore, I suggest that each reader purchase at least two copies (possibly several), one for self, and another to hand to a friend. It’s worth your reading time, the $1.95 of your money, and your effort to get it into the hands of others. Go for it!

Guardian of Truth XXXVII: 5, p. 15
March 4, 1993

By Jerral Kay

If you were told that your child’s best friend was a known rapist or drug dealer, would you be shocked? The first thought to enter your mind might be, “Didn’t I teach and warn them about such evil characters?” Worse than that, children can grow up without any terror of the father of all evil, because they received no explicit instructions and illustrations warning them how his “innocent appeals” draw them into the corrupt life. Few (adults and children) are conscious of the real hate the devil has for mankind. Most children grow up with a story started by the devil, which makes it seem he became a harmless victim of God’s ruthless power:

A long time ago God had to leave heaven on business, and temporarily gave his throne to his most beautiful angel named Lucifer. God was gone longer than expected, and Lucifer gained power and influence over other angels, and they began to worship him. God returned, but Lucifer refused to surrender the throne. God and his angels gathered to overthrow Lucifer, but many angels came to his side. There was a great war in heaven, and Lucifer and his angels lost, and were thrown down to earth.

Modern religions are helping to keep this lie alive, and the multitudes think there must be some good in the devil — he was an angel of God! Satan is alive and well in deceiving the ignorant and unsuspecting.

Origin and Power of Satan

He was created in the beginning with other creatures and known as “the serpent” (one and only); he was not a snake, but a spiritual being. Cartoonists draw a picture of a being with horns, a forked tail and a pitchfork. His image is more monstrous than what the cartoons portray him to be. Satan has always tried to ease his way into our conscience by spreading rumors that he is the fabrication of our imagination. His first introduction to the unsuspecting is to bring about thinking that excuses our responsibilities to God — to use the same reasoning as Adam and Eve:

Question why God keeps us away from something we believe is good for us.

God is not that severe in punishment of error (Rom, 11:22).

3, Blame God for our problems (Jas. 1:13). The devil is not powerless in his influence — he uses material possessions to tempt us to replace reverence in service and giving first of ourselves to God.

Genesis 3:1 — “The serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. “Why did the serpent hate man? Was it because God gave everything to man, and he being an intelligent creature, jealousy drove him to revenge against man? He possibly thought himself as wiser, with more ability to rule the earth? God gave the whole creation to man, and man traded it to the devil for a moment of pleasure (Gen. 3). Satan is already judged and knows his eternal estate. Hell was prepared for Satan and his angels (followers).

Before New Testament Christianity, Satan had great physical powers on earth (demons, etc.), but in this Christian age, his ability is limited to the power of deception (2 Thess. 2:9-11), which is worked through his ministers (those who ridicule God’s word and good morals). We love to be entertained by magicians, but the Master of deception tries to destroy souls (2 Cor. 4:1-4). His greatest power is death.

You may have heard that “Lucifer” is Satan’s name, and that it is Satan who is described in Isaiah 14. “Lucifer (v. 12 – KJV) is a Hebrew word, which translated means “Star of the morning,” which is a description of the pride the Babylonian king had about his great power and authority (v. 4); he was a man of flesh and bones (vv. 4,16,19,20,22). The King James Version is the only Bible in my library that does not translate the word “Lucifer,” and it isn’t in reference to the glory that Satan once had.

Need Explicit Illustrations of Satan’s Schemes

Many grow up not knowing much about the devil except the jokes concerning him. They make fun of the devil, without fear of his influence or many followers. Beware! Satan is no joke!

Jude 9 — “Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil, argued with him about the body of Moses, did not dare bring against him a railing judgment, but said, the Lord rebuke you. “The Archangel did not make fun of him.

Christ came to reveal the schemes and deceptive ways that the devil employs in making “victims” of unwary souls. Those who hear the gospel of Christ and obey its calling are set free from the secret plans of Satan. God’s truth destroys the ignorance which gave the devil such a free reign in our lives. Following Satan offers only the reward of the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21), and those who practice such cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Jesus said that cleaning up our lives is not enough (read Matt. 12:43ff). If you choose eternal life with Christ, his plan is: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may stand against the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:10-18). Eternal life in heaven or eternity in hell with Satan — “Choose this day whom you will serve!” Do no delay to teach your children, and be truthful with what Satan has in store for them if they “play” with the murderer.

Some parents say, “If I tell my children about the devil, they’ll have nightmares and believe in the Bogey Man!” Children believe that monsters already live in their bedroom at night, so teach them about the real monster — the devil!

Satan Caused Man’s Downfall – Not God!

Take a field trip with your family and illustrate the beautiful flowers, trees, and all the fantastic creation of God; then point to human suffering, violence and death, to show they are so incompatible with creation. Creation testifies of the loveliness of the Creator who made us beautiful! Suffering and cruelty of this world came by the devil. I co-preached a Catholic funeral of a father and daughter who were killed by drug dealers. The Roman priests said, “It was God’s will!” When it came my turn to speak, I stood up and refuted that! We can’t blame God for what Satan and man has brought upon this world! Satan is the reason we experience human tragedies? Human suffering and death are his trade-mark (Heb. 2:14).

His Time Is Short

His wrath is against this world, never relenting or resting from his labor of hate. Use the short time you have with your children to teach them the schemes of the devil and how they can recognize the ways he will use to enter their heart. When they go out into the world, they must be sup-plied with every evidence of how Satan works to deceive. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

It is difficult in this rebellious society to train children to avoid bad company. Our generation does not want to be disciplined with, “Evil companionship corrupts good morals” (1 Cor. 15:33; 1 Jn. 3:8,10). “Be sound minded, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). His lies seems to be for the good of man, but we know better! (Jn. 8:44; 2 Cor. 11:13-15)

If you know your adversary in life — you are putting God first in your life. The work of the church has first priority in your daily planning. Studying daily that you will have the ability to identify every temptation and meditate on the consequences of even “the smallest of sins.” It’s urgent business if you and your loved ones are to escape the devil’s snares. The devil knows you have the best of intentions, but if he could only encourage you to put it off until tomorrow while he casts out his net today!

Put Satan away from you by enthroning Christ as Lord of your heart, body and soul (I Pet. 3:15).

Do you really know your adversary? Are you on guard against him, every moment?

Guardian of Truth XXXVII: 5, p. 16-17
March 4, 1993

By Truman Smith

Some 15 years ago, I wrote an article for the Gospel Guardian under the above title. It was written then in an effort to alert brethren concerning a trend which I saw among some of our institutional brethren. I said in that article that I intended to keep my eye on the situation; and in the ensuing years since, I have kept up with the development of this matter.

At that time, I had seen a book advertised which was written by an elder of a ”Church of Christ,” in Which it was argued that girls may word prayer in youth camp meetings, even in the presence of boys. Though I did not read the book, it claimed to successfully meet all the arguments that brethren have made through the years against such practices. Also, from the tone of at least one of the many bulletins which I received each week, some of our liberal brethren were apparently trying to get a movement going to allow women as public proclaimers of the gospel. In this particular bulletin, a series consisting of four installments on that issue was published in an effort to make their brethren aware of the problem. The first paragraph in the series went as follows:

“Every significant movement within society will eventually, to some degree, make itself felt in the church. The phenomenon of ‘women’s liberation is no exception. There are those within the church who are clamoring that women must throw off the yoke of male domination and claim their rightful place in the body of Christ. The approach to this issue has been two-fold. Some have adopted a completely infidelic attitude by suggesting that certain ‘troubling passages’ in the New Testament are merely the result of Pharisaic and rabbinic prejudices reflecting the backward ignorance of the first century. It is thus claimed that such are not authorized for today’s church. Others, desiring to assume a more conservative stance, assert there is biblical support for women preachers, leaders, etc.”

(Wayne Jackson in Brentwood News). The bulletin was published by the Brentwood Church of Christ in Fort Worth.

As you know, over the past few years, the news media has reported concerning the battles that are raging by various religious denominations over the question of women taking positions of leadership in their churches. The frequency of such news items indicate that the matter has become a major problem with many nominations. This is understandable, since denominationalists have long ago abandoned the Scriptures as their complete and only guide. Thus, the dispute will be handled about like some kind of a political issue and settled in that same manner. Their hierarchy will simply vote on the matter. They will not let the Scriptures be the standard by which to settle such matters; for after all, ”it is impossible for all to see the Bible alike,” or “everyone has his own interpretation of the Scriptures.” Many of these do not believe that the Bible is relevant to our modern times. Thus, it is understandable why the denominational world might allow women such “rights.”

But, so have many of our brethren also abandoned the Bible as a complete guide. Considering the so-called “new hermeneutics,” essentially, there is no difference between the two attitudes! When our institutional brethren say, “We do not have to have Bible authority for everything we do,” are they not abandoning the Word of God as a complete guide? I still believe that it is because of “brotherhood loyalty,” or the fact that they feel the brotherhood is just not ready for it yet, might be all that is keeping them from permitting the practice generally. In fact, it seems that the pressure is already on in some parts of the country and it might be sooner than we think.

In February, 1992, I ran across an article titled The Role of Women in the Church? by Bobby Duncan. In the first paragraph he said:

“I have in my file a 20-page document sent by the elders of a church in Alabama to the members of that church. This document was under date of January 1990, and it tells about plans to change what they refer to as ‘traditional’ roles for women. Among other things, they said they would appoint some deacons, and then the statement is made: ‘Deacons will be male and female.’ The document further states that the elders would ‘initiate gradual change in the Sunday morning worship assembly.’ Notice that word gradual. We can’t do it all at once; it has to be done gradually. Those elders know that some of the members of that church, liberal as it is, would still rebel against what those elders were about to instigate if they did it all at once” (Vigil, Vol. 20, No. 2).

Brother Duncan also said,

“Another church in Alabama advertised in its bulletin a ‘Community Enrichment Seminar,’ with one of its members, a woman, speaking on ‘Grief The Road to Recovery.’ The bulletin urged the members to ‘use this as an opportunity to invite a friend to visit the [Blank] church.”‘

Guardian of Truth XXXVII: 6, p. 1
March 18, 1993

By Connie W. Adams

Buzz Words

Have you noticed how gospel preachers are often influenced by the buzz words of the news media? We are no longer in danger of anything, we are all “at risk” of this or that. There are no more divisions into parts, we have a “dichotomy.” We don’t reach conclusions any more, we now have “the bottom line.” “At this point in time” has replaced the simple now, or “at this point.” We have stopped preaching to people, now it is “Oh, I just have to share this with you.” There have always been those who would not accept the truth when it was faithfully preached, so I guess these did not “share” with us after all. Don’t get me wrong. Our speech must be adapted to the understanding of the people we instruct but are we obligated to make the message sound trite by wearing out hackneyed expressions from the news people?

Respecting Dignities

Jude warned of those who “speak evil of dignities” (v. 8). They are contemptuous of rulers. While I do not know of any brethren who would deliberately belittle God or angelic beings, I do see a flippant attitude sometimes toward those who are worthy of greater respect. One brother described Jesus as “an ordinary guy like you and me.” He has since apologized for using that expression (“ordinary guy”) though other writings from the same brother present a different picture of the nature of Jesus than Scripture does. Not long ago another brother wrote a bulletin article about Jesus and entitled it “A Guy Without Credentials.” Webster gives as a third meaning for guy “man, fellow.” The other definitions are far less complimentary. Look it up for yourself. I have heard preachers who, in trying to make Bible characters real to the audience, refer to Abraham, Noah, Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, Paul, Peter and yes, Jesus our Lord with this term. While we ought to speak to the common man, should we not seek to elevate his understanding of the noble characters who are presented in the Bible as worthy of our emulation? The world is already too casual regarding sacred things and biblical characters. Let’s do all we can to hold them up as worthy of honor before a mocking world. How can we hope to bring the world into submission to him who is “King of kings and Lord of lords,” who has “all authority in heaven and on earth” and before whom “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess” when we speak flippantly of him as “this guy.” Think about it.

Thrilling Reports

With the collapse of communism and the opening of doors around the world for the gospel to be preached, the reports coming from many fields are cause for great rejoicing. The work is not easy. Some are meeting firm resistance from false religions, deeply entrenched atheism, or scornful cynics. But some are listening to the gospel. There are now two faithful congregations in Moscow. One brother has justreturned from an encouraging trip to the Ukraine where those with whom he studied begged for more teaching. A brother writes from Cairo, Egypt about a congregation of about 25 meeting in his home. That is against the law there and I will not endanger him by naming him. He is a diplomat. Reports continue to come in from China about new converts and the maturing of earlier ones as these Christians assume more and more responsibility for their future evangelism and growth. Reports are often published in The Preceptor from the Spanish speaking fields. There are many baptisms reported as well as evidences of growth spiritually among the congregations. I recently received a call from David Bunting saying that nine had recently been baptized in Vilnius, Lithuania and that someone was urgently needed to go there and work among these new converts. David was there last fall with his father, Tom Bunting of Bergen, Norway. Steve Wallace, Derek Chancellor and Harry Osborne have all preached there and spent many days distributing literature on the street and conducting follow-up studies.

While we rejoice in all of that, let us not forget those laboring in needy areas of this country and Canada. There are many neglected fields right here in this country. There is always drama and excitement about good news from afar. But the gospel is for all, including lost souls in the U.S.A. “To the work.”

Guardian of Truth XXXVII: 6, p. 3-4
March 18, 1993