Truth Magazine

By Louis J. Sharp

It is reported that Henry W. Longfellow was once asked by an admirer how he continued to maintain the vigor to write so beautifully in the waning years of his life. He turned to an apple tree nearby and said, “That apple tree is very old. I never saw prettier blossoms upon it than it now bears. The tree grows a little new wood each year and I suppose it is out of that new wood that those blossoms come. Like the apple tree, I like to grow a little new wood annually.”

What a wonderful attitude to develop. Instead of talking incessantly about our aches and pains we should be producing a little “new wood” in our sunset years. Aged saints are valuable assets to any congregation, by reason of experience and wisdom. It is true that some consider the aged to be a liability rather than an asset. It all hinges on the kind of outlook older people cultivate in reference to life. We should heed the words of Longfellow and continue to grow and remain useful in this world. As long as one grows, age is nothing but a blessed anticipation.

The Holy Spirit, through Solomon, has given a beautiful picture of the infirmities of advanced years. In Ecclesiastes 12:1-7, He writes:

Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened. And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low; Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Solomon’s exhortation is directed to the youth before the frailties of advanced years should overtake them, when so many are inclined to give in to their infirmities. We do recognize that some are incapacitated and unable to perform as in their youth, but we are pleading for the elderly not to give in when able to produce.

Younger folk should learn from the experience, advice and wisdom of those who have lived before. People who are older should only be aged in years and remain always useful to the Lord spiritually. “The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness” (Prov. 16:31). “The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the gray head” (Prov. 20:29).

What a happy balance as the old and young work together for right purposes – as they blend their abilities and use them to the “glory of God”! We pray that the elderly may demonstrate a greater patience while working with the youngsters; likewise, that the youth exert more eagerness as they work with the aged. May this grand mixture of experience and abundance ever be true of our work.

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 21, p. 661
November 5, 1992

By Tom O’Neal

Six centuries before Christ, God caused the Jews to be carried away into Babylonian captivity. The reason for this was their repeated idolatry.

During the time of the judges, God’s people turned away from him to follow the gods of the nations about them.

In the time of the divided kingdom they were no better. Few of the kings in the Southern Kingdom were good and none of the kings of the Northern Kingdom were. They worshiped the gods of the nations about them. They set up their own high places and worshiped all manner of gods.

God had caused the Assyrians to take the Northern Kingdom into captivity because of their idolatry and now the Southern Kingdom was taken into captivity by the Babylonians.

The young man Daniel was among those taken into Babylon. His position was he “sat in the gate of the king” (Dan. 2:49). This would be comparable to being near the White House today. Being a prophet of God, he was near to and spoke with the king.

However, there was another prophet of God in Babylon. This prophet’s name was Ezekiel. He was not around the court of the king. He was God’s spokesman out in the province where the people were.

Ezekiel said, “Then I came to them of the captivity at Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days. And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul” (Ezek. 3:15-19).

While in Babylon for their sins, Israel had the prophet Ezekiel sitting among them. He could see their plight and understand their feelings. He could more easily identify with the children of Israel than the prophet Daniel. Many times when people have problems, those about them cannot understand how they feel, why they act or react the way they do, nor even why they do wrong. Problems are no excuse to commit sin. Often people do not take the way of escape provided by the Lord (1 Cor. 10:13).

When one does not understand why someone does what he does, he often does more harm than good. When someone is wounded, we all understand that we want to get them the best medical attention possible. How often, though, when someone is wounded in the battle of life, instead of getting them some spiritual medical attention, we spiritually shoot to kill them. Someone has described the Lord’s people as being the only people they knew that shot their wounded. If we, like Ezekiel, had “sat where they sat” we would not be so quick to pull the trigger to kill. We would understand. If we did not understand, we could at least empathize with them.

Several years ago I came upon a piece that I clipped out and have kept. Perhaps if I share it, you can also profit from it. Its author is unknown to me.

Do Not Judge Others Too Hard

Pray don’t find fault with the man who limps,

Or stumbles along the road;

Unless you have worn the shoes he wears

Or struggled beneath his load.

There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt,

Though hidden away from view,

Or the burdens he bears, placed on your back,

Might cause you to stumble too.

Don’t sneer at the man who’s down today,

Unless you have felt the blow

That caused his fall, or felt the shame

That only the fallen know.

You may be strong, but still the blows

That were his, if dealt to you

In the self-same way at the self-same time,

Might cause you to stagger too.

Don’t be too harsh with the man who sins,

Or pelt him with words or stones,

Unless you are sure, yes, doubly sure

That you have not sins of your own.

For, you know, perhaps if the tempter’s voice

should whisper as soft to you

As it did to him when he went astray,

‘Twould cause you to falter too.

If I have never sat where my brother or sister is sitting, how do I know what I would do under the same set of circumstances? I may know what is right and what I should do, but does that mean I would do it? Not necessarily.

(1) A number of years ago in a congregation where I was preaching, a brother was in business and through no fault of his own, so far as my information was concerned, he was forced into bankruptcy. What were the emotions that he and his family experienced. I do not know. What was the embarrassment that they went through? I do not know. At the time and since, I have been very slow to say anything about the situation, for you see, I never “sat where they sat.” What would you do in a set of circumstances like this? I tried to be as supportive and as understanding as I could at the time. Today, they are still close friends.

(2) Another brother where I preached was heavily involved in the contracting business. Things went from bad to worse in a hurry and he owed thousands of dollars. In the meantime he lost his wife, a regal lady in my eyes. Some brethren did not understand. Because he worked two or more jobs sometimes to pay his debts off, he would not be at some services of the church. This caused some that wanted to be more righteous than God to want to withdraw from him. You see, they had never “sat where he sat” and knew nothing of the problems he faced. In time, over a period of about twenty-five years, he paid all of his debts! He is in my book a great hero of faith. What would you have done had you “sat where he sat”?

(3) Several years ago, a long-time preacher friend of mine learned he had a severe medical problem, which in time took his life. During the time he was dealing with the problem, he began to take into his body a liquid form of grain after it has been through the distilling process. I never “sat where he sat.” What would I have done under the circumstances? What would you have done under the circumstances? I am glad he repented and found himself before death in a right relationship with God. I loved him like a brother, appreciated him for his work, benefitted as a young preacher from h s encouragement, honor his memory and will ignore any letter asking who he was.

(4) As a young boy I heard a young gospel preacher in several gospel meetings. The fact that he and I shared a common name was not what drew me to him. I liked the plain, simple, Bible preaching he did. He probably does not realize it, but he was one of my young heroes. He did a lot of good over the years, worked with some of the best of churches and stood firmly for the truth. In time it became evident he was experiencing some problems within his marriage. You see, his wife, like a lot of others, decided that she did not want to be the wife of a preacher. (When any preacher learns that his wife no longer wants to be a preacher’s wife, he is in for trouble.) It was up to him to care for the children. I doubt that even now his children realize how much they were neglected by their mother and how he took over being both mother and father to them. Soon they were divorced and she had someone to marry. My friend, have you ever sat where this preacher sat? What would you have done had you been in his shoes? He had put God first in his life and tried to get everyone he came in contact with to do the same.

Yes, I am sure that even he would look back and see things he might have done differently. Anybody and everybody can do that. But he did not deserve the treatment he received at the hands of a woman who had not put Christ first in her life. Any mistakes, shortcomings or sins he may have committed, would no doubt have been avoided if he had the support and encouragement of a wife dedicated to Christ. I ache for my friend of childhood days. If you have never sat where he sat, it probably would be wise to be a littler kinder and a little gentler to him. It could be that he would appreciate your friendship and a kind word.

(5) Another preacher friend of mine I learned was having some problems in his marriage. Being in the area he lived to spend some time with a relative who was ill, I looked him up. Having made several phone calls late at night, I was finally able to reach him. He seemed surprised at first to hear my voice. I explained that I had learned he and his wife were separated at the time and thought that he might need a friend, so I was calling. He expressed his appreciation for my concern and for my taking the time to call. Then, he said something that will burn in my heart forever. He said, “Tom, I appreciate your calling; of all the preachers you and I know, you are the only one so far that has been concerned enough to call me. ” In that area there were any number of gospel preachers that both of us knew and had known for a number of years. Had we all put our arms around him and helped him at the time, he might have been saved to the cause of Christ. Have you ever “sat where he sat”? If you had, what would you have wanted brethren to have done at the time?

When someone has a problem there are some brethren who cannot wait to spread it all over the country and some preachers are the worst offenders. One godly woman, the wife of an elder and respected gospel preacher, once told me she told a certain preacher that he was a bigger gossip than some old gossipy woman. A person with a problem, any problem, is not helped when they hear all kinds of lies, gossip, ugly rumors, and half truths floating back to them. Such tells them that those spreading such tales really have no concern for them or the truth.

Need for Patience

Brethren, we need to sometimes exercise a little patience. We are often too quick to want to settle something yesterday. Problems do not usually arise overnight and they will not be settled overnight.

Let me tell you a true thrilling story I recently learned. Mary, a friend of mine since childhood, saw her father leave her mother, her sister, her brother and her. Two or three wives and fifty plus years later, he called her from a distant town and said he had repented of his life of sin and wanted to be restored to his Lord. Ready to assist, she thought, “How will I get him to the services of the church?” When she and her husband arrived in town to take him to services, she learned his daughter-in-law also wanted to be restored that day. Thus, the problem of how to get her father to services was resolved. What a day that was around the Throne! The word of God still works. “There is power, wonder working power, in the precious blood of the Lamb.”

Dear reader, if you have not “sat where they sat” please don’t become more righteous than God. It would be well to remember that “except for the grace of God, go I.”

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 21, pp. 656-658
November 5, 1992

By Larry Ray Hafley

A few months ago I wrote some articles on what it does and does not mean to preach the cross of Christ. I cited New Testament examples of what it does mean and several current examples of confusion on the subject. I included a reference to some things another brother published in another paper as one example of a dangerous trend which has been developing. Lest someone think I am overemphasizing the person and the paper involved, I forbear at this time to repeat the specific reference since it is already available for anyone to look up. The brother in question has provided some feedback on what he intended to convey in his article. Both he and I have now written on what it means to preach the cross of Christ (see my series, “The Preaching of the Cross” (1-4), Guardian of Truth, May 21 -July 2, 1992). While we may disagree about some things in his article, judging from his feedback about the message he intended to convey, it seems to me we may agree on some fundamental principles involved in preaching the cross of Christ.

If we do agree, this article may preclude an impasse or a stalemate which would otherwise necessitate an open exchange of opposite views. If we do not agree on these fundamental principles, the brother in question may feel an exchange of opposing views is necessary. Since he says his only desire is to encourage balance in our preaching, I will do my best to affirm some balanced principles and propositions reflected in the gospel of Christ. If this will eliminate any grounds of strife between us, I will rejoice. I write not for his sake alone but that all of us may continue to reflect on what it means to preach the cross of Christ.

This article is written from the vantage point of things upon which we agree. The brother has stated some of these things in his feedback, and others are inferred from it. I do not wish to attribute anything to him which he does not believe, but I am assuming we do agree unless he chooses to protest. In this way it may be possible to put behind us some troubling aspects of his article (which will not be rehashed here) and to move on in the Lord’s work. With that hope in mind, each point will be introduced with the simple statement, “We agree.”

1. We agree. Properly understood, all the facts, commands, and promises of the gospel center in Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:16-17). The entire gospel system is the word or message of the cross of Christ (Acts 20:20-27; 1 Cor. 1:18). The center and circumference of all genuine gospel preaching is the cross of Calvary. The echoes of the execution, the cries of the cross, resound and reverberate throughout the gospel, whether we are proclaiming the atonement or baptism and the church. All “these items derive their significance only in proper connection to the one thing of preeminent importance — the cross of Christ.”

2. We agree. Preaching the cross of Christ means preaching all the Bible says about the man Jesus Christ and the plan he gave to save the world (Mk. 16:15-16). It includes the grace of God and the obedience of faith required of men (Rom. 1:5; 16:25-26). It includes what the Bible says about baptism, the church, and godly living (Tit. 2:11-14). It includes refuting error on any and all of these things (Gal. 1:6-9). If a person preaches only the man and the historical events at Calvary, he is not truly and fully preaching Jesus Christ and him crucified as New Testament preachers did (1 Cor. 2:2; Acts 18:8). The same is true of preaching only God’s grace, only obedience, only baptism, only the church, only godly living, or only refutation of error. The writer in question does not want to be committed to either — or in these things, nor do I, but we can be united in preaching Christ and him crucified by preaching all of these things. Neither of us wishes to say that preaching any one of these themes to the exclusion of the others is properly preaching the cross of Christ, as some have said (Bill Love, C. Leonard Allen, etc.).

3. We agree. The cross of Christ is central to New Testament worship. When we preach the New Testament pattern on worship, we are preaching the cross of Christ. When we oppose every departure from that pattern, we are still upholding the cross of Christ.

4. We agree. To attempt to preach the cross as a symbol of self-sacrifice, while neglecting the person and work of Christ, is a travesty on true gospel preaching. To strive to preach the cross, stressing faith in faith itself (as an end in itself), while ignoring the life and labor of the Lord, is a travesty on true gospel preaching. To endeavor to preach the cross, emphasizing repentance, baptism, and godly living as a self-help philosophy, while forgetting the Savior’s suffering and sacrifice, is a travesty on true gospel preaching. To pretend to preach the cross, presenting the church as simply group therapy, as something unrelated to the Christ condemned on Calvary, is a travesty on true gospel preaching.

Although I have not personally witnessed brethren preaching from such a perspective or even appearing to, I want to go on record as being unalterably opposed to all such contemptible concepts. Anything drifting in that direction would represent a perversion of the true meaning of the cross of Christ. If other brethren have seen, documented, and exposed such errors, I commend them and am ready to help in any way. I have heard and read some brethren such as Bill Love and C. Leonard Allen teaching that when we preach faith, repentance, baptism, reformation, and the church, we are failing to preach Christ. I trust the brother in question joins me in identifying that reaction as a travesty also.

5. We agree. To refute denominational error as a mere academic exercise, as a mere display of human learning or logic or eloquence, as anything separate from the person, work, and words of Christ, is a travesty on gospelpreaching. Although I have not personally seen this done among our brethren, I commend anyone who documents and opposes such errors. I do know some who react to any refutation of denominational error as a failure to preach Christ, and I trust the brother in question joins me in identifying that reaction as a travesty also.

6. We agree. Paul preached nothing but Christ and him crucified to the Corinthians, including all that Paul taught in person and in his epistles to Corinth (1 Cor. 1:10-13; 4:17; 5:4; 7:17; 16: 1; 2 Thess. 2:15).

7. We agree. Paul preached the first things first at Corinth, including Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection along with the evidences of prophecy and eyewitness testimony. Along with the simple facts of the gospel, Paul preached the commands of the gospel (faith, repentance, baptism, scriptural worship, and faithful living) and the promises of the gospel (remission of sins, fellowship with God, all spiritual blessings in Christ, and the hope of resurrection and eternal life in heaven with God). See Acts 18 and all the 1 Corinthian letter, especially chapter 15. All of these things are included when we truly preach “Christ and him crucified” as Paul did (explained in more detail in my earlier series).

8. We agree. No faithful gospel preacher will fail to preach the facts of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ simply because some denominations preach those facts. In a land filled with denominations, no faithful preacher will fail to openly oppose and refute the sins and errors of denominationalism, showing that they nullify the spiritual blessings procured at the cross, by the cross and through the cross (Eph. 2:16-18; Col. 1:21-22).

9. We agree. The gospel message has the cross at its center and includes everything God said about the church — its establishment, spiritual nature, work, worship, organization, discipline, and destiny (Isa. 2:24; Dan. 2:44; 1 Tim. 3:15; 1 Pet. 2:5; 1 Cor. 15:24).

10. We agree. Men in denominations who believe in the atonement of Christ must be pricked in the heart by learning the difference between Bible baptism and denominational baptism, and the difference between denominations and the New Testament church. To preach on such differences wherever needed is to preach the whole counsel of God on the cross of Christ. Such preaching does not relegate or consign the cross to a place of lesser importance, nor does it constitute replacing a cross-centered gospel with a church-centered gospel. All through the years, faithful gospel preachers have stressed that Christ is at the center of all things we preach and practice, and that no one can work or earn his way out of sin and into heaven.

11. We agree. Christ and the church are at times used interchangeably by the Holy Spirit in describing the spiritual realm or relationship of salvation (1 Cor. 12:12-13; Acts 8:1,3; Gal. 1:13; 1 Cor. 15:9; Acts 9:5; 2 Cor. 5:19; Eph. 2:16). Therefore when we preach what the New Testament says about the church, we preach Christ and him crucified in the New Testament sense.

12. We agree. The church is not an institutional bureaucracy standing between God and man, but properly understood in New Testament terms, it is a spiritual relationship into which men must enter. When we preach that men must enter that relationship (the church), it is equivalent to preaching that they must enter Christ himself (2 Cor. 5:19; Eph. 2:16; 1:3-23; 5:23-28). In that sense we preach Christ and the church, but we do not preach that some organizational structure or ecclesiastical hierarchy is the way of salvation.

13. We agree. The church is not our savior, but we have no savior or salvation unless we are members of the body of Christ, which is the kingdom of Christ, which is the church of Christ, the church we read about in the Bible. Who can name any one among us who preaches that the church rather than Christ is our Savior? We would be obligated to oppose that doctrine if anyone began to teach it. Among professed churches of Christ, men such as C. Leonard Allen, Rubel Shelly, Leroy Garrett, Carl Ketcherside, Cecil Hook, Charles Holt, Bill Swetmon, Richard Rodgers, Randy Mayeaux, Max Lucado, Bill Love, and a host of others have been teaching that people are being saved in Christ while continuing to be members of various denominations. While claiming to be cross-centered rather than church-centered, such men are actually enemies of the cross of Christ and we are obligated to oppose their perverted concepts of preaching Christ and him crucified. We are united in recognizing that the supposed super piety of these men is nothing but a superficial spirituality and we both repudiate such a spirit.

14. We agree. Bill Love, C. Leonard Allen, and others are wrong when they represent T. W. Brents’ book, The Plan of Salvation, as a departure from the preaching of the cross. The book is not inspired or inerrant, nor does it profess to cover everything the Bible covers on the plan of salvation, any more than the articles written by my brother and me profess to cover everything that can be said of the cross of Christ. Brents’ book is very thorough in preaching the truth and refuting error in terms of the audience he had in mind, just as could be said of Peter’s preaching in Acts 2, Stephen’s in Acts 7, and Paul’s in Acts 17. Whatever we may think of Brents’ book, we can agree that the Bible itself is the only truly comprehensive and inerrant proclamation of the cross of Christ and the whole plan of salvation.

15. We agree. Historically and currently, denominationalism, Calvinism, and sectarianism have professed to preach a cross-centered gospel but have perverted the New Testament pattern for the church and have often dismissed the importance of that pattern in the name of exalting Christ and the cross. Historically and currently, many brethren have included the pattern for the church in preaching Christ and him crucified. Men like C. Leonard Allen, Rubel Shelly, Leroy Garrett, Carl Ketcherside, Cecil Hook, Charles Holt, Bill Swetmon, Richard Rodgers, Randy Mayeaux, Max Lucado, and Bill Love regard the efforts of faithful brethren to preach Christ and his pattern for the church as out of order and out of balance. In their view such preaching eclipses Christ in favor of a church-centered religion because they see preaching Christ and preaching the church as a dichotomy rather than an interrelated, integrated whole.

This false dichotomy, this false distinction, is developed at length in Bill Love’s book, The Core Gospel, and in C. Leonard Allen’s book, The Cruciform Church. It seems clear from comparing Allen’s book to some parts of the brother’s article which I cited that the article was influenced by Allen’s thesis that to preach the pattern for the church is to drift from the central meaning of the cross, and in fact amounts to not preaching the cross. This brother has now explained that he does not mean to endorse Allen’s thesis, and that he believes preaching Christ and the church to be an interrelated whole, not a dichotomy. In that case we can be united, lay aside his earlier article, and go forward preaching Christ and him crucified in its New Testament sense.

16. We agree. We do not neglect the cross of Christ but we confirm its practical meaning when we preach in favor of godly living and in opposition to all the ungodly works of the flesh, including profanity, pornography, abortion, dancing, immodest dress, gambling, “and such like” (Gal. 5:16-26; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Pet. 4:1-3). Admonishing people to live godly separate from the person, work, and teaching of Jesus Christ is futile and unscriptural. I have not seen our brethren doing this, but will quickly join with any faithful brother to oppose any such trend. I am aware of a growing number, even in non-institutional churches, who regard preaching against worldliness as perpetuating mere traditionalism and neglecting the cross of Christ. Inasmuch as the brother in question will join me in recognizing this growing number as “enemies of the cross of Christ,” there can be no strife between us.

17. We agree. In the interest of a balanced emphasis, we should be often reminded that the grace of God and the cross of Christ are central to the gospel. At the same time, we must guard against setting arbitrary standards for judging whether that emphasis is present. At least eleven books of the New Testament say little or nothing about the death of Christ, as is also true of entire chapters and sections of other books, but the cross undergirds it all. If the brother in question, myself, and all other brethren will keep the cross of Christ prominent in our preaching, preach all the counsel of God, and openly oppose sin and error of every kind, we can “stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Phil. 1:27). Let Christ “have the preeminence in all things, . . . having made peace through the blood of his cross” (Col. 1:18-20). Let us all recognize that when anyone departs from the teaching of the covenant sealed with the blood of Christ – whether on baptism and the church, divorce and remarriage, unity and fellowship, or anything else revealed – they make themselves “enemies of the cross of Christ” (Phil. 3:18).

If on these things we are truly agreed, we agree on what it means to preach the cross of Christ, and there can be no strife between us.

(Editor’s Note: This article was sent to brother W. Frank Walton for him to read and approve before it was published. Having gone over the article, brother Walton called me and expressed his approval of its content. This expression of the areas of agreement should clarify any questions regarding the specific beliefs of both brother Hafley and brother Walton which may have arisen as a result of the article in Christianity Magazine by brother Walton or the four part series on “Jesus Keep Me Near The Cross” which appeared in Guardian of Truth.)

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 21, pp. 652-654
November 5, 1992

By Andy Alexander

Furthering the cause of Christ should be the supreme goal of every Christian (Matt. 6:33). In order to accomplish this goal, we must follow the teaching and example of our Leader, Jesus Christ (Jn. 14:6; 1 Pet. 2:21). No one knows better how to defeat Satan and win the victory in this life than Jesus, and if we deviate from the path that he has laid out for us to follow, then we will be doomed to failure (Heb. 2:14-15; Jer. 10:23).

Jesus was a tireless worker while he sojourned on this earth and he urges us not to faint as we work in his vineyard (Jn. 9:4; Gal. 6:9). His field is vast and he needs men and women who are diligent workers to serve him (Matt. 9:3738). The servant of Christ chooses to work in his vineyard and the benefits are endless, but the enticements to quit are sometimes very strong. It takes self-discipline and support from other workers to keep up the good work.

In seeking to do a good job in the Lord’s vineyard we sometimes are tempted to slow down by Satan. These temptations can come from a variety of sources and it is good to be reminded of them from time to time so as not to lose sight of our true goal.

Satan works in many ways to thwart the cause of Christ (Eph. 6:11). He makes direct frontal assaults as well as working sneakily to accomplish his goals. One of his chief weapons is lying and/or deception. He is the master of this device, since he is the father of it (Jn. 8:44).

One of the deceiving tactics of Satan is to use the good things that God has created to further his wicked cause. He takes the sexual relationship that is good and proper in marriage and perverts it into lustful, sinful liaisons that bring heartache and untold misery. He takes the Word of God and twists passages to lead some astray (Matt. 4:6). He will stoop to nothing to destroy a soul.

One good provision that Satan has used to his advantage is the opportunity of work. God intends, in fact, commands that we work and provide for our family and others who may be in need (Eph. 4:28; 2 Thess. 3:10). However, work or rather the making of money can become an obsession that causes us to switch our allegiance from God to mammon (Matt. 6:24; 1 Tim. 6:10).

The seed that fell among thorns in the parable of the sower sprouted and grew, but the “worry of the world and the deceitfulness of riches” choked the word and it became unfruitful (Matt. 13:22). As man begins to work more and more in order to obtain money, he has to work less and less for God. Some Christians may begin to feel that as long as they give the Lord four hours a week at the services the rest of their time belongs to them. This is a false concept.

There is more to serving God than meeting three times a week. The sick and afflicted need to be cared for and the erring Christian needs to be visited and encouraged to repent and return to the fold of God (Jas. 1:27; 5:19-20). The Lord’s church is in desperate need of elders and deacons and it takes time and hard work to prepare for and carry out the work involved in these offices. Where are the men who should be serving? Too often, they are out serving mammon!

Materialism can deceptively enter our lives and choke the Word of God right out. We must be alert to this wily scheme of Satan (1 Pet. 5:8).

False teaching is a hindrance to the cause of Christ. The Judaizing teachers in the churches of Galatia were not praised by Paul for the good that they taught. Rather, they were rebuked and the Galatians were warned not to follow their false teaching (Gal. 5:10; 1:6-9). This false teaching was hindering the work of the Lord (Gal. 5:7). No amount of false teaching is good and regardless of who is doing the teaching, it is sinful and destructive to the cause of Christ!

A third hindrance to the cause is apathy. Indifference to the work of the Lord is like any other sin: it can rub off on others (Gal. 5:9; 2:13). If we meet and worship with a group of apathetic Christians, then we, just like the one who associates with evil companions, are susceptible to catching their disease (1 Cor. 15:33).

What would be the answer for one who finds himself in such a group? Our Lord gives us the answer in his message to the Laodiceans, “be zealous therefore, and repent” (Rev. 3:19). Just as apathy can infect others in a congregation, so can zeal and hard work. Remember, someone has to take the first step and if you are waiting for someone else to do it, you may be waiting for eternity.

Let us be alert to these and other hindrances to the work of the Lord. There is no better or more rewarding work that can be done. Be zealous!

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 22, pp. 675-676
November 19, 1992