Truth Magazine

By Joe R. Price

Men and women are obsessed with appearance. There is nothing wrong with grooming and personal hygiene, and we are certainly not condemning due attention to these (cf. 1 Cor. 11:14). But it is undeniably true that many people are only concerned with their exterior beauty. They neglect the inner man. The commercials which bombard us on TV testify to the inordinate amount of attention given to the appearance of men and women. Everything from diet plans to beer drinking are supposed to enhance one’s looks (and outlook) on life. Truly, we live in a humanistic society!

God, our Creator and Sustainer (Acts 17:24-25), sees us in a very different way. When the prophet Samuel was directed to anoint a new king for Israel, he was sent to the house of Jesse. Upon seeing Jesse’s firstborn, Samuel was sure this was “Jehovah’s anointed” (1 Sam. 16:1-6). Eliab must have been a fine looking young man. Like their present king Saul, whose appearance was stately and handsome (1 Sam. 9:2), Eliab seemed to “fit the bill.” But God wanted Israel to learn a lesson which we must,also learn: “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him: for Jehovah seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but Jehovah looketh on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7). The fact that God knows men’s hearts led him to select David to be the next king of Israel (Acts 13:22).

Exercising the Heart

What does this have to do with you and me? Plenty. In the current atmosphere of our self-pleasing culture, the Christian must avoid thinking of himself, others and this life on merely a physical, external basis. Since God looks on our hearts, should we not be more concerned with our souls than our bodies? Of course we should! If we would give as much care to our hearts as we do our hair, teeth, makeup, physique, etc., I dare say that we would be much more like Christ (Gal. 2:20)! We prepare our bodies to make the best possible impression upon those who see us, but are we forgetting to prepare our hearts for the One who sees and knows our every thought (1 Kgs. 8:39; Psa. 139:1)? The world values the importance of enhancing the outer man, and we have already said there is nothing wrong with concern over physical appearance. But when the Christian becomes more interested in his body than in his soul, priorities have been misplaced. “And exercise thyself unto godliness: for bodily exercise is profitable for a little; but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to come” (1 Tim. 4:7-8). Men may only look at your body, but God looks at your heart. Have you done any “heart exercises” lately?

The Inner Man

This matter of God looking on the heart also says something to anyone who thinks he is only made of flesh and bones. “This life is all there is” is the rallying cry of the hedonist. But to the reflective person it is apparent that man is more than merely flesh. We possess a reasoning capacity (intelligence) and a moral capacity (conscience). These defy a physical origin and explanation of man. The Bible teaches that God created man as a dual being, possessing both body and spirit (Gen. 2:7). There is that part of every one of us which is made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27). It is the inner man, that part of man which God looks upon. Thusly made, we must “walk by faith, not by sight” as we seek a heavenly home for the inner man (2 Cor. 4:16-5:10).

Obedient Hearts

Like David, we must become people “after God’s own heart. ” Seeing this quality, God knew that David would “do all my will” (Acts 13:22). Obedience to the divine will is made possible only when our hearts are right with God. We must cultivate the type of heart which is honest, open, responsive, submissive and obedient to all of God’s commands. Does this mean that when men develop such a heart we will never sin? No, for David surely did and so do we (Psa. 51:1-4, 1 Jn. 1:7-10). That line of thinking misses the point. In truth, it is only the obedient heart which will care enough about God’s will to repent of sin and to become what God wants him to be! When we truly care about God’s will, we will learn it (through diligent study, 2 Tim. 2:15) so that we can obey it in our life (Lk. 8:15). Can it be said that we are people after God’s own heart?

Appearances Can Deceive

Finally, we should learn that since God does not judge on the basis of appearance, neither should we (Jn. 7:24). When something appears a certain way to us, we had better make sure of it through proper investigation, lest we misrepresent and do a great deal of damage. Since we cannot know men’s hearts unless they tell us (unlike God), we must be careful when drawing conclusions about situations and people. This is not to say that we cannot properly render necessary judgments, for we can (cf. Matt. 5:16-20; 7:15-20; Gal. 2:11-14; 1 Cor. 5:3-5). For instance, people often reveal their motives and objectives by their conduct. But always remember that Jesus said to ‘Judge righteous judgment. ” We must use the divine standard of revealed truth to guide our judgments. Never let mere appearances dictate decisions (cf. Matt. 6:1-8).

Remember to see things the way God sees them!

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 18, p. 549
September 17, 1992

By Mike Willis

The birth narrative of Jesus concisely tells the dramatic unfolding of the fulfillment of the Messianic promises. The events began to unfold in a perfectly natural way: a young man named Joseph fell in love with a young woman named Mary. Soon thereafter, the Lord intervened. The virgin Mary conceived a baby by the power of the Holy Spirit. Some months later when Joseph realized that Mary was expecting and knowing that the child was not his own, he decided to divorce her privately. An angel appeared to Joseph reassuring him that Mary had not been guilty of fornication and explaining to him that she was with child by the Holy Ghost. He then said,

Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us (Matt. 1:20-23).

The virgin birth of Jesus was a miracle through which God the Son became flesh. The Lord divinely revealed to Joseph the name of the child born to Mary. He shall be called Jesus.

A Common Name

The name Jesus was a common name in the first century. It was worn by Jesus Justus (Col. 4:11) and the father of Elymas the sorcerer (Acts 13:6) in the New Testament. Josephus mentions some twenty persons who bore this name and three of 70 translators of the Septuagint wore this name (TDNT III:285). To distinguish Jesus, the son of Mary, from the others, he frequently was called “Jesus of Nazareth. “

The name Jesus had a rich history. It is the Grecian form of the Hebrew name Joshua, the second great leader of Israel who led Israel into the promised land (see Acts 7:45 and Heb. 4:8 where Joshua is called “Jesus”). The name means “Jehovah is salvation.” Many a young Hebrew boy was given the name of Joshua in honor of the captain of Israel who won the battle of Jericho. How appropriate that the “captain of our salvation” (Heb. 2:10) should bear this name.

The name was also worn by another great leader of Israel – Jeshua, the high priest who assisted in the restoration of the children of Israel from Babylonian captivity (Ezra 3:2). He was one of several prominent leaders who restored the nation to its land, rebuilt the temple and the city of Jerusalem. How appropriate that our “high priest” should also wear this honorable name (Heb. 3:1).

The name Jesus was chosen for the child born to Mary by God himself (Matt. 1:21). It means “Jehovah is salvation” in a deeper sense for Jesus than with any other.

The Name Affirms the Humanity of Jesus

The Lord’s Christ bore the name of Jesus. This was the name given at birth. It therefore affirms the humanity of Lord’s messiah. Jesus was no mythological figure; he had real historical existence. His body was not a mere appearance, as the docetics might have affirmed; he had a real body.

Yet, the child which was born was in the most real sense Immanuel – “God with us” (Matt. 1:23). The virgin birth is the explanation of how deity became a man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a woman. The child who was born was the same person who “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn. 1:1). “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14). The incarnation was described by the Paul in these words:

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Phil. 2:5-8).

For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich (2 Cor. 8:9).

We cannot completely understand how deity became flesh and certainly we cannot improve on the language of Scripture to describe it. This much is revealed: God the Son took upon himself the form of a man and lived among us. As a man he experienced the same temptations as we experience (Heb. 4:15). When we speak of Jesus, we are reminded that God became flesh.

The Name Jesus Means Savior

The name Jesus which means “Jehovah is salvation” certinly reaches its deepest level of meaning when we realize that Jehovah came to save his people from their sins. Jesus came on a mission when he came to this world; he came to “seek and save that which is lost” (Lk. 19:10).

From what did Jesus intend to save his people? His contemporaries thought that we would save his people from Roman domination by organizing an army to overthrow the government and establish a Jewish commonwealth. Some might mistakenly think that Jesus came to rid the world of poverty, racism, civil injustice, and such like things. Some might conclude he came to heal the sick of the world. Yet, none of these was Jesus’ mission.

He came to save men from their sins. His deliverance is four-fold: (a) He saves us from the guilt of sin by granting forgiveness; (b) He saves us from the power of sin by enabling us to break its enslaving yoke; (c) He saves us from the darkness of sin by bringing us into the light of revealed truth; (d) He saves us from the punishment of sin by granting us entrance into heaven.

He is adequate for the task he came to perform. Indeed, the writer of Hebrews said, “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (7:25).

The New Testament also affirms that salvation from sin is available nowhere else. Peter said, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

The salvation is limited to “his people.” The Lord’s people are not limited to the physical descendants of Abraham. The Lord’s people are those who have obedient faith in Christ. These are the only people he has promised to save from their sins.

The Name of Jesus Is Above Every Name

Having accomplished his mission through his sacrificial death on Calvary, Jesus has been exalted to the right hand of God. Paul wrote, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9-11). John saw the creatures of heaven “saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever” (Rev. 5:12-13).

Indeed, the name of Jesus has been exalted and is worthy to be praised. He not only is the sovereign creator, he is the savior and judge of man. We should glorify his majestic name.

Conclusion

We pause to praise the Father who loved us enough to send his Son to die for our sins. We praise Jesus – the Lamb who was slain for the sins of the world. Is Jesus your Savior?

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 18, pp. 546, 566-567
September 17, 1992

By Andy Alexander

Members of the body of Christ who are worldly minded do not appreciate or want sermons that expose and condemn sin in all its hideous forms. Sometimes they are heard to say that we should just preach “Christ and him crucified” and leave those “questionable” teachings alone. “Teaching directly about sin might cause some to leave and not obey the gospel, ” is another cry from the worldly. The “questionable” things they usually have in mind are immodest dress, social drinking, mixed swimming, dancing, and such like.

It is imperative that we teach and preach about the sacrifice of Christ and what that sacrifice means; but, preaching “Jesus and him crucified” requires more than just teaching about the atoning death of Christ. It means that we must teach all that Christ taught, and stand for that teaching in the face of the most perilous danger (Matt. 28:20; Acts 7:51-60). We must be balanced in our teaching of God’s word and teaching the lost about the efficacy of the blood of Christ is certainly necessary, but there are other pertinent truths that must be discussed.

A better example could not be found than the sermons we have recorded for us by the Holy Spirit. We certainly would be presumptuous to think that we could put together a better outline than the Holy Spirit, who guided the speech of the apostles (Acts 2:4). Let us begin with Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost.

Assembled on that day was a group of devout Jews who had come to Jerusalem to worship (Acts 2:5). The apostles were baptized in the Holy Spirit and this caused the people to come together to witness the events that were transpiring (Acts 2:1-6). A charge of drunkenness was leveled at the apostles.

Peter quickly responded to this charge and then proceeded to explain the events they were witnessing (Acts 2:15-21). Following this, Peter began to convict this assemblage of Jews of the crime of murder (Acts 2:23). Why would Peter do this? Was he trying to drive them away from God, Did he love them The Spirit is aware that the conscience of the sinner must be pricked or he will take no action to correct his course. He must realize that he is in danger and Peter did his utmost to convince this audience of the danger they were in, so that they could repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins (Acts 2:40). Preaching “Christ and him crucified” includes preaching that convicts of sin.

The sermon that the apostle Paul preached in Antioch of Pisidia contained a message that would cause some in the audience to feel uncomfortable. He preached that Jesus was the Savior and that belief in him was necessary in order to be free from sin, which the Law of Moses could not accomplish (Acts 13:23,38-39). This was repulsive to some of the unbelieving Jews and they stirred up a great persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of the city (13:50).

Should Paul and Barnabas have softened the message? Was it necessary that they teach something that they knew was going to be offensive to some? These persecutors trusted in the Law of Moses and Paul taught a very unpopular doctrine when he declared that one could not be saved under that Law. Preaching “Christ and him crucified” includes preaching that is unpopular and unwanted by some people. Peace with Christ must come before peace with people and we cannot be at peace with Christ and preach a watered down gospel. The problem rests not with the truth, but with the hearer who is unwilling to repent.

Another sermon preached by the apostle Paul is recorded in Acts 26 when the apostle to the Gentiles stood before King Agrippa. This sermon contained an admonition for men to repent and turn to God and perform deeds worthy of repentance (Acts 26:20). This is a message that many people in our country do not want to hear today. They want a religion that requires little or no sacrifice; however, if our preaching is to be patterned after the inspired preaching of the first century, then we must exhort the lost to repent and bring forth works meet for repentance.

Was Paul centering his message on the cross when he preached in such a negative manner? Certainly he was, because this is what it means to preach “Christ and him crucified.” Did Agrippa obey the gospel? No, as far as we know Agrippa never went past the “almost” stage. Was it the Holy Spirit’s fault for the way the sermon was presented? No one should dare make such a charge. No, the fault was not in the truth, nor in the presentation of the truth, but in the sinner who was not willing to obey.

The lesson that Paul taught Felix contained teaching on righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come (Acts 24:25). These three elements must be included when we preach “Christ and him crucified.” Again, this message was not too favorably received, but the fault lies at the feet of the hearer and not the one who taught the gospel.

We learn from God’s instruction to the prophet Ezekiel that it is the preacher’s responsibility to proclaim God’s word to mankind (Ezek. 3:16-21). When this is done, the gain or loss of a soul becomes the responsibility of the hearer alone. When this is not done, and a sinner dies in his sins, the one who should have taught him the truth will share in his guilt (Ezek 3:18).

This same lesson is learned from the discussion between Paul and the Ephesian elders in Acts 20. Paul declared that he was free from the blood of all men, because he did not shrink from declaring the whole purpose of God to them (Acts 20:26-27).

Preaching “Christ and him crucified” means that we must teach the whole purpose of God. All that Jesus taught must be included, because we will be judged by all that he taught (John 12:48). And, if men reject the words of Jesus, they are rejecting Jesus.

Disrespect for the commandments of God is equivalent to disrespect for God. We must teach the disciples to obey all that Christ commanded (Matt. 28:20). The New Testament contains the doctrine of Christ and if we are to have God, we must abide in that doctrine (2 John 9). If members are having a problem that centers around the atoning death of Christ, then that must be discussed, but if they are being deceived by Satan and lured back into the world, then those issues must be addressed.

Avoiding issues that are uncomfortable or that might drive the unrepentant away will not please God and as preachers of righteousness, we should always be trying to please God and not man (1 Thess. 2:4). Brethren, let us always demand that sound, healthy or wholesome, doctrine be preached for this is the kind of preaching that will turn the good and honest of heart to God (Tit. 2:1; Lk. 8:15).

Guardian of Truth XXXVI; 17, pp. 533-534
September 3, 1992

By Dan King

I am not sure where the saying came from originally, though I suppose it to be an old cowboy expression; but like so many other witticisms and adages, there is a lot of truth in it. It goes like this: “When the horse is dead, dismount.” I can picture in my mind a fellow on horseback, spurring, whipping the reins back and forth, and shouting “Giddy-up!” – but to no avail. The equinus (“hoss”) is deceased! Pretty silly thought, isn’t it?

Yet in such a comical notion there lies much homespun wisdom. In fact, it is wisdom which is found in the Word of God in quite different settings, and in different words – but the idea is exactly the same. Let me point out how:

1. God Gives Up On People. This may be a notion that is hard for you to accept, but it is true. At times people reach a point beyond which they may no longer be helped. It is not that God will not forgive them if they repent. It is rather that they will not repent.

The book of Hebrews (6:4f) describes such folk as having “fallen away” from all the good things in Christ, and having reached a point where they cannot be touched by anything the gospel has to offer. “it is impossible to renew them again unto for the forgiveness of the sins of people like this: it is sin unto death (1 Jn. 5:16, 17).

Paul writes that God abandoned many Gentile people to their evil ways and dishonorable practices: “God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts unto uncleanness . . . God gave them up unto vile passions . . . And even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:24, 26, 28-29).

Please understand, God gives up on people! And he will even give up on you and me if we force him to do so. “When the horse is dead, dismount!”

2. God Gives Up On Churches. Jesus warned the church at Ephesus, though it long had served faithfully, that he would come and “move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou repent” (Rev. 2:5). God takes more into account than the sign on the building! A congregation of saints must be about the task of fulfilling its mission as a church of Christ, else the Lord will not identify it as such. It is not the larger brotherhood of believers that will ultimately judge a congregation repentance” (v. 6). John says we should not pray as “sound” or “unsound,” “faithful” or “unfaithful,” nor is it a “directory of churches” that will put us on the right list, but God who is the judge of all the earth.

3. God Gives Up On Cities. People who collect into localities very often think alike and act similarly. That is one of the reasons they stay together rather than going somewhere else to make a life for themselves. The Christ instructed his disciples to be selective about how they spent their precious time and efforts in spreading the Word. Where people were responsive they were to remain and work, but where people were not, they were to “shake the dust from off their feet” (Matt. 10:14-15). Often brethren today do not show the same wisdom. Though the horse is dead, they fail to dismount! They will spend many years working in an area where the gospel does not thrive or grow, when people in other areas are much more reachable. Jesus said, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine” (Matt. 7:6). Our time and labor is too precious to throw away!

4. God Gives Up On Nations. When God promised Abram the land of Canaan, he put off the realization of the promise for four generations, saying that “the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full” (Gen. 15:15). Later, in a chapter that sums up a number of moral evils, and warns the Israelites not to take up such behavior, Moses says: “Do not defile yourselves by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am casting out before you defiled themselves; and the land became defiled, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants” (Lev. 18:24, 25).

Frankly, when I read of the evils of our nation today, and see illustrations of it in the public media, it concerns me deeply. At times I wonder how long the righteous God of heaven will endure such vileness without bringing an end to it. At this point there is little we can do, except: Take our religion deadly seriously, raise up our families in the wisdom of the Lord, and live exemplary lives. Hopefully, by our prayers and our “light seen in the world,” we will not have to leave it. But if such a time ever comes, let us have the courage to “dismount.” Remember Lot’s wife!

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 18, pp. 545, 567
September 17, 1992