Truth Magazine

By Tommy L. McClure

Introduction

And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. And Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey. And Jonah began to enter into the city a days’ journey, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown (Jonah 3:14).

In events leading up to this passage, God had commanded Jonah to cry against Nineveh because of its wickedness (1:1,2). For some unknown reason, Jonah didn’t want to do so and sought to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord (1:3). Considering God’s omnipresence and all-seeing eye, this was a rash, foolish, failure-destined move (Psa. 139:7-11; Jer. 23:24; Psa. 15:3; Heb. 4:13). Though Jonah found a ship going to Tarshish and boarded it, his attempted “get away” was brought to disaster: God sent a tempest which almost broke the ship to pieces, the mariners cast lots to see who was to blame from their plight, the lot fell upon Jonah (“be sure your sin will find you out,” Num. 32:23), he was cast overboard and swallowed by a great fish prepared by the Lord (1:4-17). Note that every step he made was down – down to Joppa and down into the ship (1:3), down into the sides of it (1:5), down into the sea (1:15), down into the belly of the fish (1:17), then down to the bottoms of the mountains (2:6) – down, down, down! And friend, that is the direction you will go, spiritually, if and when you try to flee from God! In the fish’s belly Jonah prayed unto the Lord, probably the most earnest prayer he had ever prayed in his life, and upon the Lord’s direction the fish vomited him out upon dry ground (ch. 2). Then God spoke to Jonah the second time in the words quoted above.

“The preaching that I bid thee” was not changed from what God had commanded at first. He had told the prophet to “cry against it” because of their wickedness (1:2). Their wickedness had come up to God and his wrath was coming down upon them. If the severity of the message was what caused Jonah’s attempted flight, it was not changed to please him. God is no compromiser, neither with preacher nor hearers. With him “is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (Jas. 1:17); “another gospel” he will not tolerate (Gal. 1:6-9); and those who know him not and obey not the gospel of his Son will suffer “everlasting destruction” (2 Thess. 1:6-10). Compromise is contrary to His nature, for He is “a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he” (Deut. 32:3,4); there is no unrighteousness with him (Rom. 9:14), and in him is light and no darkness at all (1 Jn. 1:5). Why should and how could such a Being compromise? His word is everlasting and unalterable; it does not conform to the whims of men, but they must conform to its truths and laws!

What kind of preaching does God require today? We are not left in the dark as to the answer, for we can determine it by statements, commands, necessary inference and approved examples contained in God’s word. Often there is a vast difference between the preaching God bids and that which men want; men often want “smooth things” (Isa. 30:8-11) and ear-tickling fables (2 Tim. 4:14), but God says, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God.” (1 Pet. 4:11).

The preaching God bids is:

Christ-Centered Preaching

This was the outstanding characteristic of apostolic preaching!

Look at Peter’s sermon on Pentecost (Acts 2:22-36). He preached that Christ was approved of God by miracles (v. 22), crucified by the hands of lawless men (v. 23), raised from the dead by God’s power (v. 24), and exalted by God to the high position of Lord and Christ (vv. 33,36). When the convicted hearers asked Peter and the other apostles what to do, Peter told them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (vv. 37,38). Christ – center and circumference of the preaching!

When Paul waited for Silas and Timothy at Athens, stirred by the widespread idolatry which there existed, he disputed both in the synagogue and market; to some of the opposition, he seemed to be a proponent of strange gods, because he preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection (Acts 17:16-18).

When the same apostle went to Corinth, his determination was to know nothing among them except “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:1,2).

When Philip went to the city of Samaria, he preached Christ unto them (Acts 8:5). When he met the eunuch on the Jerusalem-Gaza road, he began at the same scripture the eunuch had been reading and preached unto him Jesus (Acts 8:35).

“Preach Christ” and its equivalents appear at least thirty times in the New Testament, and this doesn’t include “preach the gospel” and its equivalents. God doesn’t have to say something thirty times for it to be so; but when he repeats it thirty times there is no excuse for missing the point. Yet much preaching today is centered around or concerns science, current events, personal experiences, politics, the Middle East war threat, and psychiatry. In fact, some church members are beating worn paths to the doors of worldly-minded psychiatrists in an effort to get their thinking straight when they ought to be studying the word of God with the firm intent of shaping their lives according to its teachings. Doing that will give them peace, peace with God, the greatest peace in the world! “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength” (Isa. 26:3,4). “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passeth understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ” (Phil. 4:6,7). “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful” (Col. 3:15). This is not to say that no one should ever seek the services of a good psychiatrist, nor is it to say that illustrations are never to be drawn from the above subjects. I am saying that psychiatrists are not to be used in an effort to circumvent shaping one’s life according to the will of God in seeking relief from depression and anxiety brought on by downright self-centeredness and a guilt complex; the pangs of conscience are to be relieved by knowledge of and compliance with God’s will! “For if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God” (I Jn. 3:20,21). The above subjects are never to be made the center of preaching and unless illustrations in some way point to Christ, they are out of place in the pulpit. It is high time to regard preaching as serious business, not an entertaining side-show!

Scripturally-Circumscribed Preaching

This simply means the preaching must be confined within the bounds of scriptural authority.

What God bids is his will, and the Scriptures are the expression of that will. If we go beyond, we have not God (2 Jn. 9; cf. 1 Cor. 4:6, ASV); if we preach another gospel, we stand accursed (Gal. 1: 6-9; cf. 1 Pet. 4:11); if we teach otherwise and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are to be withdrawn from (1 Tim. 6:2-5); if we refuse to hear the words of God given by inspired men, we are not of God (1 Jn. 4:6); if we continue not in the words of Christ, we are not his disciples indeed (Jn. 8:31); if we do not his commandments, we have no right to the tree of life nor entrance into the eternal city (Rev. 22:14).

With those truths from the word of God, contrast this statement from one of “our” religious papers a few years ago: “Brethren make not practicing some things a term of fellowship contending that there is no command, example, or inference to establish the practice, when in fact we don’t need one.” That can mean only one of two things: (1) There is another way to establish Bible authority. If so, WHAT? (2) Authority for our deeds in the work and worship of the church is unnecessary. If so, the statement contradicts every passage given above, and such reasoning will admit every innovation under the sun from the organ to counting beads in prayer! Brethren, let’s get back to, support, and demand book, chapter and verse preaching!

Sin-Condemning Preaching

Sin should be condemned for many reasons, but we shall concentrate on two here.

Sin is to be condemned because of what it is – its nature. Sin is lawlessness (1 Jn. 3:4, ASV). “Lawlessness” (anomia) here means: ” 1. prop. the condition of one without law, – either because ignorant of it, or because violating it. 2. contempt and violation of law, iniquity, wickedness” (Thayer 48). The law violated is God’s who is the zenith of perfection in wisdom, justice, mercy, goodness, love and every other characteristic which can be thought of. Sin is devoid of all good – not one good thing can be said for it! It never betters man physically, socially nor spiritually; it brings not true happiness in this world nor in the world to come; it never healed a disease, bridged a chasm, clothed the naked, fed the hungry, or extended a helping hand to the weak. Everything about it is detrimental to the sons of men. Thus, it deserves vehement condemnation!

Sin is to be condemned because of what it does – its results. To see the results of sin physically and socially, one needs only to visit our cemeteries and prisons; view the mangled bodies on our highways with the glass, oil, gasoline, whiskey and blood mingling together; and consider the broken homes in our nation and churches with the distraught, mixed up children they produce. Spiritually, sin separates from God (Isa. 59:2; Col. 1:21), keeps men out of heaven (1 Cor. 6:9,10), and condemns them to hell (Rom. 6:23; Rev. 21:8).

New Testament preachers strongly condemned sin and so should preachers now. John the Baptist condemned unlawful marriage – to the face of guilty Herod (Matt. 14:3,4; cf. Mk. 6:14-18); Peter condemned those responsible for the crucifixion of Christ (Acts 2:23; 3:14,15); Paul condemned idolatry when he spoke before idolaters in Athens (Acts 17:28-30). Let’s be sure we don’t confuse “condemn” with “condone” when dealing with the subject of sin!

Hearer-Adapted Preaching

In the beginning we saw that God adapted Jonah’s message to the needs of the men of Nineveh. New Testament preachers, inspired by the Holy Spirit, adapted their sermons to the needs of their hearers. Peter, speaking to Jews on Pentecost who were not yet convinced of the resurrection of Christ, made that the point of emphasis in his sermon (Acts 2:22-32). When Paul preached to Felix unrighteous, intemperate and unprepared for judgment “he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come” (Acts 24:25). Examples could be multiplied if space allowed.

Yet, some sister will tell the preacher, “I brought my Baptist neighbor tonight; be sure not to mention Baptist doctrine, lest she be offended.” The story goes that a young preacher had been repeatedly told (as was I when young and starting to preach), “Just preach the gospel and let everybody else alone.” One night he arose and said, “An infidel is in our audience, so I can’t preach on faith and confession. One of our own brethren has come, inebriated and smelling like a brewery, so repentance is out. A Baptist has come, so I can’t preach on the necessity of baptism for salvation. We have a Methodist present, so I can’t preach on the action of baptism. A Christian Scientist is in our audience, so I can’t even say, I’m glad to be here, for he contends that my bodily presence is only a mental illusion! Does anyone have a suggestion for a topic on which the truth will not bother anyone?” One old brother spoke up, “Let the Jews have it; ain’t none of them here! ” Funny maybe, but diametrically opposed to New Testament examples!

The good sense of adapting lessons to the needs of the hearers is seen in physical matters. If I take my automobile to a mechanic because the brakes are bad, I want him to fix the brakes, not grind the valves. If I go to the doctor with appendicitis, I don’t expect a tonsillectomy. If one speaks to a group mixed up on marriage, divorce and remarriage, why should he shun that subject like the plague to speak on something about which there is no problem? Preaching to win friends and secure a job is not to be confused with preaching to save sinners!

Hell-Warning Preaching

New Testament preachers warned their hearers of hell to prevent them from going there.

Jesus warned of the “danger of hell fire” (Matt. 5:22). He taught his followers to “fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell” (Lk. 12:5). He told hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” (Matt. 23:33) He taught that it is better to give up an offending hand, foot or eye then “to go into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched” (Mk. 9:43-48). Speaking of the ones on the left hand who will be told to depart into everlasting fire, Jesus said, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment” (Matt. 25:41,46). Regardless of the ranting and ravings of Jehovah’s Witnesses and other unbelieving religionists, Jesus taught the existence, danger and duration of hell, and clearly described the type who will go there.

Paul taught that “the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” (2 Thess. 1:7-9). Is there any wonder why he said, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men” (2 Cor. 5:11)?

The Hebrew writer taught that a “sorer punishment” than death “without mercy” awaits the Lord’s “adversaries” and added, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:22-31).

John taught that the wicked are to “have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Rev. 21:8).

“But,” one says, “polls have been taken on the views of a cross section of thousands of preachers showing that a high percentage of these ‘men of the cloth’ no longer believe in the future punishment of the wicked.” So? What effect does their unbelief have on these statements of God’s word? The same as if a man, while standing on the earth, points his finger upward trying to punch a hole in the sky! Remember that a high percentage of prophets called Baal from morning until the time of the evening sacrifice, but “there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded” (1 Kgs. 18:22-29). Paul’s statement “yea, let God be true, but every man a liar” (Rom. 3:4) well fits this situation!

Heaven-Pointed Preaching

Heaven is the goal to which God’s entire plan points; it should, therefore, be the goal to which all preaching points. Everyone preaching or contemplating preaching should ask himself: “Why?” To be highly regarded of men? To have a less strenuous livelihood? Because of the thrill of swaying large audiences with fluent, spine-tingling flights of oratory? Because of a desire to be the center of attention? Are you interested in following in the footsteps of a hero? Because of a promise made to your mother on her dying bed? If these, or such like reasons, be your motivation, you will do yourself and the cause of Christ a great favor by forgetting it! Preaching should come from a fervent desire to stand in the middle of that “ten lane freeway” which leads down to the depths of hell, and cry, “Turn back! Turn back! Take the narrow trail leading upward to eternal life in the habitation of the eternal God!” Preaching is for the purpose of keeping men out of hell and getting them into heaven!

Yet, many preachers make appeals for gospel obedience on a purely social basis – “You will be better parents!” “Your home will be happier!” “Society will be made better! ” “Godly people will think more of you!” These are merely the byproducts of being a Christian. The real reason for gospel obedience is well seen in Paul’s discussion of death, Christ’s coming, the resurrection and ascension of the righteous “to meet the Lord in the air” where they shall “ever be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:13-18). What was he doing? Pointing his readers to heaven! John did the same when he wrote, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city” (Rev. 22:14).

Brethren, let’s do, demand and support the preaching God bids! The word of the Lord is right (Psa. 33:4; Isa. 45:19; Jn. 17:17). Preach it!

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 8, pp. 240-242
April 16, 1992

By Stan Cox

In our two previous articles, we answered the questions, “Who are elders?” and “What is the role or work of elders?” In doing so we showed that the concept of elders as taught in the pages of The Examiner is a plain perversion of New Testament Scripture. In this final article we answer the question, “Do elders have authority?”

Once again The Examiner finds itself in direct conflict with plain Bible teaching. One article representative of their error was found in the July 1987 issue of the magazine. The title of the article is “Do Elders Rule?” written by Dusty Owens. Amazingly, the entire article is taken up in an attempt to explain away certain passages of Scripture which plainly teach the authority of elders. He quotes Hebrews 13:17, which states, “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.” His explanation of the verse? King James had his translators use such strong terms so that he could control the people through the church. This is just an example of the weak argumentation used by Holt’s group. Additionally, he quotes 1 Thessalonians 5:12, “And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.” His answer to that verse? I quote, “Definitely, ‘over you’ is a biased translation of proistemi.”(1) He makes similar objections to the translation of 1 Timothy 3:4-5, and 1 Timothy 5:17. All of these words were “mistranslated” by the scholars who did the work. No wonder many of The Examiner writers and readers study from a translation prepared by one in their own group. Their doctrine simply does not jibe with what God’s word actually says.

The Scriptures stand on their own. Look at 1 Timothy 5:17, “Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.” Look also at the parallel between the leadership an elder is to exercise in the local church with that in his own home. A parallel is found in I Timothy 3:4,5. “One who rules is own house well, having (his) children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?)” The most ludicrous thing in the entire article quoted above is that Dusty Owens denies this verse indicates a man has authority in his own household. Not that it should surprise us. If he is going to explain away the authority an elder has in the local congregation, then he must also explain away the authority a father has over his own children. If this passage teaches that a man has authority over. his own children and they must submit to that authority, then it teaches that an elder has authority in the local church. The parallel in the verse is obvious. And that is why he is put in the ridiculous position of denying the authority of the father in this verse.

Very quickly, I want to address a passage writers for The Examiner commonly abuse in an attempt to prove that elders do not have authority. It is found in Matthew 20:25-28. Here Jesus said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” The context indicates that Jesus was addressing a problem the disciples were having with pride and a desire for preeminence. The mother of James and John asked that Jesus give them a place of importance and power so that they might have prominence in the kingdom of God. She wanted for them to be sitting up there with Jesus on his throne, and to be more important than the others. This was very obviously wrong. Note this well, Jesus was not condemning authority in this text, but rather the abuse of authority as well as the lust for power that the disciples were guilty of at this time. It was the lust and abuse of authority to which he referred when he named the Gentiles. To deny that authority exists because of this passage would be to deny that Jesus himself had authority. Don’t forget the last part of this verse, “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Jesus came to serve, but that does not make his statement untrue when he said in Matthew 28:18, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.” A parallel can be stated with regard to elders. They are appointed to that office to serve, not to abuse their authority. That is what Peter is addressing in 1 Peter 5, when he states, “Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by constraint but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.” Peter is not in this passage denying that elders have authority. Rather he is observing that they do indeed have that authority, and in having it, they must be very careful not to abuse it.

Any verse which uses the term “oversee” or “shepherd” indicates authority. When a man is appointed to serve as an elder, the “appointment” in and of itself carries with it the power or authority to carry out the work assigned. We understand this in secular matters. When a congressman is elected, he is a servant of the people. That does not change the fact that he has been empowered by his election with the authority to write laws on behalf of the people. It is inherent in his office. When a judge is appointed to the bench, he arrives with the authority to carry out judgments over criminal or civil cases. Elders too have authority intrinsic in their appointment. Believe you me, if God established that office, and he did, he will give the men who serve in that work the power to fulfill their God-given responsibilities.

Writers and followers of The Examiner doctrine are fighting against God. They are trying to explain away what is plainly taught in the Scriptures. They reject common and accepted scholarship with regard to translations and definitions. They develop long and twisted logic to escape the import of plain Bible passages. Their argument is not with us, their argument is with God!

Endnote

1. “Do Elders Rule?” The Examiner, Vol. 11, No. 4 (July, 1987), p. 9.

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 9, pp. 266-267
May 7, 1992

 

By Lewis Willis

In our worship recently, we sang “Jesus Paid It All.” This old song has stirred the hearts of God’s people for many years. The melody is almost as beautiful as the thought it expresses. I was especially touched by the words of verse 3:

For nothing good have I

Whereby Thy grace to claim

I’ll wash my garments white

In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

There is absolutely no basis upon which men any of us – can automatically lay claim to God’s grace. None is so great, so important, so good that he deserves the outpouring of God’s favor upon him. The Psalmist wrote in Psalms 14:3: “They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Paul quoted this verse in Romans 3:10. Shortly afterward, he wrote: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Honest men confess that it is exactly as the Scriptures say – we are all guilty of sin. Our sins alienate us from God (Isa. 59:1-2). The curse of death is pronounced upon us by reason of our sins, and we are powerless to do anything to change our condition before God. If sinful man is to be saved, it will have to be accomplished by someone or something other than ourselves. And, that is where Jesus enters to change this hopeless scene.

Notice several Scriptures that address what God and Christ have done to save us: “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Lk. 19:10). “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Heb. 2:9). “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16). These are well-known passages to most of us. They tell us the basis upon which salvation from sins is available to us. Certainly it is not our works that save us. It is our “works” that have brought us unto condemnation. If we are saved, it will be God who saves us, through Christ Jesus our Lord!

The verse of the song we are considering sets forth the profound truth that we can be purged from our sins when we are washed in the blood that was shed on Calvary’s cross. David wrote: “Purge me. . ., and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psa. 51:7). This is the same message that is found in Revelation 7:14: “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” There is no cleansing from sin except it be by and in the Blood of Christ, the Savior.

This raises the interesting question: “How do I reach the blood of Christ that cleanses me?” Some think that man reaches the blood of Christ by “accepting Jesus as his personal Savior,” and by reciting the sinner’s prayer. The Bible nowhere teaches such! It does, however, tell us how we come in contact with the blood of Christ. All of us know that he shed his blood in his death, at the hands of the Romans and the Jews, at Calvary almost 2000 years ago. The Word of God teaches us how we can reach that “death” in which his blood was shed in the long ago. Listen to the Apostle Paul in Romans 6:3-4: “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

I realize that most preachers will not tell you this. Either they do not know the Truth about how men contact the blood of Christ or they do not believe it or they refuse to teach it. Whatever the reason, scores of people are being denied forgiveness, because modern preachers are not teaching the Truth that the death of Christ, in which he shed his sincleansing blood, is reached when we are baptized into his death. This is a sad circumstance – and it is so unnecessary!

These false teachers often protest that if one has to be baptized to reach Christ’s blood, then salvation is by man’s works, and not by grace. Again, these people are not telling the Truth. It is absolutely true that man is not saved by his own works, or by works of merit. Paul taught as much: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). However, and this is the point that modern preachers do not seek to know, or else will not admit, baptism is not a work of human merit – it is an operation or a work of God! Note Colossians 2:12: “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.” Paul says that baptism accomplishes its purpose because it is “an operation of God.” The New King James Version says it is “the work of God.” Baptism is effective because God makes it work! Therefore, by baptism we reach the death of Christ. We need to reach his death because that it where his blood was shed. We need His blood to cleanse us from our sins.

The song we are considering says that we have done nothing whereby we might claim God’s grace. We are simply washed in the cleansing blood of the Lamb of God when we obey his Word and are baptized into his death. In that sense, “Jesus paid it all – All to him I owe!” Have you been cleansed by His Blood? Have you been baptized as his Word requires? If not, let me urgently ask that you obey him while yet you can. The day is coming when it will be too late for you to obey him?

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 9, p. 257, 279
May 7, 1992

By Robert F. Turner

God created man in his own image: capable of choice, with a moral (ethical) capacity. He was given a “sense of ought”: the recognition of ethical right and wrong according to some standard. This was necessary so that response to God’s standard could make man compatible with his Maker: good by choice “from the heart,” rather than a robot, subject only to animal instinct.

This “sense of ought” is the conscience, and it results in what is sometimes called “moral law.” One’s moral capacity should not be confused with Christ’s “love God . . . love neighbor” (Matt. 22:37-40): the foundation and summation of all stipulated laws. Moral capacity (some call it “law”) is universal in that all accountable beings are affected by it; but it is not a specific code of conduct, exclusively related to any particular period of history. In childhood its standard is received from parents and early associations, then honed and developed by each one’s experience. As one has access to the revealed will of God and respects the same, conscience is adjusted accordingly (1 Cor. 8:7-12).

In the absence of specific revelation, conscience respecting things of God is directed by that which is apparent in the world about us. Paul tells us man may “know” the 4geternal power” and “deity” of God by that which is revealed in the created universe. This knowledge imposes two obligations: to “glorify” (look up to, be humbled in his presence), and to be “thankful” (to recognize our dependence on him). No man, in any period of history, is exempt from these obligations.

When men of old failed to respond to these obligations: “did not like to retain God in their knowledge,” the conscience was seared. “God gave them up” to all sorts of sin (Rom. 1:19f). It is not revealed specifically what God would do for those who responded positively to primitive knowledge, but the history of God’s dealing with man suggests that doors to further information would be opened. Examples: Noah, Abraham. There were “prophets” of God in early days.

We do know that God deemed man sufficiently equipped to be morally responsible; and the access all men have to moral principles (good conscience) is enough that condemnation of their sin is just. That is the message of Romans 1-2. In addition to rudimental “mores” of men (Hammurabi code, Egyptian Book of the Dead) it is also clear that God gave some men specific and positive precepts – build an ark, sacrifice upon an altar, etc. Eventually, in the gradual unveiling of God’s will for man, a special nation was formed (Israel) through which “God with us” would come, and give the complete and final revelation. In this process, God “suffered,” and “overlooked” conduct that would later be condemned (Acts 14:16; 17:30; Rom. 2:4; 9:22), and his toleration must not be construed as approval of such conduct today (Matt. 19:8-9).

It is not wrong to designate dispensations (Patriarchy, Judaism, Christianity), but the laws or stipulated will of God (expressions of his nature) in any “dispensation” can not save man from sin (Gal. 3:21). They are “weak through the flesh” (Rom. 8:3), i.e., none keeps law perfectly. They only serve to show the direction God would have man go – the character God would have him build. Later instructions differ from the earlier ones according to God’s progressive revelation of himself, “precept upon precept, line upon line,” until all was complete. Since “all sin” (Rom. 3:23), they serve to identify sin (Rom. 3:20; 5:20; 7:7,13) and bring man to God for mercy (Gal. 3:24).

Jesus Christ (God with us) was and is the final revelation of God to man (Heb. 1:1-2). His word will judge us in the last day (Jn. 12:48). Just as all men have always been subject to all they could know of God’s will – and the truly submissive man gladly seeks and accepts all he can know of God’s will – all men are now subject to the will of God expressed in Jesus Christ. The conscience of a true Christian is “set” or adjusted by knowledge of that will – he has God’s final law written in his heart (Heb. 8:10; 2 Cor. 3:3).

Our previous ignorance, or reliance upon statements from the twilight or moonlight ages of revelation, cannot change the responsibilities imposed upon us by knowledge of the perfected will of God. When we become judges of the law rather than doers (Jas. 4:11-12), we forfeit the salvation of mercy and forgiveness provided in Jesus Christ.

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 9, p. 261
May 7, 1992