Truth Magazine

By Larry Ray Hafley

In order to promote a greater sense of spirituality, some ask us the question of our title. Is the church an organism, or is it an organization? Dutifully, we are supposed to respond that the church is an organism. That being true, we are then told and taught that we ought not to think that faithfulness to an organization is required of us. Rather, we are to seek a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ,” a “covenant fellowship with the person, Jesus Christ.”

Continuing their usage of the “trendy” terms of fundamental, evangelical denominationalism, these modern spiritualizers berate the “ten step mentality” of the “organizational mindset which is so common in the Church of Christ’s institutional concepts.” (Note: The “ten steps” are: hearing, belief, repentance, confession and baptism, followed by singing, praying, giving, communion and teaching.) These ten steps reveal your trust and reliance on the organizational, institutional church to save you. What you need to do is to see the church as an organism, not an organization. You need to trust in the living, loving Lord, not in a cold, sterile, ritualistic organization.

While it is good to stress our faith and trust in Jesus the Christ, I find as much direct and specific reference to a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ” in the Bible as I find certain warnings against trusting in a “ten step organization or institution.” Neither admonition appears in those terms. And what is a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ”? Define your terms. Is there any such thing as an impersonal relationship with Jesus Christ?

The church is a divine organism, a living, vibrant spiritual body (Eph. 2:19-22; 4:11-16; 5:23-33; 1 Cor. 12:12-27). It is also a divine organization or arrangement. Some ridicule the idea of the church’s being an organization. They say it is an organism, not an organization. The church is both an organism and an organization. It is a spiritual body, hence, it is a spiritual organism (cf. 1 Pet. 2:5; Eph. 1:22,23; Col. 1: 18,24). This divine organism has been designed to function and to work and is equipped with parts with which to act (Rom. 12:4-8; 1 Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 4:11-16). As such, it is arranged or organized and exists as a unit; thus, it is a divine organization.

To show that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, we cite passages that reveal the attributes of personality – the Spirit teaches, testifies, speaks, can be grieved and lied to, etc. (Jn. 14:26; 16:13; 1 Tim. 4:1; Eph. 4:30; Acts 5:3,4). Likewise, observe the features of arrangement, the characteristics of an organization, that describe the nature and function of the church.

1. People were added to it (Acts 2:47; 1 Pet. 2:5; Col. 1:13).

2. The church feared (Acts 5:11).

3. The church was persecuted (Acts 8:1,3; Gal. 1: 13; 1 Cor. 15:9).

4. The church had rest (Acts 9:31).

5. The church had ears, could hear (Acts 11:22; Rev. 2:7).

6. The church assembled (Acts 11:26; 14:27; 1 Cor. 14:23).

7. The church had elders (Acts 14:23; 20:17,28).

8. The church provided transportation (Acts 15:3).

9. The church received guests (Acts 15:4).

10. Churches were confirmed (Acts 15:41).

11. Churches were established in the faith (Acts 16:5).

12. Churches grew (Acts 16:5).

13. Churches sent and received greetings (Acts 18:22; Rom. 16:16).

14. Churches had a treasury (1 Cor. 16:2; Phil. 4:15,16; 2 Cor. 11:8).

15. Churches sent “wages” (2 Cor. 11:8; Phil. 4:15,16).

16. Churches are to “relieve” widows indeed (1 Tim. 5:16).

17. Churches preach the gospel (1 Thess. 1:8).

Let no one be deceived. The church is an organized entity, a divinely authorized body, thoroughly equipped to do the work God gave it to do.

I would like for these people who decry the church as an organization while describing it as an organism to cite one organism from the material or animal world that does not also possess organization or arrangement to act, to function. Amoebas and armadillos are organisms. They are also functioning bodies or arrangements, and they possess the organization, the equipment, with which to work. Paramecium and porcupines are organisms, but they are also organizational arrangements designed to function. The church, too, is an organism. Like all organisms, it has duties, work, to perform. It performs these tasks through its organization, through its parts or members.

Therefore, all of this talk about the church being an 91organism” or a “fellowship,” a “relationship with Jesus Christ” and not “an organization or institution,” is out of focus and balance at best or it is a false doctrine at worst. All organisms require proper arrangement, an integration of a plurality of parts, or organization with which to function, and the church of our Lord is no exception.

Is it possible to have this nebulous, undefined “personal relationship with Jesus Christ” and to “love and trust Jesus Christ” without also serving as a functioning unit or part in his organism’s arrangement or organization (Eph. 4:11-16)? Is it possible for one to love and serve Jesus without performing his assigned duties in the organizational arrangement that Jesus left for us? That question needs to be answered before anyone rails against devotion to the church of the Lord. In other words, can I love and trust Jesus and have a “deep and meaningful personal relationship with him” while refusing to assemble with the saints, to give of my prosperity and perform other actions which he has authorized in his word? My answer is, “no” (Rom. 6:16; Rom. 12:4-7; Eph. 4:16).

“But,” we are told, “you have misunderstood us. We believe in keeping God’s commandments and in doing his will as members of his body. We just think that Christians should trust in Jesus and not in an institution.” Well, I do not know any sincere Christian who trusts in an abstract institution or organization and not in Jesus Christ, and I do not think you do, either.

“We have heard folks talk about blessings in the church, and they do not seem to realize that ‘all spiritual blessings’ are in Christ, not in the church (Eph. 1:3). So, we think people are emphasizing the church, an organization, and that they are not really looking unto the person of Jesus.” Now, that sounds good, and that it is often well-intentioned, I have no doubt, but here is how and where it misses the mark. The church is his body (Eph. 1:22,23; Col. 1:18,24). The only way to get into Jesus Christ, which is where the blessings are, is to get into his body. Note 1 Corinthians 12:12, 13, in this connection. Paul refers to the physical body as being one unit while having “many members.” Next, he says, “so also is Christ.” In other words, so also is the church, the body of Christ, for Paul says we are “baptized into one body,” the church. Hence, when we are baptized into Christ, we are baptized into his body, the church (Gal. 3:27; 1 Cor. 12:13). The only way to be in Christ is to be in his body.

If a germ or microbe is going to partake of you, the germ is going to have to get into your body. There is no way for a germ to partake of you, to share with you, to derive nourishment from you, without getting into your body. In like manner, the only way to share and partake of all spiritual blessings is to be in Christ, and to be in Christ, you must be in his body, the church. Suppose a germ were to say, “I want to be in you; I want to have a loving, sharing, trusting relationship with you, but I do not want to be in your body.” How could you accommodate such a foolish germ? You could not. Suppose the germ said, “But I want a personal relationship with you; I do not want to trust in the organizational arrangement of your body; I want to live with you.” Could you offer the germ any hope of consolation? No, apart from your body, the germ cannot partake of you. Similarly, apart from the church, one cannot partake of Christ and of his spiritual blessings (Eph. 1:6,7; 2:16,19-22; 3:6).

Suppose I began to preach, “Brethren, you had better beware of the mentality which says that you can glorify God in Christ. The Bible says, ‘Unto him be glory in the church,’ not in Christ (Eph. 3:21).” Would that be acceptable, scriptural? Should we preach that glory to God is “in the church” and not in Christ? God forbid! It is a false choice. It is an attempt to make a distinction without a difference.

That salvation can be obtained by cold, callous ceremonialism or by rote ritualism is equally false as both of the Old and New Testaments testify (Isa. 1:10-20; Jer. 7:21-23; Amos 5:21-27; 1 Sam. 15:22; Psa. 50:7-23; Prov. 15:8; 21:27; Hos. 5:6; 6:6; Mic. 6:6-8; Matt. 22:37; 23:23). No one argues that a large contribution or a pinch of bread and a sip of juice is righteousness, or that attendance at every service punches one’s ticket to heaven. Let that be understood. However, we must be wary of those who would denigrate and trifialize “the ordinances” which were delivered unto us by the apostles through the Spirit (1 Cor. 11:2,23; 14:37).

It is unsettling to listen to the way of the Lord being spoken against in subtle jibes and sarcastic jabs. There are those who speak against vague and hazy “traditions of the Church of Christ” (“vague” and “hazy” in the sense that they are not specifically identified). With fervor, cutting criticism is leveled against those who contend for strict adherence to New Testament worship. If we will not tolerate unscriptural additions to singing (such as humming or playing), if we will not take the Lord’s supper except on the first day of the week, we are denounced as legalistic Pharisees. The inference is that if we demand such things that we are relying on our own works of righteousness instead of the person of Jesus Christ to save us.

Ironically, the very ones who satirically slander and facetiously portray the faith as a farce, the very ones who resort to ridicule of the way of righteousness and mock and scoff at the old-fashioned, trite (“three songs and a prayer”) religion, are the very same ones who go into orbit if you reprove and rebuke infant baptism or show that the Pope is a “false apostle.” It is alright to scorn and scathingly skewer the worship habits of faithful New Testament saints, but do not be so “unloving” as to show that Baptist baptism is not Bible baptism! Yes, from the podium of a building provided by sacrificing saints it is acceptable to mock and ridicule those who cling to the New Testament ordinances and traditions of work and worship, but do not dare to scripturally show, from the same pulpit, that Pentecostal tongue speakers are duped and deluded. Where is the consistency (not to mention truth) in all of that?

Excuse me, but I have a difficult time allowing someone to occupy a pulpit and take support from a treasury that was provided by the very spirit that these people condemn If it were not for the “narrow-minded, legalistic, antis,’ those who were abused as “Campbellites” and seen as religious bigots, these modern darlings of the kingdom of sweetydom would have no place to preach.

Listen for the sounds, the “buzz words” of contemporary “Christendom.” They are uttered by every sectarian who ever answered an altar call and “received the Spirit and got saved and baptized.” Sadly, they are being parroted in some circles among New Testament Christians. “The church is an Organism. You cannot be saved by being faithful to an organization. Jesus did not die for an institution. He wants you to have a close, personal relationship with him, not with the five step program of the Church of Christ.” Have you heard similar sentiments? Again, it is acceptable to rant and rail against scriptural New Testament practices, but calling attention to these devious devices and their dangers makes me and this paper “a classic example of all that is wrong with the Church of Christ today.”

The refrain of an old hymn is an appropriate melody with to close.

I love Thy kingdom Lord, The house of Thine abode;

The church our blest Redeemer saved with His own precious blood.

I love Thy church, O God! Her walls before Thee stand,

Dear as the apple of Thine eyes, and graven on thy hand.

For her my tears shall fall, For her my prayers ascend;

To her my cries and toil be giv’n, Till toils and cares shall end.

Beyond my highest joy I prize her heavenly ways,

Her sweet communion, solemn vows, Her hymns of love and praise.

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 7, pp. 208-210
April 2, 1992

By Lewis Willis

The history of the ancient nation of Israel was long and turbulent. Almost every Bible student is aware of the time they spent in slavery in Egypt. We remember the difficult years of the Exodus under Moses, the years of battle under Joshua as the people were settled in the Promised Land, and the disturbing days of the period of the Judges. Things did not improve a great deal under Saul, David and Solomon, Israel’s three great kings. After the death of Solomon, the nation divided, continuing in this condition until 721 B.C. when the northern tribes were taken into captivity by the Assyrians. What remained was known as the Kingdom of Judah. This small kingdom continued to exist until it fell captive to the Babylonians in 586 B.C.

The period just prior to the Babylonian Captivity is the period on which this article focuses. Sin was rampant in the nation and there seemed to be no one with the interest or influence who could call the people away from their sin and back to God. Among those who tried was the great prophet Jeremiah. He was so saddened by the wickedness that prevailed in

Israel that he is known as “the weeping prophet.” I want to focus on just one statement that he made in trying to get Israel to come to its senses.

“Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number” (Jer. 2:32). Jehovah identified the problem – the people had forgotten him! No longer were they attempting to do his will. No longer was there a reverence and fear of Jehovah. No longer did the people know God’s law, nor were they teaching it to their children as God desired. No, they had turned aside to the abominations that existed in the world around them. Therefore, God informed Jeremiah that punishment was coming for their sin unless they repented. History records that they refused repentance and they were punished with a devastating 70 years in Babylonian captivity.

I suppose a lot could be written just here about the condition of the world around us, but I want to notice the Church. More and more we see the influences of worldliness, carelessness and indifference literally devastating the Church and its work. It seems virtually impossible to muster the people of God today for any purpose – we will not all gather on the Lord’s Day for a period of quiet worship and reflection. One has to wonder how long God will tolerate this.

The Church is so very much like Jeremiah’s Israel! He wrote, “Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, . . . that can hold no water” (Jer. 2:11-13). Many in the Church – too many – have turned aside to that which does not profit in either time or eternity. Too many have turned away from the Lord – they have forgotten him it seems – and they have tried to build for themselves safety and security with the things of this world. As in the days of Jeremiah, we need to repent and return from these things and resume our service to God lest we perish.

David said, “I have remembered thy name, 0 Lord, in the night, and have kept thy law” (Psa. 119:55). He also wrote, “. . . I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches” (Psa. 63:6). I am persuaded there is a desperate need that every child of God stop to consider this matter. It is urgent that we remember the Lord, his name and his law, meditating upon him until we have the will again to return to his way and walk therein. If we do not do so speedily, driving the world out of our hearts and devoting ourselves again to the pursuit of godliness, ours will be but another generation of shame, likened unto the people in that generation before the Babylonian Captivity. Have you forgotten God?

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 7, p. 203
April 2, 1992

By Ruben C. Amador

The opportunity to visit among the Cuban churches was due to the efforts of brother Antonio Lira from Barquisimeto, Venezuela. Antonio had corresponded with one of the preachers some years ago and this same preacher encouraged and requested our visits. When Antonio asked if I was willing to go, I was eager to make the trip. We did not know what to expect. After many inquiries and overcoming obstacles, we made the trip the first part of January 1992. It was a trip that produced much information on the work in Cuba and on the desperate living conditions under which most of our brethren live.

As expected, the Cuban brethren are rarely visited by brethren from other countries. This is specially true of those of us who are American citizens because our government limits who may travel to Cuba. Nonetheless, the Cubans were excited and encouraged by our visit and desire that we return to work with them. The Lord willing, Antonio will return the third week of March and I will make another trip soon after Antonio’s trip.

Limited Prior Knowledge of the Cuban Work

It was back in the mid 1930s that brethren Jose Jimenez and Luis Estevez from Tampa, Florida made the 90 mile trip from Florida to preach the gospel in Cuba. Through their efforts and that of converted Cuban Christians, over 30 churches were established. In 1959 a young Fidel Castro took control of Cuba and eventually all of the churches. During these years the churches lost their properties and furnishings. Many of the Christians did not suffer the communist persecution and as a result most of the churches disappeared.

In the mid-1950s when I was just a boy, a converted Cuban Catholic priest held a gospel meeting for the Spanish-speaking church in Sinton, TX. Brother Pedro Puig was that man, the first Cuban I remember meeting. He lived in Tampa, FL, established a Spanish-speaking church there and passed from this life some years ago. Bro. Puig had special ties with several of the brethren that are still living in Cuba and who speak very highly of him and his work.

There Is Light In Darkness!

Today the church in Cuba has people of all ages. It was good to see a good number of active young people. Among other things it clearly states that communism does not have the strong hold on all the young people in Cuba as reported. Children of all ages have a keen interest in the church and eagerly participate in their Bible classes and in the worship assemblies. What an experience to converse with the older people who had many stories to tell of their lives and of the Lord’s work in Cuba!

Isolation from the western world, having to make it on their own and mainly their faith in New Testament teaching have kept the church in Cuba in a biblical course! The churches are not exempt from problems. Some of these problems are a direct result of the laws imposed by the Cuban government.

Antonio Lira arrived one day before I did in the capital city of Havana. He and brother Angel Perez, local preacher for the only church in Havana and our main contact, met me at the airport. Angel moved us in his car most of the time, but when he used the allotted monthly amount of gasoline, we had to walk, use the crowded buses or the hard to find taxis. Much of our time was spent in Havana.

We were able to visit with five Cuban preachers and attend services with three of the churches (Havana, Consolacion del Sur, and Santa Cruz del Norte). There are five established, government recognized churches in Cuba: Havana, Consolacion Del Sur, Matanzas, Santa Cruz del Norte and Santiago de Cuba. The other churches that exist are meeting in the homes of brethren and are not yet registered, but they meet and worship the Lord. These churches are in Matanzas, San Antonio de los Banos and Sancti Spiritus. We understand that there are other small, isolated groups. According to our sources, there are some 250 Christians in all of Cuba.

The opportunities to preach were few since the churches are prohibited to use foreign preachers without prior government approval, but the churches in Havana and in Consolacion del Sur took the risk and asked us to preach. In Havana we had special classes with the church and the young people on several topics. We had no problem in teaching Bible lessons in the homes of the brethren or small gatherings in the church buildings. Their willingness to know and study was very evident. Considering the overall conditions in Cuba, I was impressed with their Bible knowledge.

Very little Bible literature reaches the churches. The brethren give much effort to safeguarding their songbooks, Bibles and printed material which they get from brethren in the U.S. and other countries. A Bible is available. A February AP report states that “the Bible has been the top seller at the Fifth International Book Fair in Havana . . . the book fair is also the first time in 20 years the Bible has been widely available in the communist nation” (Houston Chronicle, Feb. 15, 1992).

Several of the young men in Havana publish a religious paper. While typing the builetin they use carbon paper to make extra copies for distribution. As you may guess, they do not have any type of duplicating machine. What an effort to communicate the gospel and news items!

The largest of the churches is the one in Consolacion del Sur with some 75 people. The other churches’ attendance range from 20 to 55. As far as we know, only three of the preachers receive financial support from the States.

The Cuban postal service is worse than poor. Letters, coming or going, rarely reach their destination. Nearly all correspondence is opened and reviewed. Religious literature does not reach its destination most of the time. When it reaches Havana it may stay there for months and may reach the intended person if the responsible (?) person gives its release.

A Plea for Understanding

The Cuban Christians have been left by themselves long enough. Actually, too long! For whatever reason some may give for forgetting the Cubans, I urge brethren everywhere to search their hearts and extend their hands to them. If you cannot go, why not help those of us who can. You can also help with the cost of sending printed literature to them through a dependable agency that serves Cuba from the States. We live in a country where our blessings are beyond measure and the basic needs of life are taken for granted. The majority of the Cubans including our brethren, lack even the basic needs of life. Far greater is their need of teaching, encouraging and strengthening. You and I can do this and more. The cry for spiritual help cannot and must not be ignored. The hope of civil change in Cuba is still there and whether it comes or not, it does not justify our neglecting them. Pray for them for they are our brethren in Christ!

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 8, pp. 225, 247-248
April 16, 1992

By Frank Jamerson

When Scripture is quoted to show that miraculous gifts accomplished their purposes and ceased, those who believe in faith healers make several responses. We will notice some of them and reply to them.

The first response is usually, “Don’t you believe that God has the power to heal?” When we challenge faith healers, we are not denying God’s power to do whatever he chooses. God has the power to make men out of dust and women out of ribs, and he once did it, but he is not doing that any more! The Devil knew that Jesus had power to turn stones into bread, but the fact is that he did not choose to do so. He did produce water out of a rock for Moses, but faith healers never have duplicated that one. The question is not whether he has the power to do what he chooses, but what does the Bible say about miraculous gifts?

Another frequent response is, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). Then the conclusion is inferred that if he ever gave miraculous gifts to men he must continue to do so, or he has changed. This is a classic case of “proof-texting” – taking a verse out of context to try to prove a preconceived opinion. The verse was written to give assurance to Christians that God would be with them and that the Christ who had been preached to them by others has not been superceded and would never change. This does not prove that God’s ways have never changed. In fact, the same writer had earlier written, “For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law” (Heb. 7:12). The fact that God changed his law did not mean that God has changed. Paul wrote the Corinthians that when “the perfect” (the completed revelation) came, then that which is “in part” (partial revelations) would cease (1 Cor. 13:10). Faith healers try to make “that which is perfect” refer to Christ and the second coming, but even if it did refer to that, it would not fit their interpretation of Hebrews 13:8. The passage says that Jesus would remain the same “forever,” and that would include after the second coming! So, according to their argument that miraculous gifts cannot cease because Jesus is “the same yesterday, today and forever,” miraculous gifts will have to continue eternally.

The favorite argument of many faith healers today is that physical healing is in the atonement and all a person has to do is “claim his healing.” They misuse Matthew 8:16,17, which is used of the work Jesus did before the atonement. The death of Christ was for forgiveness of sins, not physical healing. “Who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness – by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Pet. 2:24). If physical healing is in the atonement, then it should be as universal as spiritual healing! What sick person would not “claim physical healing” if it was as available as forgiveness? A little bit of “good old country honesty” would help here! Why did Paul not “claim his healing” if it was in the atonement (2 Cor. 12:7-10)? Why did he leave Trophimus at Miletus sick (2 Tim. 4:20), instead of telling him to “claim his healing”? Why aren’t all who claim to be saved by faith healers today also healed of their infirmities? They should have no sick disciples if their doctrine is correct! (One sure way to know whether your sins were forgiven would be if you could “take up your bed and walk!” Instead, they have many devout believers who continue on their beds.)

Another response is, “Don’t you believe in the power of prayer?” The implication here is that if you do not believe in miraculous gifts today, then you do not believe in praying for the sick. This does not follow at all. We believe in praying for our “daily bread” (Matt. 6:11), but we do not expect to receive it like the Israelites received manna (Exod. 16:4), or like Elisha multiplied the widow’s oil (2 Kgs. 4:1-7). God can answer prayers through his providence. We believe in praying for prosperity and health (3 Jn. 2), but God does not have to preform a miracle in order to answer these requests. God answers prayer, but he has not promised miraculous powers to men today. There is a difference between “divine healing” (which the Bible teaches) and ,’miraculous healing” (which has ceased).

Faith healers claim that “power will go forth from my hands,” but when they fail, the tune changes to “I have no power, God does the healing.” In this they tell the truth! They do not have any power, and that is a contrast to what the apostles claimed. Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk” (Acts 3:6). Peter was authorized by Jesus to perform miracles and he plainly said that he had that power. The apostles also could lay hands on others and give them that power (Acts 8:18), but those claiming miraculous powers today have not had the hands of an apostle laid on them and they cannot do what the apostles did.

The apostles of Christ used miracles to prove that the message that they preached was from God (Mk. 16:15-20). Faith healers today use the word to try to prove that they can do miracles. The miracles of the apostles confirmed the terms of salvation – “he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” Faith healers deny the message that was confirmed, teach salvation by faith only, and argue that they have apostolic powers!

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 7, p. 212
April 2, 1992