Truth Magazine

By Luther A. Bolenbarker

The most difficult command to obey is not that of baptism, nor those commands concerning our duties of giving and assembling. The command which seems to cause more folks to balk than does any other is that of “repentance.’ “Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish” (Lk. 13:3,5) was spoken to those Jews still under the first covenant. However, repentance was carried over into the New Covenant law of Christ. More souls will probably be lost because of the failure to heed this command than for any other. Consider some who fail to repent:

The Bible plainly teaches, “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved” (Mk. 16:15); and “Repent, and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins” (Acts 2:38). Why do so many refuse to be baptized for the remission of sins? I believe that the answer lies in their refusal to repent. A refusal to repent of their past and present practice of sin is a rejection of God’s simple counsel. The problem is not that the gospel is difficult to understand, but that they do not desire to repent (i.e. change) and live the life God has commanded.

Why is it that so many people choose every path except repentance when confronted with their sins? Some get angry with the preacher; others blame someone else for their sin; still others simply ignore the word. Their problem is not in the manner in which the message is presented or in the actions of others. The root is their lack of desire to truly change their hearts and deeds. What ever happened to the reaction demonstrated by David in 2 Samuel 12:13? David said, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Had he not been of this attitude he might have lashed out at Nathan for not finding the proper time or manner in which to talk with him. Or perhaps he could have been unhappy and accused Nathan of tricking him with the story of a ewe lamb. David, however, was sorry for what he had done and desired to repent of is sin. Some have tried to so wrest the meaning of repentance so far as to remove the element of a changed life. Can you imagine Jesus telling the account of the “two sons” and saying of one, “And he came to the second and said the same thing. But he answered and said, I will not; yet afterward he repented and did not go?” The Bible never teaches that a man can repent of a sin and yet not change his life. Repentance, confession and prayer are necessary for the Christian to be forgiven of his sins (Acts 8:22).

Jesus declared that “repentance for forgiveness of sins should be declared in his name to all nations” (Lk. 24:47). Repentance is a necessary part of the life of each one of us. It is not merely a change of mind or a “good heart,” but a sincere turning from sin in both mind and body changing one’s mind about sin that results in a changed life.

If you are not a Christian, and you have faith in Jesus Christ, repentance for you will result in your being immersed for the remission of your sins. Christians who then sin must likewise repent, admit their sins (as publicly as their sins were) and then pray to God for his forgiveness and strength (Acts 2:37-38,41; 8:22; Rev. 2:10).

Have you truly repented? God knows!

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 7, p. 195
April 2, 1992

By Tom M. Roberts

When Luke, the inspired historian, penned the chronicles of some of the apostles in the spread of the gospel throughout “Jerusalem, and in all Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8), he provided much more than what many believe to be a simplistic telling of early church growth. That document usually referred to simply as “The Acts” bridges that era of time between the gospel accounts of the life of Christ and the letters to the established churches and individuals within those churches. Had there been no “Acts,” we would have been left to wonder where these churches came from, how they came into existence and, in many cases, who was responsible for their founding. But more importantly, “The Acts” provides a connection between the story of the Gospels and the great theme of justification, a presentation of Jesus to the world as a demonstration of the resurrection, a showcase of the power of gospel preaching, a viable means of integrating all nations into a united kingdom, and much more.

It will be the object of a series of articles (beginning with this one) to explore some of the grand themes of The Acts and to encourage a deeper and richer application of this valuable document to modern faith in Jesus Christ. This series will not pretend to be exhaustive of all the themes open to Bible students, but it will hopefully encourage others to plumb the depth of these riches for the treasure lode of knowledge supplied by the Holy Spirit through Luke.

The Witnesses

It has been suggested by some “friend” of the Bible that a seeker must turn loose of his reason and make a “blind leap of faith” in order to become a Christian. Such a rationale is foolish and harmful to the cause of Christ. It suggests that one cannot be, at the same time, both a rational person and a Christian. A “blind leap of faith” would discredit the testimony of the Scriptures and advocate an inadequate and weak approach to evidences when the opposite is true. In fact, the evidence for Jesus Christ as Savior of the world, based upon his resurrection from the dead, is one of the greatest themes, if not the “crown jewel” of Luke’s entire work.

When we use the word “evidence,” we emphasize a forensic or legal presentation as though before a court of law in which jurors must bring in a verdict. In fact, this is exactly the context which is established by our theme, “witnesses.” I do not believe it to be an accident that Jesus labeled his apostles as witnesses in Acts 1:8. He was preparing the forum for these who were “eye-witnesses” to argue their case. The apostles were to walk into the world (their court room), present the facts, provide the evidence and establish their case. The Acts establishes clearly the manner in which this was done and it agrees remarkably with our current procedures in any court of law.

The Function of Witnesses

In any court of law today, evidence upon which a verdict is rendered by a jury follows a rational and logical procedure. It should be noted that any evidence, clearly established by this procedure, is valid and cannot be rejected arbitrarily. The format which is always followed is this:

Event – Eyewitness – Testimony – Verdict

An event happens, it is seen by eyewitnesses, these witnesses present their testimony in a court of law and the jury reaches a verdict based upon the evidence presented. This method of operation is used daily in America in verdicts concerning car accidents, murders, etc., and is established law. It is my contention that this procedure was familiar to those of Luke’s day among both Jews and Romans, that it was a procedure acceptable to God, and that the testimony of the apostles qualifies on the same basis and with the same validity as any eyewitness evidence. If one is arbitrarily to reject the testimony of the apostles, one could just as easily reject any court testimony today. However, if we are to be fair and accept testimony in a court of law today, we should also be fair and accept the testimony of the apostles as to the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. It was intended by God from the beginning that the story of Jesus was to be established “at the mouth of two or three witnesses” (Matt. 18:16; 2 Cor. 13:1). The event of the resurrection, so established, can no more be rejected by honest people than any other matter of evidence. If one rejects Jesus’ resurrection out of hand, we could, by the same illogic, reject the existence of Napoleon or Nero, since we have never personally seen these individuals, having only others’ eyewitness testimony of them. On the other hand, if you accept that Napoleon or Nero actually lived, you should, by the same criteria, accept that Jesus rose again. The evidence is valid in both instances.

The Apostles As Witnesses

That Jesus planned for the apostles to function in their capacity as eyewitnesses from the beginning can be clearly seen. Luke even begins his gospel account by referring to those who taught him as being eyewitnesses (Lk. 1:2) and their testimony provided the basis for his narrative. In giving the Great Commission (again, Luke’s account), Jesus said, “Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things” (Lk. 24:46-48). Jesus knew that the apostles were qualified to testify to these things: “And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning” (Jn. 15:27). In replacing Judas with Matthias, the Lord required: “Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection” (Acts 1:21,22). It might be noted here that modern “witnessing” by people who speak of their own personal faith is not the same as the eyewitness testimony of the apostles. We have their testimony, duly entered into evidence, and do not need the spurious word of latter day claimants who cloud the issue by misuing “witnessing.”

After the resurrection and prior to imparting the Holy Spirit, Jesus promised the apostles: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost port of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Did the apostles understand this? Perhaps not fully until Pentecost, but surely then, for they (the twelve) asserted, “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are witnesses” (2:32) . . . “we are witnesses” (3:15) . . . “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus” (4:33) . . . “And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost” (5:32) . . . “But unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead” (10:41) . . .”And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people” (13:31).

Even Paul, the apostle born “out of due season” (1 Cor. 15:8), was made an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ so that he might enter his voice into the evidence. On the road to Damascus, Jesus told Saul, “But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou has t seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee” (Acts 26:16). Ananias also told him, “For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou has seen and heard” (22:15). He later asserted that if Christ was not raised, then all the apostles had been false witnesses (1 Cor. 15:15).

Peter added his own voice by claiming to be an apostle, an elder and a witness (1 Pet. 5:2), having been privy to his transfiguration (2 Pet. 1:16).

John, the apostle whom Jesus loved, said, “For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us” (1 Jn. 1:2).

Using the Testimony

Brethren, our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead does not depend on a blind leap, secular history or less than rational testimony. Indeed, the biblical record is entered into evidence on the same basis and with the same credibility as any testimony in any court of law. We should present the case for the resurrection (and, consequently, the Lordship of Christ) as a reasonable (Rom. 12:1) conclusion, based upon valid proof. Christians need not take a back seat to anyone when it comes to demonstrable verification of what we affirm.

Jesus Christ lived, died and rose from the dead. The substantiation of this is one of the great themes of the Book of Acts.

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 6, pp. 174-175
March 19, 1992

By Frank Jarnerson

A book by the above title was written in 1979 by Jerry Sholes, who had been an associate of Oral Roberts for three and a half years. The sub-title is “an insider’s report on the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association.”

Mr. Sholes worked with Oral Roberts from 1975 until 1979 and said that Oral’s mail room is equipped to handle over 20,000 letters per day, and ninety percent of those envelopes have money in them. “The average gift is $5.00. Now, an average gift of $5.00 isn’t very much . . . unless you’re getting 18,000 gifts like that per day” (8).

It is no wonder that Mr. Roberts says, “I love your letters, I love to get them . . . I love to pray over them.” Actually, Mr. Sholes points out that Oral cannot read that many letters per day, and he only sees a computer printout of names and requests.

In addition to the millions of dollars sent to Mr. Roberts, the writer of this book reveals that he also makes millions from his seminars each year. He conducts six to nine of these, composed of about 2,500 people in each, and the “take” from each of these “would be in the neighborhood of $1.5 to $3 million” (33).

Mr. Sholes said, “Usually, during a seminar, there were participants who were in wheelchairs. I never saw anyone healed of anything and that bothered me. I saw people who had come expecting a healing and I saw the raw hope and desire in their eyes. If faith could have brought them up out of those wheelchairs, they would have come out and been ready to run a 50yard dash, on the spot! It never happened” (p.34). The thing that really shook his faith was when a faculty member at Oral Robets University had a baby who became ill. The man decided to really put the power of prayer to the test and began praying for the child rather than taking it to the hospital. Their baby died, and “the couple decided to begin praying and fasting to bring the infant back to life.” They requested that Oral come to their house and pray for the child, but his reaction was that he “wouldn’t touch that with a ten-foot pole.” Mr. Sholes said: “If God ever had spoken to me and had told me to take his healing power to my generation, I’d have gone into that home and prayed for that baby, dead or not” (39).

Mr. Sholes discussed the “City of Faith,” and showed that Oral deliberately lied about God speaking to him. On September 7, 1977, Oral announced that “he had experienced a vision in the desert in August, 1977, and that God had spoken to him and had given him all the details for a three building complex which comprised the City of Faith.” Sholes said, “However, in January, 1977, Oral Roberts and Ron Smith, Oral’s Executive Vice President, met in MY OFFICE and discussed WITH ME a three building complex which would include a clinic, a research center and a hotel . . . which would eventually be converted into a hospital. That discussion took place BEFORE Oral’s announcement and 7 months BEFORE he had his ‘vision’ in the desert” (192).

Oral also said that in his August, 1977 vision, “Suddenly God gave me a new name for the Health Care and Research Center I am to build in His name. You shall call it the City of Faith.” Mr. Sholes then documents the fact that in 1955, Coronet magazine published an article about Oral Roberts purchasing 175 acres in Tulsa for the purpose of erecting “The City of Faith.” In May, 1956 an article in American magazine revealed the same fact. “If God didn’t reveal the name ‘City of Faith’ until August, ’77, why was he using it in 1956?” (194)

One of the stories that Oral often tells is about his healing from tuberculosis. “His past stories and autobiographies have always indicated that he was instantly healed,” says Mr. Sholes, but after Oral announced plans to build the City of Faith, in 1978, his story began to vary a bit. “He stated on several TV programs (after the City of Faith announcement) that it took him over a year to recuperate from his illness. His message on those programs implied that it took prayer and medicine to heal him of tuberculosis . . . a variation of the story that fits in rather well with the role which the City of Faith is supposed to play in the delivery of holistic health care! In other words, as late as 1961, Oral was stating that tests taken within two months after his healing indicated that his lungs were absolutely clear of TB. In 1978, however, he stated on television that it took a year for his total healing to occur” (96).

Mr. Sholes said, “Because of personal involvement on my part in the promotion of the City of Faith, and because of my participation in various planning and strategy sessions relating to the City of Faith, I know and am witness to the fact that Oral Roberts has personally lied about the City of Faith. Those lies and the nature of them . . . Oral telling millions of people that God told him to do something are what made me decide to write this book” (191).

Oral Roberts has “milked” the American public for millions of dollars, and though his City of Faith has folded (evidently God did not foresee the cost of running a hospital!) he continues to thrive on contributions from poor people vainly hoping for healing or material prosperity.

The only power Oral, or any other faith-healer has, is the power of suggestion (“mind over matter”), and the only ones getting prosperous are those receiving the contributions!

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 6, p. 165
March 19, 1992

By Dennis Abernathy

The night of December 29, 1876, marks one of the most tragic wrecks in the history of American railroading. On that bitter cold night a west bound express train crashed through a trestle over a swollen stream near Ashtabula, Ohio, caught fire, and carried a hundred passengers to a burning death. On board the ill-fated Chicago-bound train was Philip Bliss, beloved and famous gospel song composer and singer.

Born in rural Pennsylvania, Philip Bliss was reared in abject poverty. In his teens he worked at a country sawmill for ten dollars a month and attended a singing school conducted by William Bradbury, who greatly encouraged young Bliss.

In his early twenties he married, bought a ramshackle buggy and a horse he named “Fanny,” and went about the countryside with his wife, teaching music. His average income was thirteen dollars a month.

At twenty-six, Bliss wrote a secular song he called “Lora Vale.” Having learned his first notes on a homemade flute whittled from a cane, he sent his song to a Chicago firm by the name of Root and Cady, music publishers, with the request that if his composition were acceptable, he would appreciate a real flute in exchange. Reading the manuscript, George Frederick Root sent Bliss the finest flute that he could find, along with a note that a job with the firm of Root and Cady was waiting for him if he wanted to come to Chicago.

At thirty-two, Philip Bliss was director of music at Chicago’s First Congregational Church, editor of hymnals for Root and Cady, and composed both words and music for his gospel songs.

Bliss was ever alert for themes. One Sunday night, while waiting for a train in Ohio, Bliss slipped into a church and took a rear seat. The minister, a Mr. Brundage, was reading from the Acts of the Apostles: “Then Agrippa said unto Paul, ‘Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.”‘ During his sermon Mr. Brundage said, “To be almost saved is to be entirely lost.” And Philip Bliss had the theme for one of his famous gospel songs.

After spending Christmas with his mother in Pennsylvania, Bliss and his wife were returning to Chicago when their train plunged through the trestle. Bliss tore his way from the burning cars. Unable to find his wife, he fought his way back through the flames. In a vain effort to save her, he died at her side. His trunk was salvaged and in it was found an unfinished hymn. It began: “I know not what awaits me, God kindly veils my eyes.

Let us now turn our attention to the hymn Philip Bliss wrote after hearing a sermon while waiting for a train.

The almost persuaded are looking for a convenient season (Read Acts 26:24-29).

“Almost persuaded, now to believe;

Almost persuaded, Christ to receive;

Seems now some soul to say,

Go, Spirit, go thy way;

Some more convenient day,

On Thee I’ll call.”

1. Agrippa was almost persuaded to believe. The word “believe” is used here in the sense of a synecdoche. That is, a part standing for the whole. Hence, the word believe here encompasses all the steps of salvation. A good example of this is Acts 2:44. “And all that believed were together, and had all things common.” The believers were those who heeded the apostle Peter’s command to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins. They were those who were added by Christ to the church (see Acts 2:38,41,47). (See also Acts 4:4; 5:14; 8:12,13; 16:30-34).

2. Agrippa was almost persuaded to receive Christ (Jn. 1:11-13). How does one receive Christ? According to John 1:12, one must believe on his name. How does one believe? James 1:21 says: “receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your soul.” So, one must receive the word! “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Rom. 10:17). Acts 2:41 says: “They therefore that gladly received his word, were baptized, and there were added unto them in that day,. about three thousand souls.” Thus, when one receives the Word in obedience he receives Christ. How sad to hear many say: “Just receive Christ into your heart” and then never hear them say what is involved in taking that important action.

3. 1 think the song writer was right when he wrote, “seems now some soul to say, go, Spirit, go thy way, some more convenient day, on Thee I’ll call.” There are a lot of people who are almost ready to obey the gospel, then someone discourages them. Maybe it is the Devil saying: “You have plenty of time, don’t get in such a hurry.” And so the lost soul tells the Holy Spirit to go away. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts men of sin, righteousness, and the judgment to come. This is accomplished through the preaching of the gospel. Remember, the sword of the spirit is the Word of God (see Jn. 16:7-8; Eph. 6:17). We have the example of a man by the name of Felix, who told the Spirit to go away, when he said to Paul: “Go thy way for now, and when I have a more convenient season, I will call on thee” (Acts 24:25).

I’m afraid this is true of many today. They are looking for “convenient” religion. “I’ll study the Bible, work for the Lord, and attend the church services, etc., when it is convenient!” How sad!

The time to become a Christian is now! The time to set your life right is now!

“Almost persuaded, come, come today;

Almost persuaded, turn not away;

Jesus invites you here,

Angels are lingering near,

Prayers rise from hearts so dear,

O wanderer, come.”

1. The biblical emphasis on obedience has always been now! “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth” (Eccl. 12:1). “Now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2). “Today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart as in the day of provocation” (Heb. 3:15).

2. All of the examples of conversion in the book of Acts indicate that the day the people found out they were lost and understood the truth was the day they obeyed the gospel. Consider the Philippian jailor, for example. The text says: “And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway” (Acts 16:33). (See also Acts 2:37,38,41; 8:35-39.)

3. The message and plea of the song is “turn not away.

As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will ye die? (Ezek. 33:11)

The word of God pleads with men to turn to God. “Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19).

Jesus does invite you to come to him (Matt. 11:28-30; Jn. 6:37). Jesus’ message to the lost today is: “all things are ready, come to the feast” (Lk. 14:17).

Dear friend, Jesus loves your soul. He cares about your redemption.

“Angels are lingering near.” They care too. There is joy among the angels of heaven over one sinner that repenteth (Lk. 15:7).

“Prayers do indeed rise from hearts so dear.” Your relatives and friends and even Christians who do not even know you, pray for your soul’s redemption. May we never discount the power of prayer because nothing lies beyond the reach of prayer, except that which lies beyond the will of God. Truly, “the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous avails much” (Jas. 5:16).

Christ, the angels, and Christians who love you dearly, want you, if you have wandered into the wilderness of sin, to come home. Isaiah 53:6 says that all we like sheep have gone astray. The gospel (the good news) of Christ, like Jesus before Lazarus’ grave, cries out, “Sinner come forth!” The good news is that God will grant full sonship to all those who will come out of the far country of sin. So, there is hope for all prodigals. But you must take advantage of the opportunity that presents itself now! (Gal. 6:1; Jas. 5:19-20)

The time will come when it will be too late to be born again.

“Almost persuaded, harvest is past.

Almost persuaded, doom comes at last!

Almost cannot avail;

Almost is but to fail.

Sad, sad, that bitter wail Almost – but lost!”

1, The harvest time will pass. Jeremiah said: “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved” (Jer. 8:20). If there is one thing we can be certain of, it is the fact that doom comes at last to the unsaved.

2. Procrastination is so deceptive. It is the thief of time. It is the grave in which opportunity is buried. We are all guilty to some extent. If one waits too long to go to the doctor, he may die. You can wait too long and miss your plane or train. You can remain in sin until you are past feeling or until you lose all sensitivity.

So, I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more (Eph. 4:17-19). Your conscience will cease to bother you, becoming seared as with a hot iron (1 Tim. 4:2). So, in view of these grave warnings, “Be very careful then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity” (Eph. 5:15).

3. Almost a Christian doesn’t count. Almost a faithful Christian doesn’t count. We often say, “Almost, or close, only counts in horseshoes.” I have preached several funerals of people who “leaned toward the church of Christ.” What a meaningless expression! I remember Jesus telling a teacher of the law that he was not far from the kingdom. But, friend, please remember: Almost is but to fail, and near, or “not far” from the kingdom, is not there! Many give thought to becoming a Christian. They talk about being born again. Many erring brethren think and talk about coming back to the Lord. Listen! That simply is not good enough. You must do it! James said: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (Jas. 1:22). Jesus’ mother Mary said: “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it!” (Jn. 2:5) Amen!

4. Waiting too long will bring sadness, bitterness and weeping. Don’t allow the trivial things of life to cause you to miss salvation. Don’t let salvation’s opportunity pass you by.

Many of us have heard opportunity knocking at our door, But by the time we unhooked the chain, pushed back the bolt, turned two locks, and shut off the burglar alarm – it was gone!

“How shall we escape if we neglect (ignore) such a great salvation” (Heb. 2:3). The sad truth is, dear reader, we won’t escape!

“There’s a line that is drawn by rejecting our Lord,

While the call of His Spirit is lost,

And you hurry along with the pleasure-mad throng.

Have you counted, have you counted the cost?

You may barter your hope of eternity’s morn,

For a moment of joy at the most,

For the glitter of sin and the things it will win

Have you counted, Have you counted the cost?

While the door of his mercy is open to you,

Ere the depth of His love you exhaust,

Won’t you come and be healed, won’t you whisper, I yield

I have counted, I have counted the cost.

Have you counted the cost, if your soul should be lost?

Tho’ you gain the whole world for your own?

Even now it may be that the line you have crossed,

Have you counted, have you counted the cost?

How sad it will be to be “almost persuaded,” and in the end be lost! How sad it will be “to be near the kingdom of God,” but in the end hear the Lord say, “Depart from me, I never knew you.” Almost persuaded is not enough. Why not become fully persuaded of your need to obey the Lord of Glory. If you need help in understanding what to do, seek for it. Don’t miss heaven! (See Mk. 16:15-16; Acts 2:38; 8:37; 22:16 Rom. 10:9-10; 1 Pet. 3:21).

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 6, pp. 170-172
March 19, 1992