Truth Magazine

By C.G. “Colly” Caldwell

A few weeks ago a fine Christian ate dinner with us. A month or so earlier we had stood together at the grave of his beloved wife and said goodbye to one of the finest women any of us has ever known. At dinner the discussion was fascinating. It moved briskly from topic to topic often including comments on spiritual matters and things that have happened among brethren in years past. Suddenly, however, our guest became pensive and quiet as he had done before on other evenings since his wife left us. After a moment he looked up and said, “Colly, where do you think she is?” I responded, “You know where she is. She is with God. Your question is more: What is it like where she is?” Of course he knows where she is! He is a man of great faith and he has no doubts of his wife’s love for Christ. His question is asked by all who are left behind.

Dwelling with God Promised

The wonderful promises of Scripture form the basis of our comfort and our hope in such times. John reported, “I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God'” (Rev. 21:3). Can you imagine living in the actual presence of God? Nothing makes men feel more important, nor is more satisfying and exciting than to be in the presence of a great person (the President, the “official,” the “maestro,” the “star,” or the “hero”). How much more to be in the presence of God Almighty, the powerful Creator and Owner of the universe. And we are not discussing simply shaking his hand or speaking for a moment at a ceremonial occasion where he moves on hardly noticing us. We are talking about living with him in all the luxury of his home throughout eternity.

Dwelling with God Believed

After gathering material for this article, I spoke on the subject at Citrus Park. A dear brother who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer talked with me after the lesson and expressed his anticipation indicating that he will know about all this very soon. He believes!

Paul also had faith that he would go to be with the Lord when death came. “For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better” (Phil. 1:23). To be with Christ is to be in the presence of God. Stephen, “being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, ‘Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!'” (Acts 7:55-56) When they rushed to stone him, Stephen cried out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59). Our spirits are taken into the care and keeping of God when they leave our bodies. We do not lie in the grave. We do not cease to exist. We are alive and well in the presence of God. Believe it!

Dwelling with God Described

I encourage the brethren at Citrus Park where I worship regularly, and all the brethren who invite me to preach, to read the book of Revelation. Among other great objectives, it seeks to comfort Christians who suffer themselves and whose loved ones have suffered . . . many to the point of death. The greatest comfort Jesus could give those aching hearts was to secure their faith in the fact that they and their loved ones would be with God. God is powerful. God is caring. God loves us more than any other person. Listen to some of the clucs John gives to the meaning of “dwelling with God” in the twenty-first chapter of Revelation (1-7) and in other sections of the book.

God welcomes us into his presence to begin a new phase of our relationship: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adornedfor her husband” (Rev. 21:1-2). In another place John said, “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city” (Rev. 22:14). And again he said, “And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. And whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17).

God will identify us with himself personally. “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God'” (Rev. 21:3). “They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads” (Rev. 22:4). “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. Arid I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it” (Rev. 2:17). At marriage, the greatest identifier is the husband’s giving his new wife his name, . . . and the wife’s taking his name as her own. God in a special way will identify with us.

God will take care of us, comfort and provide for us forever. “And God will wipe away every tearfrom their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4). “He who has an car, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God” (Rev. 2:7). “For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Rev. 7:17)

God will make all things new and perfect for us. “Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful'”. (Rev. 21:5). “New” things are special and they generally pose fewer problems for us. A new home has no plumbing problems, doors don’t creak, and the roof does not leak. When God says, “I will make all things new,” he is saying, “It will all be right! You will be with Me!” Later John said, “And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it” (Rev. 22:3).

God will glorify us as his own children. “And He said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son'” (Rev. 21:6-7). That glorification includes a “crown of life.” “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10). Paul anticipated that same “crown of life” and in his valedictory to Timothy expressed belief that God would give it to all who “have loved His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:6-8). “Then I heard a voice from heavun saying to me, Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on'” (Rev. 14:13).

Dwelling with God Conditional

It is important that we consider our future state. That existence without God is unthinkable. That existence with God, however, is conditioned upon our “dwelling with God” now. Most passages in the New Testament which speak of our “dwelling with God” or “abiding in God” discuss our present relationship with the Lord. While “dwelling with God” eternally is “far better” (Phil. 1:23), “dwelling with God” here is the only satisfying and fulfilling way to live until that time. John explained it this way: “No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 Jn. 4:12-16). “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him'” (Jn. 14:23). There will be no “dwelling with God” eternally unless we “dwell with God” now. God help us to have his presence with us to befriend us and share life with us now so that we may eternally be able to look upon his face.

Guardian of Truth XXXV: 20, pp. 621-622
October 17, 1991

By Clarence W. Fell

Personal work is essential for growth. If we don’t do the work then no work gets done. Unfortunately our attitude is not always as it should be toward personal work. We get tired and discouraged because we sometimes see little success from our efforts. Then the Devil steps in and starts whispering, “What’s the use? No one wants to hear the Bible anymore.” Tired and discouraged we are tempted to agree. We start trying to convince ourselves that we can do all our personal work by example from now on. Many of us have felt something like this at one time or another. Not even elders, deacons, teachers and preachers are immune. Therefore, having faced the temptation first hand, I made up a list of motivators to help adjust an improper attitude. I trust you will find some encouragement in the following points.

1. You can’t lose them all. The law of averages guarantees you will win some sooner or later. Hang in there and stick with it (Heb. 3:14).

2. At any given time it is reasonable to say that one percent or more of your area population is interested in a Bible topic (Eccl. 3:11). It’s a matter of fishing until you find them and then developing a friendly relationship.

3. When digging for diamonds you have to go through a lot of dirt. The same is true when searching for honest hearts (Matt. 7:13-14). But it’s worth it (Lk. 15:10).

4. Sincere efforts in evangelism please God even if we don’t change the world by our efforts (2 Tim. 4:1-5).

5. There is no set quota that you must fill. God simply requires that you keep trying (Rev. 2:10). Eventually you’ll lead someone to Jesus.

6. Not even Jesus had a 100 percent success rate so why should we expect to convert everyone we approach (Mk. 10:17-22).

7. Facing the challenge of evangelism indicates maturity. Avoiding the challenge indicates immaturity (Heb. 5:12-14).

8. Doing what you can in evangelism shows you care for the lot. Talk is cheap and actions do speak louder than words (Jas. 2:14-26).

9. Doing what you are able to do in evangelism shows you understand God’s desire for Christians to do what they are able to do (Matt. 25:14-30).

10. Doing what we are able to do in evangelism shows we care for the local work (1 Jn. 2:3-6).

11. The few (or many) successes you have will be worth all the effort. They will be the most valuable successes of your life (Matt. 16:26).

12. You can’t catch fish if you don’t keep your bait in the water. Be a persistent fisherman (Matt. 4:18-20). You’re not a loser until you quit.

13. Persistence will pay off! (Matt. 10:22)

14. Continuous effort and contact bring you closer to success (Acts 18:4; 19:8-10).

15. Every effort when viewed in retrospect will probably teach you something and move you further up the ladder of maturity (Heb. 5:14).

16. It is not your individual responsibility to convert the entire world, but rather to make an honest, sincere and continuous effort in the area you live (Mk. 5:18-20).

17. There is life for the personal worker after “no” (Lk. 9:5-6).

18. There is no greater challenge than that of becoming proficient in personal evangelism. Few exercise the selfdiscipline necessary to become proficient at personal evangelism (Matt. 9:37). Will you be one of them?

19. What better way to express your love and appreciation to God and others than through personal evangelism (Jn. 15:14; 2 Cor. 5:14)?

20. Success in evangelism is one of the greatest feelings on earth. It’s great to fall asleep with a smile on your face. Go for it! (Gal. 6:4)

21. Doing evangelistic work is active involvement in life. It is not being a spectator, bystander or a couch potato, it is participation in life. It’s really living, having a part in life, making a difference and having a purpose (Matt. 12:30).

22. It is my legal, consAitutional and God-given right to approach anyone in a polite manner and endeavor to interest him in the Bible (Rom. 13:1-7).

23. Eternity is in the heart of man, every man (Eccl. 3:11). God put it there! The prospect may have buried it deep and deny that it is there but it is there and we can appeal to it. Man has not changed. He is the same as ever (Eccl. 1:9).

24. Set a good example for the congregation: do personal work! (Matt. 5:16; Tit. 2:7-8)

25. A barren Christian is a contradiction of terms (Matt. 13:23).

26. Our job is not just to hold the fort but rather to storm the heights also (Jude 3).

27. The world is seeking someone to follow and will follow someone. Will it be Jesus or Satan? (Matt. 9:35-38; 12:30)

28. People are hungry for a better way of life. Show them the better way that Jesus offers (Jn. 10: 8-11).

29. Faith is a natural part of man. He believes in many things (doctors, dentists, banks, news reports, history, friends, etc.). He can also believe in God if he chooses to do so (Jn. 20:30-31).

30. Satan cannot stop you (Rom. 8:31-39).

31. Let’s face it, there is no magic formula; if the church is going to grow we must work (Rom. 10:14-15).

32. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. No pain, no gain (2 Tim. 2:3).

33. If one idea doesn’t work, try another one. Never, never, never quit (Gal. 6:9).

34. Today is a new day. Forget yesterday’s failures and move on (Phil. 3:12-16).

35. God doesn’t reward laziness but he does reward diligence (Heb. 11:6).

36. Personal work is like swimming in cold water. You’re uncomfortable at first but after a while you don’t want to get out (Acts 8:14).

37. When you evangelize you are part of the solution. When you don’t, you’re part of the problem (Matt. 12:30).

38. Even if you are on the right track you’ll still get run over if you just sit there (Rev. 3:15-16). Christianity is a race (Heb. 12:1). Get up and get moving! (1 Cor. 9:24-27)

39. The crucifixion (Matt. 26:46-27:56). How can we sit idle when Jesus suffered and died that we might have the hope of salvation (2 Cor. 5:14).

So there you have it. I trust that one or more of these thoughts will be of help to you when facing discouragement. Keep the list handy and if you start getting discouraged refer to it and adjust your attitude before the problem becomes too serious (Rev. 3:15-16).

Guardian of Truth XXXV: 21, pp. 643-644
November 7, 1991

By Lewis Willis

The Akron Beacon Journal (6-30-91), published an article about the Mormon Church. The article was based on an investigation by another newspaper, the Arizona Republic. The thrust of the investigation had to do with the finances of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Arizona Republic reported that the Mormon Church is “an $8 billion-a-year corporation, comparable with Union Carbide and Borden Products.” If you should place them on the Fortune 500 list of industrial corporations, they would rank about 110th.

The “newspaper said that it was able to conclude that the Mormon Church controls at least 100 companies or businesses. . . Never borrows money to finance its acquisitions. It pays cash, using a portion of its members’ contributions and its business income. . . Has become one of the nation’s largest private landowners, with holdings in all 50 states . . . Has an investment portfolio of stocks and bonds in excess of $1 billion . . . Appoints spiritual leaders who can double as business leaders to oversee real estate, communications, tourism, insurance and education operations.”

Two of its investments, ZCMI Department Stores and Beneficial Life Insurance Co., have grown into multimillion-dollar operations. They have amassed more than $1 billion in farm, ranch and other real estate holdings. Among these holdings are 315,000 acres near Orlando, Florida, said to be worth $250 million.

The newspaper said, “The diversified corporate organization built by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is apparently free of financial fraud or personal wealth-building among top officials.” Mormons are required by religious doctrine to tithe 10 percent of their gross income. About 1/3 of Mormon families are thought to do so. The majority of the church’s money is spent for religious purposes: worship, missions and education, according to the newspaper.

“The newspaper said the figures (about the financial worth of the Mormon Church, LW) were conservative estimates based on an eight-month investigation. Accurately assessing the church’s finances from the outside is impossible, however, because Mormon leaders in 1959 stopped releasing financial reports, even to their own members.”

From these facts and figures, it is rather evident why the Mormon Church has such clout in our country. It is also obvious why the state of Utah bows to their wishes, since Salt Lake City is their headquarters and their members dominate the population. But, is all of this scriptural?

The New Testament Church is clearly different from such operations as the Mormon Church. If one knew nothing of the doctrines of the two churches, the difference between them would still be evident. The Mormon Church is either a church which has gone into business, or, a business which operates a church. The New Testament Church is content to be nothing but the church.

You can look through every page of the New Testament and you will be unable to find anything indicating that the First Century Church was also a business enterprise. There are no commands, approved apostolic examples or statements that necessarily infer that God intended the church to be in business. In other words, the Scriptures are silent on this matter.

Some think that they are authorized to act if the Scriptures are silent. Nothing could be farther from the Truth. In fact, the very opposite is the case. Does God’s silence about mechanical instrumental music mean that it is alright to use it? I believe God was silent about using cornbread and buttermilk on the Lord’s table. Does that mean that it is alright to use these elements, instead of the unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine? God was silent about infant baptism. Does his silence constitute authority for us to start baptizing babies? He was silent about sprinkling as an acceptable form of baptism. Does his silence indicate consent?

The answer to all of the questions above is evident. God’s silence is not consent. In fact, God’s silence is a prohibition against action, because such action is unauthorized. The Lord’s church recognizes such, and limits its action accordingly. Therefore, it does not own land, department stores, insurance companies, or stocks and bonds, etc. When a church is engaged in such business enterprises, that becomes one way of identifying that it is not the New Testament church.

The church of Christ will continue to teach its members that God said, “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come” (1 Cor. 16:2). We will continue to exhort, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7). We believe that such is sufficient to enable the church to do the work that God assigned to it: evangelism, benevolence and edification (Eph. 4:12). The commandments of the Lord shall remain in force in the church of Christ, thus distinguishing it from the churches of men, which set themselves up in business. And, we shall note the difference so that all can see.

Guardian of Truth XXXV: 21, 641, 663
November 7, 1991

By Sewell Hall

On the evening of February 28th, this year, Ken and Jean Chaney slipped off of an isolated icy road in California, and soon their car was almost completely covered with snow. There was little or no chance of being rescued until the spring thaw, too far in the future to offer any hope of survival. They faced the ordeal of freezing or starvation, the certainty that one or the other would see a companion die and then go on to face death alone. How would you react in such circumstances? Would you be calm or distraught? How would you spend your time? On what would you depend for strength to cope?

Every responsible human being has faced or will face such crises as these – traumatic personal experiences, the loss of loved ones and death itself. These may not come all at once, as in this case, but they surely must be faced sooner or later by everyone of us.

As Jesus met with his disciples in the upper room on the very eve of his betrayal, he knew better than they the terrible challenges they were about to face. Although they had not yet comprehended the reality of his approaching crucifixion, they were already expressing concern about his insistence that he was about to “go away.” They had depended on him for everything; how crushed they would be to see him crucified and buried!

Jesus knew, too, the personal jeopardy they would sense as his disciples. Peter would feel so threatened that he would Heaven, A Comfort to the Troubled. . . actually deny him. Most of the others would scatter. And when reports of his resurrection began to circulate, they would bar the doors in fear. Jesus could see down into the future the persecution and death which they would face because of faith in him.

What could Jesus say to comfort them for the moment and for the future? As always, he knew the words to say:

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so ‘ I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also (Jn. 14:1-3).

These words can serve to comfort us as they comforted them.

Grounds of Comfort

First, there is comfort in believing in God and in his Son. We are not in a world governed by fate or chance. God made it and he is in control. The earthly sojourn of his son reassures us that he knows our needs and is concerned for our welfare. “He who did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32)

Second, there is comfort in his words of consolation. it is heart-warming to look through the Bible and see the reaction of God, his angels, and his Son when his children were frightened. In these verses it is, “Let not your heart be troubled.” The words, “Do not be afraid,” are found more than 70 times in Scripture.

But the Lord goes further to provide specific promises. He assures us that there are many dwelling places in his Father’s house, that he was going to prepare one for us, that he would come again to receive us, and that our dwelling place will be with him forever.

Many Bible students consider this a promise of the fellowship that Christians now enjoy as result of Christ’s going away to the Father and offering his shed blood for our redemption. But in view of many passages about heaven which seem to beparallel to this one, we are confident that we do no violence to the truth if we interpret this promise in the usual way: that Jesus was promising a dwelling place in heaven to his anxious and fearful disciples.

The Comfort of Hope

The hope of heaven is the greatest possible comfort in times of affliction. Abraham “sojourned in the land of promise as in a fcreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Heb. 11:9-10). The weight of heavenly glory which Paul anticipated made the afflictions that he was suffering seem light, and the eternity of that glory made his afflictions seem to be “but for the moment” (2 Cor. 4:17). Peter observed that the saints to whom he wrote greatly rejoiced in their heavenly inheritance, though for the time being they were “grieved by various trials” (1 Pet. 1:3-6). Climaxing the book of Revelation, written to encourage those who were oppressed by Roman persecution, is a picture of the saints at home with God. Jesus himself, “for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2). If these notable sufferers found comfort in the hope of heaven, so can we.

Look away from the cross to the glittering crown,

From your cares, weary one, look away;

There’s a home for the soul, where no sorrow can come

And where pleasures will never decay.

The hope of heaven is the greatest possible comfort when we lose our Christian loved ones. Though David could not bring his dead son back, he took comfort in the fact that he could go to him (2 Sam. 12:23). Jesus comforted bereaved Martha with the promise, “He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live” (Jn. 11:25). Paul wrote to Thessalonian Christians who were sorrowing over the loss of their brethren, assuring them that at the coming of the Lord those dead saints would be caught up together with the living saints to meet the Lord in the air, “and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:17). To this he added, “Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (v. 18). What greater comfort could be found in bereavement than the words of Revelation 14-13, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them.”

Called home from service to reward,

Called home from toil to rest;

Thy soul from earthly sense hath gone

To dwell among the blest.

Called home from rugged paths of time,

To tread the street of gold;

Around thee lies a land sublime,

All glorious to behold.

If the hope of heaven comforts us in affliction and in the loss of loved ones, how much greater is the comfort when we ourselves face the spectre of death! Without the assurances of God’s word, the approach of death would be the most frightful experience possible; how we all fear the unknown! But faith in the exceeding precious promises of God and of his Son robs death of its terror. Walking by faith, we see death as a move from an earthly tent in which we groan into “a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor. 5:1). We see it as the moment of victory, the successful end of the race. We see it as the gate through which we pass to obtain the reward for which we have lived our lives, and to experience the union with our Lord in that place which he has prepared for us where we “shall be like him” (1 Jn. 3:2) and live with him and with the Father forever.

After the battle, peace will be given;

After the weeping, song there will be;

After the journey, there will be heaven,

Burdens will fall, and we shall be free.

– James Rowe

The comfort which the hope of heaven brings is evident in the lives of saints who appear on the pages of Scripture. What Bible student would fail to think of the courage of Paul as he faced death, confident that “there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge shall give unto me on that day” (2 Tim. 4:8)? The hope of heaven demonstrated by the martyrs of the early centuries, even in the face of death, so adorned the doctrine of Christ as to challenge the Roman Emperor to bow at the feet of him who could inspire such calmness in death.

The Chaneys who were stuck in the snow-bank kept a diary which was found when their bodies were discovered weeks later. Their attitude was summarized in the words, “Here we are, completely in God’s hand! What better place to be!” They spent their time singing hymns, taking catnaps and quoting Bible verses. Their diary included admonitions to their children and grandchildren. And it closed, 18 days after it was begun, with this observation: “Dad went to the Lord at 7:30 this evening. It was so peaceful I didn’t even know he left. That last thing I heard him say was, ‘Thank the Lord.’ I think I’ll be with him soon.”

The hope of heaven still comforts the troubled heart.

Guardian of Truth XXXV: 20, pp. 627-629
October 17, 1991