Truth Magazine

By Dan King

The apostles Peter and John, having been arrested, threatened, and warned not to speak any more of Jesus, went back to their company and prayed: . . . grant unto thy servants to speak thy word with all boldness (Acts 4:30). Their prayer was heard. For, the Bible goes on to say that when they had finished their praying, they spake the word of God with all boldness (v. 31).

Apparently this was the greatest challenge to these disciples, who at first had shown themselves timid, and even cowardly. The gospel accounts speak of the apostolic band as having forsaken the Lord and fled into the darkness on the night of Jesus’ arrest (Matt. 26:56). Peter had followed him, but afar off (vs. 58). They knew where their greatest weakness lay, and for this they were praying.

What is most interesting about the context is that they had already shown considerable courage in preaching in the Temple in chapters two and three, and when confronted by the threatenings of the high priest and his cohorts at the Sanhedrin. Scripture records their brash reply to the questionings of the rulers, along with the reaction of these men: Now when they beheld the boldness of Peter and John, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled. . . (4:13). One does not normally expect laboring men, such as these, to come before an auspicious tribunal like the Sanhedrin relaxed and confident in the way in which these men did. Luke explains that they were filled with the Holy Spirit (v. 8), but then goes on to record their prayer for courage. A comparable text appears in 2 Timothy 1:6,7, where Timothy is told to stir up the gift of God which was in him through the laying on of Paul’s hands, For God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and discipline. Paul is evidently encouraging Timothy to overcome his natural timidity and speak up and speak out! Timothy had control of his own vocal chords, and his own daring or lack of it would determine whether he would do so or not.

It becomes clear, when these Scriptures are compared, that the words they spoke were from God as given by the Holy Spirit (as per the promise of Christ in Mk. 13:11), but the courage was their own! God supplied the words to speak, but it was up to them to get up the “gumption” to say them. That is why the apostles were praying for courage. They needed it!

There are a couple of very important lessons that we ought to learn from this observation. First, we should come to appreciate the dedication and courage of those first Christians in standing for truth. They were truly “men of like passions with us. ” They had to search their souls as we do before they spoke, knowing that their words might cost them a great deal. God did not turn them into robots and direct their actions in such a way as to accomplish his will. They had to gird up the loins of their mind, summon the fortitude to speak, and pull out all the stops. Someone has said that courage is “fear that has said its prayers.” In this case, that definition is completely appropriate.

A second lesson that can be gleaned here, is the fact that they prayed for that which they knew they needed. History is an excellent teacher, so is experience. The night of the betrayal had been branded into the memories of these men with absolute permanency. When that night was over they had been forced to look Jesus in the face, knowing how they had forsaken and denied him. Furthermore, now they knew they would again have to look him in the face to give account for their lives and words, along with all men at the judgment (2 Cor. 5:10). They were intent that they would not make the same mistake again!

Like them, we need to be praying for our weaknesses. We know those areas wherein we have sinned in the past, and if we are intent upon not repeating those errors, then we will pray for the strength to overcome them in the future. Moreover, we will take action when it is necessary to avoid situations and circumstances that lead to such sin.

If it is the courage to speak that we need, then we must know that God is not going to stand in our place for us and speak the words. Like the apostles he gives us what to say, but in our case supplies it to us in his Word. Again, like the apostles, it is up to us to take the first step in developing the courage to speak the truth. But God will be there to help: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will we not fear. . . (Psa. 46:1-2).

Guardian of Truth XXXV: 17, p. 525
September 5, 1991

By Bobby Witherington

Matthew 19:6 records Jesus to say, “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate. ” In Romans 7:2 the apostle Paul wrote, “The woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives.” Of course, the husband is also bound by the same obligation. In fact, our Lord gave but one exception whereby a person may scripturally divorce his or her mate and remarry. In Matthew 19:9 Jesus said, “And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery. ” God’s plan from the very beginning was one man for one woman, and one woman for one man. This being true, it is wise for both men and women to proceed with caution as they enter the marriage union. This caution requires that each of them, long before the wedding, be fully determined in at least two very important areas:

1. Each must be absolutely sure that he has a right to marry and be absolutely sure that the other party has a scriptural right to marry. A person who has a living mate, and whose mate was not put away for the cause of fornication does not, according to God’s law, have a right to marry. Poor housekeeping, insolence, arrogance, a bad temper, etc., however sinful and undesirable, do not constitute fornication and do not, therefore, provide scriptural grounds for re-marriage. In the marriage realm, especially, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” No God fearing person should marry one who is not free to marry, regardless of that person’s beauty, handsomeness, good qualities, or money.

2. Each party to a marriage must be fully determined to keep his or her companion. This means they will avoid trial marriages. It means that each will refuse to enter the marriage bond as long as he has reservations about either himself or his commitment to make it an until-death-do-you-part relationship and partnership. Each much realize that the relationship may not always be perfect – the trials may come in the form of poverty or wealth, or in numerous ways unforeseen. They should enter the marriage bond with the determination to make every success and, yes, every failure, a means for strengthening the marriage bond and enhancing mutual trust and tranquility. Neither party is ready for marriage unless or until he has fully made such a predetermination as that just described.

Of course, many have entered into marriage without having become fully determined in these two important areas. If you happen to be such a person, but your marriage is, in the eyes of God, a scriptural union, then we affirm that you should do all within your power to make it last. If your family circle is not broken on the outside, but is torn and splintered on the inside, then you should immediately go to work mending whatever is amiss and do all you can to produce a greater togetherness between you and your mate. To that end we plan to make specific recommendations in successive articles, the Lord willing.

Guardian of Truth XXXV: 17, p. 519
September 5, 1991

By Ron Halbrook

My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence (Jn. 18:36).

The separation of church and state is no mere accident or expediency, but was clearly taught by Jesus Christ so that even the wicked ruler Pontius Pilate understood him. God ordained his church and civil government as two separate institutions with different purposes. Rulers should honor God as the sustainer of the universe, of nations, and of governments (Jn. 19:11). Government officials should seek the providential help and blessing of God in doing the work he gave them to do, but cannot conduct the business of the church. God gave the church its own work and organization without the least semblance of civil, military, or political power. It has no right or authority from God to enter into such fields of action.

What does the Bible teach about the relationship between the church and politics?

1. Godly men should lead the assemblies of the church in fervent prayer for our rulers, from the highest to the lowest (1 Tim. 2:1-8).

2. The church teaches respectfor governments, laws, and officials (Rom. 13:1-7). God ordained civil government to restrain criminals and the evil deeds which destroy peace, safety, and order in a society, and to protect obedient citizens. Governments wield the sword as agents of God’s wrath against evildoers. God commands us to pay our taxes and to cooperate with our rulers.

3. The church preaches the positive duties of all men and the positive provisions of the gospel to all men, high and low (Matt. 22:37-40; Mk. 16:15-16). Men sin and fall into various violations of God’s law because they fail to love God first and to love their fellowman. God does not tolerate or excuse sin on the part of the highest ruler or of the lowest servant. Every sinner must believe in God’s Son and be baptized in submission to the authority of Christ in order to receive the remission of sins. No man will be saved on his own merits by attaining great honors in civil affairs or because of suffering great abuses and injustices in life.

4. Sin must be rebuked and condemned no matter who practices it (Matt. 3:1-12; Lk. 3:1-14; Mk. 6:17-18). John applied God’s Word to all men alike, including the common people, tax collectors, and soldiers. Some of his plainest rebukes were directed against arrogant, hypocritical, religious leaders. The unscriptural marriage of a king was condemned openly and pointedly. The same kind of preaching was done by Jesus and his apostles, and must be done today.

5. Individuals have liberty to participate or not in civil and political activities. The Bible authorizes governments but leaves the particular systems to the judgments of men. It authorizes citizenship without specifying degrees and levels of participation other than respect and obedience. Whether a person votes, serves in the military, joins a political party, takes part in campaigns, runs for office, and the like are matters left by God to the conscience of each person (cf. Rom. 14:5,17). Whatever decision is made, we must remember that God rules and overrules in nations, that we must act in keeping with moral principles rather than personal or political loyalties, that we must put such priorities as worship and the family above other interests, and that the most important thing we can do for our country is to live a godly life (Prov. 14:34).

6. The church’s mission is spiritual, not political. God established the church with a specified, limited work: to preach the gospel, worship God, and care for needy saints (1 Tim. 3:15; 5:16; Acts 2:42). The church is not a social welfare agency, an arm of civil government, a political institution, a secular school, or a recreational club. The church has not a minute or a penny to spend on such endeavors. While opposing immorality, dishonesty, and sin of every kind, it has no political program and endorses no candidate. It holds no political rallies, offers no candidate the pulpit as a platform for political speeches, makes no political donations, and has no political action committees at any level. The church of Christ registers no voters, organizes no voters, transports no voters to the polls, and finances no part of the voting process. Christ gave no authority in his word for the church to act in such matters. When the church so acts, it sins and rebels against Christ (Eph. 1:22-23; 2 Jn. 9). Let the church be the church and let the government be the government!

Guardian of Truth XXXV: 15, p. 489
August 15, 1991

By Dub McClish

As our Lord drew the Sermon of the Mount to a close, he gave the following warning: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. By their fruits ye shall know them” (Matt. 7:15-16). Do we still need this warning?

It is presently easier to find protectors of wolves among the sheep than to find those who will expose them. In fact, it is the common thing nowadays for the false teacher to be praised, endorsed, supported, and welcomed, while one who would correctly identify him as a wolf is treated as the wolf should be treated. How different from the Lord’s is the attitude of many brethren on this matter! We are not left to wonder how the apostolic church dealt with false teachers: They were watched for and, when discovered, they were marked, avoided, silenced, shunned, rejected, refused endorsement, and delivered to Satan (Acts 20:29-31; Rom. 16:17-18; 1 Tim. 1: 19-20; Tit. 1:10-11, 14; 3:10; 2 Jn. 9-11).

Now there may be some “witch-hunters … .. alarmists, ” and those who “play God” among us, but I doubt it. (if there are, the wolves greatly outnumbered them!) These and similar appellations are smokescreen words designed to mitigate the exposures of the false teachers without their having to answer for or repent of their errors. Such terms are designed to intimidate and silence the one who exposes the false teacher. They are employed to create prejudice against those who stand for the Truth and they are a favorite ploy of the liberals. (Ironically, false teachers who claim to abhor ~ ~ name-calling” and “labeling” don’t mind doing it themselves when they are being exposed!)

I know of no one who enjoys exposing sin or error in a brother or sister. I certainly do not. I would much rather always be able to commend and praise and never have to criticize or reprove. However, one is not really a Gospel preacher (or a true follower of Christ, whatever his work in the kingdom) who shrinks in cowardice from this necessary task.

If it makes me a “witch-hunter” or an “alarmist” to warn brethren of a “wolf” among the “flock” (or “flocks”), then I am such with Heaven’s blessing. If I am such a one, then what shall we call the Lord and his apostles who commanded and practiced this responsibility? If exposing false teachers is “playing God,” I would rather do that than “play the devil” by refusing the Lord’s mandate to do so. If one would be great in the Master’s eyes, he must be faithful to the charge to identify and expose false teachers, even if they are dear friends or even relatives. (Reprinted from The Shield of Faith, June 1991)

Guardian of Truth XXXV: 15, p. 493
August 15, 1991