Truth Magazine

By Mike Willis

The book of Philippians has been described as Paul’s most affectionate epistle. Writing to a church which he had established, Paul was personally acquainted with many of Philippi’s members. He showed the Philippians how to live with good spiritual attitudes in the face of bleak circumstances.

Philippians 4 contains several exhortations which give us direction in how to survive life, enduring trials and afflictions and enjoying its brightest moments to the fullest. When teaching on this chapter, I refer to these Scriptures as providing a prescription for good spiritual health. Whether my title is a fair assessment of the chapter or not, the lessons taken from these verses deserve our prayerful study. Consider some of these directives with me.

I. Rejoice in the Lord

In Philippians 4:4, Paul wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.” This statement provides a key to good living.

1. A Christian should rejoice. There is no virtue in a crabby disposition. Some people have such a sour look on their face that one would think they had been sucking on a lemon. Unfortunately, some equate that disposition with Christianity because some misguided Christians think that abstaining from the world means that a Christian cannot enjoy life.

There is no sin committed in being happy, light-hearted, and jovial. A Christian without a sense of humor, who is always negative about everything, helps create a negative impression of Christianity. Christians are to “adorn the gospel” (Tit. 2:10). Not only must I teach my children what one must believe and obey in order to be a Christian, I must also live that life in such an attractive way that they too will want to be a Christian. That is less likely to occur when the gospel is hidden underneath a crabby disposition.

2. A Christian’s joy is “in the Lord.” How can a person be happy when life is so bad for him? The answer is this: “he rejoices in the Lord.” Notice Paul’s circumstance when he wrote this epistle. He was in a Roman prison, hoping to be released. Nevertheless, death at the hand of a Roman soldier lay as a distinct possibility. There was nothing about his physical circumstance which should cause him joy. One of the keys to happiness, then, is finding our joy in the Lord.

Much unhappiness is the result of having one’s goals and aspirations confined to this world. A man who aspires to being rich cannot be happy when he loses his money; a person who aspires to climbing the corporate ladder is disappointed when someone else is given the big promotion; the man who is trying to become rich by investing in stocks is crushed when the stock market crashes. Outward circumstance controls the mental state of those whose goals and aspirations in life are tied to this world alone.

Billy Graham was correct when he spoke about happiness not being tied to physical circumstance.

The happiness which brings enduring worth to life is not the superficial happiness that is dependent on circumstances. It is the happiness and contentment that fills the soul even in the midst of the most distressing of circumstances and the most bitter environment. It is the kind of happiness that grins when things go wrong and smiles through the tears. The happiness for which our souls ache is one undisturbed by success or failure, one which will root deeply inside us and give inward relaxation, peace, and contentment, no matter what the surface problems may be. That kind of happiness stands in need of no outward stimulus.

Paul expressed his joy in the midst of trials saying that he was “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Cor. 6:10).

There always are occasions for rejoicing in the Lord. There is joy in what Christ has done for us. We can rejoice in his incarnation, atonement, resurrection, ascension to and rule at the right hand of God, revelation of God to us, etc.

In the Lord, there are occasions to rejoice in the good news of someone being baptized or restored (even as the angels of heaven rejoice, Lk. 15:7), of someone growing and maturing in Christ (Phil. 4: 1; 1 Thess. 2:19), of one’s own salvation and fellowship with the Lord (“Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven” – Lk. 10:20), of one’s hope for eternal life, of the progress of a local church with which we are associated, etc. These joys are ever present and independent of outward circumstance.

Recognizing the true source of joy, one can see why it is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). It is cultivated and grown as one grows and matures in Christ.

Robert Rainy observed, “A great grief shuts out lesser griefs. When a woman has lost her son, will she grieve greatly for the loss of her purse? So a great joy keeps down the excess of lesser joys. A man will not be greatly concerned about winning or losing some game. He will be about equally glad either way. So he whose heart thrills with the joy of Christ will feel the pleasure and the pain of earthly things; but they will not master him, nor run away with him” (The Expositor’s Bible: Philippians 325).

I have attended churches which showed little or no celebration of joy when a person was baptized or a Christian was restored. Is the reason for such absence of celebration that their hearts are tied to other things than the things of the Lord? I wondered if that were so.

There are many unhappy Christians in every church. Much of that unhappiness may be tied to finding the source of our joy in something other than Christ and then being frustrated when that in which we hope does not come to pass. Is the absence of our joy a reflection of our too close attachment to the world?

3. Rejoice in the Lord always. The Christian’s joy in the Lord is abiding, not transitory and fleeting. The joy can be abiding because (a) there is no change in the Lord, the Source of our joy; (b) our relationship to him is not effected by outward circumstances (Rom. 8:31-39). Too often our joy is short-lived, tied to emotional ups and downs rather than being firmly rooted in our relationship to Christ.

R. Finlayson wrote in the Pulpit Commentary:

Ours, then, should be a deep and a perennial joy. Even under depreciation of earthly comfort, there should be more gladness in our heart than men of the world have in the time that their corn and their wine and their oil abound. God, in Christ, is more to us than corn, or wine, or oil; ay, more than the dearest earthly friend, and One who will never fail us; and therefore we may always rejoice (Philippians 176).

Habakkuk expressed it like this: “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the nock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Hab 3:17-18).

Consequently, the first pill to take in the prescription for good spiritual health is to anchor your heart to the Lord so that your heart rejoices in the Lord and continues that rejoicing throughout all of life’s circumstances.

Guardian of Truth XXXV: 13, pp. 386, 407
July 4, 1991

By Larry Ray Hafley

Luke, “the beloved physician,” Wrote “that thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou has been instructed” (Lk. 1:4). Paul told Timothy, “But continue in the things, which thou hast learned and has been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them” (2 Tim. 3:14). There is an anchor of assurance, a concrete certainty about the truth of God. It needs no alterations or amendments. It is firm, sure, steadfast, certain (Eph. 4:14, 15; Heb. 13:8, 9). It liveth and abideth forever.

Contrast this with the flimsy, baseless, shifting sands of denominational dogmas and doctrines.

(1) Before 1910, Methodist doctrine said that some babies who died in infancy were lost, but since that time, when they revised their creed, all babies that die are saved. What of mothers who lost children in 1909? They had “no certainty” regarding their child’s eternal destiny.

(2) Mormons advocated polygamy in the 19th century. Then they switched. Some, though, are now again pleading for a plurality of wives. What of the next generation? Can they or can they not have many wives as Brigham Young did? They have “no certainty.”

Mormon doctrine long forbade blacks from entering their priesthood. But, alas, in the past decade, they received a “revelation.” “Presto,” blacks can now be a part of the Mormon priesthood. Despite Galatians 3:28 and James 2:1-5, the Mormons have had “no certainty” on this matter.

(3) Popes were not infallible in matters of faith and morals when speaking from the chair of papal authority until 1870. But in that year, scores of fallible men decided he was infallible. Suppose you were a Catholic in 1869, teaching against papal infallibility? Again, “no certainty.” The same is true regarding the bodily assumption of Mary, Jesus’ mother, into heaven. Before 1950, it was not an absolute fact of faith, but not it is they say. Remember meatless Fridays? Well, that is all you can do with the, for they are no longer bound as they were until 1970 or so. Make your own list of similar items, relics and doctrines. They all say “no certainty.”

As an example, consider the following quote: “The Roman Catholic Church must rethink its position on celibacy and the ordination of women if it hopes to boost membership of its declining priesthood, the National Federation of Priests’ Councils said at a meeting in Orlando, Fla.” (The Commercial Appeal, p. A-2, May 2, 1991).

(4) Remember when most churches refused fellowship to one who put away his mate for a cause other than fornication (Matt. 5:32; 19:9)? Many Catholics and Protestants were summarily excommunicated for violating those plain passages. Now, though, multiple marriages and unscriptural divorces do not keep either a man or a woman from the pulpit, let alone the pew. What of those poor souls who were humiliated and embarrassed and kicked out of their churches years ago and who now see the pastors of those same churches in their same marital state? “No certainty” there.

The same can be said for homosexuality, women preachers and a host of modern sins. Before the 1960s, women were not bishops or preachers in most denominations and homosexuals were condemned as sinners in need of repentance. Now, it is different. Lesbian women can be pastors or preachers. This trend is gaining acceptance and will be a part of most denominations before too long. “No certainty” can be found on these issues.

And what does that portend concerning things that are ,sinful” today? Will they be “sanctified and meet for the Master’s use” tomorrow? What of drug use, abortion, pornography, euthanasia? Maybe later? Social drinking was once largely and widely condemned, but now Catholics and Lutherans use it openly, even at church functions. If social drinking is alright, what of social or recreational drug use – marijuana, cocaine? Oh, I know it is presently frowned upon, but what about later? There is “no certainty” about those practices, either.

(5) There is “no certainty” in some churches of Christ. Remember when denominational organizations, societies, and church sponsored recreation and gymnasiums were ridiculed as human additions and traditions? Now, those same brethren work out in fully equipped “church health spas.” Gospel preachers once reproved and rebuked the social, welfare gospel. Now, some promote and support it from church treasuries while they administer Day Care and Pre-School Centers. What will come next instruments of music in worship? Rummage sales, pie suppers, pancake breakfasts and car washes to raise money for the churches?

Worldliness, immodesty and unscriptural marriages were once denounced with great earnestness. And now? More and more there is less and less said about these things. Often, what is said is a defense or an excuse to be “like the (denomi)nations” round about us.

“No Certainty” Versus “Know the Certainty”

It is a case of “no certainty” versus “know the certainty of those things wherein thou has been instructed.” “It is high time to wake out of sleep,” and to “cast off the works of darkness,” and “make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14). There can be no compromise with evil and error. “Awake to righteousness and sin not.” No personal sentiment for men can be allowed to obscure truth and stifle righteousness. If Scripture does not direct our sentiment, our human sentiments, feelings and opinions will color and control our view of Scripture.

If you have “no certainty” of faith and confidence in the “faithful word,” you will swerve and careen like a drunken driver and be “turned aside unto vain jangling.” As such, you will be like “children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Eph. 4:14). Back to the Bible. Either you have “no certainty,” or you “know the certainty” of the things “thou hast learned and been assured of.” “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58).

Guardian of Truth XXXV: 13, pp. 385, 408
July 4, 1991

By Clarence W. Fell

Basketball, baseball, football, tennis, track, soccer, choir, band, karate, wrestling, boys club, girls club, PTA . . . the list is endless. Hundreds of things beg for our time. Consequently, we parents can unwittingly neglect to raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4).

If a family attends church services regularly, the children receive some biblical instruction. However, if we think scheduled services are all the instruction our children need we are sadly mistaken. Scheduled services are a nice compliment to our children’s biblical education but by no means all that our children need.

There are many opportunities and ways to teach children outside of scheduled service. I would like to suggest a method I enjoy using to teach my two little “angels.” I refer to it as spontaneous teaching because it is quick and unexpected. It seizes the opportunity of the moment without warning and is over almost as quickly as it began. Since children are notorious for their short attention span, this method is advantageous. Also, since this method is brief, it lends itself nicely to repetition and children do not soon grow weary of it because it doesn’t last long.

Caution: This is not intended to be an entire biblical education program for children. This method is suggested only as another tool, one among many that parents can use if desired.

Spontaneous teaching uses your child’s current activity or thoughts to make a spiritual point, briefly, on your child’s level, and then lets the child pursue the point further or drop it for the time being. If they want to pursue the thought then do so to their satisfaction and when they are satisfied stop. If your children gives you a weird, “What planet are you from?” look don’t think that a seed of knowledge was not planted. A child’s mind runs fast and changes direction quickly. Some of our strongest and most influential memories took only seconds to create.

The main advantage of spontaneous teaching is that you are using what is already in your child’s mind, he is already thinking of the subject, you are just pointing out a biblical connection. Since the thought is already in his mind you do not have to arrest his attention and insert a new thought – often against resistance. Don’t underestimate the value of brief thoughts strategically placed here and there.

How about some examples of spontaneous teaching to help clarify the method?

I find it easy to turn supper conversation into a spontaneous teaching opportunity. At supper the children eagerly bring up things that happened at school. These things often provide excellent opportunities for a brief point. When they talk about someone cheating on a test I ask them why it is bad to cheat. I ask them what God thinks about cheating. I ask them who is really hurt by cheating. Children are not stupid; they give good answers to such questions when encouraged a little.

Evening walks, trips to the park and other nature outings are good times to make brief comments about God. Consider the veins in a leaf, the singing of a bird, a worm sliding through the mud, all of these stir a child’s thoughts and give the parent an opportunity to make a brief point in favor of God. Ask your boy why God made worms? When he answers, “For birds to eat” or “To go fishing with” then comment briefly about how God provides for the birds (Matt. 6:26) and us too (Matt. 6:33).

Times of discipline can be good times to discuss Bible verses.

Bedtime is a great time for a brief Bible lesson. Almost every child on earth will do anything to stall turning off the lights. Take advantage of this natural phenomenon and teach them about God. Read them a brief Bible bedtime story. Take a moment to talk about their day and make points you think beneficial.

After Bible class and worship is another good time to briefly teach. Ask your children what they learned. This causes them to review the lesson, thus reinforcing it in their mind. I like to ask my children what they learned from the sermon. Sometimes I’m surprised at how much they really hear.

Life is full of spontaneous teaching opportunities. All that is required is that we learn to be aware of them. I enjoy using this teaching tool. I hope you can use it as one way to enhance your child’s biblical education.

Guardian of Truth XXXV: 12, p. 373
June 20, 1991

By Calvin R. Schlabach

It happened again. Another child died. This time it was a nine-year-old girl named Joy. Her parents had beaten her with a board on her head, arms, legs, chest, and vaginal areas. After a few days of painful struggle in the hospital, her tortured body surrendered to its injuries and died.

What’s going on with these people? This is the latest in a series of cases of child abuse in this area which have resulted in the deaths of a number of young children. We read these things and shake our heads in disbelief. Has all the world gone crazy? When these little ones, these most innocent and most helpless of victims, are treated this way, we become angry and want the courts to “throw the book at” those brutal parents! Certainly, they deserve to be punished for their crime!

Later, in our calmer, more reflective moments, we wonder to ourselves how a father or mother could act like that. Rather than beating them, parents have a responsibility to provide for their children. Food, discipline, clothing, education, protection from harm, guidance for the future – all of these are things which parents must supply for their children (1 Tim.5:8). God says parents must “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph, 6.4).

I don’t think we are judging too harshly to say that parents who abuse their children or refuse to provide for them are lacking in love. Paul said that those “who had rejected the knowledge of God” became, among other things, “unloving” (NAS) or “without natural affection” (KJV, Rom. 13:1). That love for our children, which ought to be natural, is certainly missing in parents who mistreat their children like this. Proper parental love would motivate us to protect and provide for our children rather than beat and abuse them.

I am not so naive as to think that no member of God’s church would ever physically abuse a child, but certainly such a thing is rare among Christians. Nonetheless, it seems at times that some of God’s people do have a similar problem.

There are parents who would never physically harm their children, but they do lash out at them with verbal abuse. They berate, ridicule, and assault them with their words in the cruelest way, inflicting wounds that will never heal. If we love our children, we will use our words to build them up rather than to tear them down (Matt. 5.22; Jas. 3.8-10; Eph. 4.26,29).

Some parents, too, abuse their children by not providing them with what they really need. No, I’m not talking about material things; most of our children have more than enough toys, clothes, food, etc. I’m speaking instead about providing children with a proper example to follow; giving them parents “who lead the way” in serving God, illustrating in their own lives what a Christian ought to be (2 Tim. 1:5). Children need parents who will teach them God’s will, read to them from the Bible, talk with them about God, instruct them in matters of right and wrong (Eph.6:4). Loving parents will bring their children to Bible classes faithfully and not let other things take priority over this important ingredient in a child’s spiritual upbringing (Heb. 10:25; Eph. 6:4).

How tragic it is when children go astray, and the parents, with broken hearts, speak about them, saying, “I don’t know where we went wrong.” I obviously don’t know the facts in every case, but I suspect, in many cases, the children went astray because that’s the direction their parents carelessly sent them (Prov.22.6).

Joy is dead now. Her suffering is over. She’s gone to a place where she will never be abused by anyone again, and perhaps that means that she is more fortunate than some, for many children are still being mistreated by their parents.

Christian friends, let’s see to it that our children never have to suffer from child abuse, whether it be physical or verbal violence, or the even greater crime of spiritual neglect!

Guardian of Truth XXXV: 12, p. 365
June 20, 1991