Truth Magazine

By Donald P. Ames

Recently I sat down in the study to spend an afternoon getting out our weekly bulletin. I selected the material I thought would be effective to put therein, typed the stencils, justified the margins, proof-read them, made any necessary corrections, and then finished them to be ready to run off. I proceeded downstairs to the mimeograph room and ran off pages I and 4. 1 then flipped the pages over, changed the stencil, and proceeded with pages 2 and 3. About half way through, I glanced down and was shocked to see only white, blank pages coming out! (It seems I must have been about half asleep and had put the cover on the machine rather than the stencil, so naturally nothing was coming out. Sheepishly, I changed back to the stencil, and did the job correctly.)

As I rebuked myself for my stupidity, it also got me to thinking about this very article, and how much of our time and effort is for naught because we don’t really put forth the full effort necessary. For instance, how many congregations will decide to have a gospel meeting, select a “good preacher,” print up announcements to be passed out, run an ad in the local paper, etc. Then when the meeting gets here, members fail to mention it to their friends, fail to even bother to support it themselves, and maybe even complain about how “tired” they are? All that good effort, study, preaching, and expense for naught because we really weren’t that interested in a good meeting in the first place!

Some congregations mail out their bulletin (sorry, we at Emerson Ave. do not). The permit, mailing costs, work and effort amount to quite a bit. Still, some of the bulletins that cross my desk are so sloppy, crowded and poorly laid out that they simply slide into the trash, hardly even being looked at. Some are completely full of nothing but local assignments for the day’s activities (i.e., who’s to wait on the Lord’s table, who is the usher, etc.). Really now, why spend all that time and money to mail all that out to people who aren’t even going to be there, or maybe don’t even live anywhere around there? It takes up a lot of space, fills the pages; but is of no benefit to any but those in attendance. Why not fix an insert instead, then mail out a bulletin that can teach. Don’t make a lot of effort for naught. (And some bulletins are excellent – I can’t hardly wait to get them!)

Sadly, I still see many churches selecting good tracts and then not bothering to stamp the church’s address on them before putting them in the tract rack. So, after they have been removed, taken to work (school or some other location), read and set down, it is “anybody’s guess” where they came from. Someone picking one up and getting interested, could speculate for days as to where it came from and who is teaching such great truths, and never even come close to finding out. A lot of good teaching, expense, and opportunities gone for naught, because we fail to look beyond our tract rack or building.

But there are other things “for naught” to be considered also. Many times a class teacher will be busy planning the lesson all week for Sunday morning. Class begins, and some can’t “remember” where in the Bible the lesson was. Class books haven’t even been read, much less been filled out or being prepared to carry on an intelligent discussion about the class lesson. And then the late-comers trickle in and “don’t know where we are” or “what you are talking about.” And so we again review for their benefit. Yes, it is sad that all the work done to prepare a good lesson was for naught. So much more could be accomplished if we all tried to plan and cooperate better.

The preacher studies and plans his lessons to try to teach God’s word. He selects what he feels is needed and will help them in their studies and growth. And some will listen thank God for such. Some sleep or nod throughout the lesson. Some will whisper, visit, draw, or play with the kids (distracting often the very ones the preacher is trying to reach). The lesson is finished, and few may even remember the major points – a lot of work for naught.

I’m sure you also get the idea, can can make a lot of other applications of your own (and by the way this is not true of Emerson Ave., but I am speaking in generalities). If we are going to put forth the effort, let’s all join in and do our best to do it right so the intended goal may be achieved (Rom. 12:7-8). Let’s not let all the effort be “much ado for naught”!

Then again, as I think about it, another good lesson to come out of this incident might be one of inattention, or one on over-confidence. Now let me see. Hmm.

Guardian of Truth XXXIV: 12, p. 372
June 21, 1990

By Norman E. Fultz

Freedom! Liberty! Two words that stir deep emotions in the hearts of any oppressed or their sympathizers! With these words throngs can be mustered to support various causes or movements. The masses of marches from South Africa to Eastern Europe and even in Moscow lately have been crying out for more freedom – of movement, of expression, of economics, of personal enterprise. Great sacrifices have been made to attain or to maintain freedom for oneself or for others. The lovers of liberty will gladly risk life or limb. Patrick Henry’s immortal “Give me liberty or give me death” expresses the extreme importance attached to being free. The pages of history, both of the distant and more recent past, and that which is being currently written, recount the struggles of men to be free from various forms of oppression and bondage. And those who become the emancipators of those in bondage are destined for their place in the sun. But liberty once gained is not thereafter guaranteed without diligence on the part of the recipients. “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty” and diligent souls must keep watchful eyes for anything that would encroach.

There are many kinds of bondage – ignorance, superstition, political, psychological, fear, etc. But the greatest, because of its consequences, is spiritual bondage, the bondage of sin. “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin” (Jn. 8:34). “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23).

With many, the word “sin” is outmoded as they seek to cast off all restraint and exult in being their own person, “free spirits.” Having listened to the hawkers of loose living (“Do your own thing … .. You only go around once, so get all the gusto you can get,” “If it feels good, do it”) and the evangelists of “alternate lifestyles” who were promising liberty, they have been brought into bondage (2 Pet. 2:18-19). The escape promised by alcohol and other drugs and the sexual revolution have instead become entrapments. The resulting addiction and life threatening diseases have become matters of national concern, but the problem is one of sin.

From this bondage, there is an Emancipator, a Deliverer – Jesus Christ. Of his own power to free Jesus said, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth, and the truth shall make you free… If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (Jn. 8:31-32,36). Paul admonished the Galatian saints, “Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again in the yoke of bondage” (Gal. 5:1).

While many of the areas of freedom demanding attention of mankind are worthy, the greatest freedom one can pursue is that freedom from spiritual bondage; for like godliness, it has promise of life that now is and of that which is to come (1 Tim. 4:8). Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (Jn. 10:10).

Friend, you need no longer be enslaved to sin. You can be delivered, set free in Christ! Paul reminded the Romans that “so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death. Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:3-4). And a bit later he exultantly declared, “God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you” (Rom. 6:17). That freedom can be yours as well if you, like they, will obey the glorious gospel of Jesus. “Being then made free from sin” you will become “the servants of righteousness” (Rom. 6:18).

So, kind reader, as the grand old hymn invites:

If you are tired of the load of your sin,

Let Jesus come into your heart;

If you desire a new life to begin,

Let Jesus come into your heart.

And finally, let all who enjoy this freedom never cease in diligent effort to sound forth the good news of freedom in Christ.

Guardian of Truth XXXIV: 12, p. 371
June 21, 1990

By Connie Adams

Division over the work, nature and organization of the church is a reality. It did not come about suddenly but did come throughout this land and has spread to other nations beyond the seas. Every right thinking child of God wishes this tragedy had been averted and longs for unity based upon the word of God. The Psalmist praised the pleasantness of unity among brethren (Psa. 133:1). Jesus prayed for the oneness of all believers in him (Jn. 17:17-21). Paul outlines the disposition which endeavors to “keep the unity of the spirit” and gave seven foundation stones upon which such unity is to be built and maintained (Eph. 4:1-16).

Yet, the word of God warned that some would not be content to abide in the doctrine of Christ (2 Jn. 9-11). Paul said, “some shall depart from the faith” (1 Tim. 4:1). He told the Ephesian elders that some would “speak things to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:29-30). Those who would pervert the gospel of Christ are “accursed” (Gal. 1:6-9). It is possible to “wrest the scriptures” to the destruction of those so employed (2 Pet. 3:16).

Worse Than Division

While division among the people of God is deplorable, there is one thing worse than division and that is unity in error. When departures from the faith come, we could be united in the departure and all be lost together. Followers of truth cannot long remain in unison with followers of error. The New Testament is clear that promoters of error are to be marked and opposed (Rom. 16:17; Tit. 3:9-11; 1:9-11). Unity in error compromises the truth of God and leads to everlasting ruin. Every saint is a trustee of the faith “once delivered” and is charged to “contend” for that sacred body of teaching (Jude 3-4).

When Issues Arise

What are godly people to do when issues arise which threaten to divide brethren? Shall the issue be ignored in the hope that it will somehow go away? That will not work. It never has. Shall we wait to see how many will stand on one side or the other and then cast our lot with the majority? Shall we make our decision based on what great and good men think about it? Shall we support a position on the ground that “we have always done it this way?” Surely, these are false standards. We suggest some simple but basic rules to help us in such times:

(1) Respect the authority of the Scriptures. “Thy word is truth” (Jn. 17:17). “Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Col. 3:17). “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God” (1 Pet. 4:11). Let no man be honored “above that which is written” (1 Cor. 4:6). We must also respect the silence of God. Where God did not speak, we have no authority to eat.

(2) Believe that Scripture can be understood. The Lord addressed his word to our understanding. We are challenged to understand “what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17). We are to “read” the “words” written by an inspired man that we might “understand” (Eph. 3:2-4).

(3) Handle aright the word of truth. The word of God must be studied in context. We have preached this over and over to the denominational world for years, and rightly so. But the instruction of 2 Timothy 2:15 falls with equal weight upon us all. We must consider all that the Bible says on a subject. If more than one passage deals with a matter, then honest study requires that we regard the sum total of all God said about it before reaching a conclusion.

(4) Resolve to follow whatever course truth demands, What is the benefit of finding truth on any given subject unless we are determined to accept it, regardless of the cost. We must be as the man who found the pearl of great price and sold all he had in order to obtain it (Matt. 13:45-46).

(5) Stand for truth without bitterness. We do not have to hate a brother who had not as yet seen what we have seen in the word of God. If brethren become enemies because of our stand for truth, then we are challenged by the Lord to love our enemies and do good to those who despitefully use us (Matt. 5:43-46).

The Danger of the Closed Mind

When one has closed his mind to any alternative other than the one he has chosen, then it is very easy for him to see and yet not see, to hear and yet not hear. In the time of Ezekiel, “certain of the elders of Israel” came before him. The Lord told Ezekiel that they had “set up their idols in their hearts” and then warned: when men come to seek God’s will with such idols in the heart, “I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols” (Ezek. 14:1-5). Jesus warned of those whose hearts were “dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed” (Matt. 13:15). The church at Laodicea was blind to its faults and needed “eyesalve” that it might see (Rev. 3:18). Perhaps the most sobering warning of all was stated by Paul to the Thessalonians when he said, “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them a strong delusion, that they should believe a lie; That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thess. 2:10-12). Anything less than a sincere love for the truth opens the door of the heart to deception and delusion leading to everlasting destruction.

In a parable of the sower, Jesus said “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.” (Lk. 8:15). In the study before us in this special issue, we appeal to brethren with honest and good hearts to consider what is presented. “Prove all things: hold fast that which is good” (1 Thess. 5:21).

Since the division of the 1950’s and 1960’s over the work, nature and organization of the church, most brethren on either side of the division have had little communication with each other. While prejudices and old bitterness linger in the hearts of some, there is a new generation on the scene today which might be able to look at these issues more objectively and with less danger of rancor than was true of some in the past. Whether you consider yourself a “liberal,” “conservative,” “middle-of-the-roader” or scorn all such labels, we simply ask you to give this material fair and honest consideration. Through all these years, during and after the division, we have not personally stopped reading what brethren on the other side of have had to say. We receive bulletins and periodicals from those who are now estranged from us and we read them. We have never written them angry notes demanding to be removed from their mailing lists, nor removed one of them from ours just because they reviewed something we had to say. We have always been willing to study both publicly and privately with those of the contrary persuasion. Our personal files are full of correspondence with many brethren over these years which bear evidence to truth of that statement. We have met with one or more preachers with whom we differed for frank but reasonable discussions. We have never slammed the door on such discussions, not even public debates, when they were conducted under fair and equal arrangements. That remains our disposition to the present hour (Searching the Scriptures, [Aug. 1978], pp. 152-153).

Guardian of Truth XXXIV: 13, pp. 386, 409-410
July 5, 1990

By Roy E. Cogdill (1907-1985)

Sometimes the question is asked: “What difference does it make whether each congregation takes care of its own ‘charge’ in the work of relieving the destitute; or all of the churches do their work through a human organization built and maintained by them for this purpose?” The difference is exactly this: One is found in the New Testament and the other is not! (Acts 6:1-6)

Then sometimes brethren are heard to ask: “What difference does it make whether a church sends a preacher and supports the preacher by sending money to him: or sends the money to another church and lets that church support a preacher with it?” The difference, again, is exactly the same: One practice is found in the New Testament and the other is not! (Phil. 4:15-16)

“What difference does it make whether each church does its own work, by using its own resources, under the supervision of its own eldership: or pools its resources with another congregation or a group of congregations (as is the case with the Highland Church and Herald of Truth), as a means of cooperating in fulfilling their preaching mission?” The difference is exactly this: One is found in the New Testament and the other is not found there! (Phil. 4:15-16; 1:1).

“What difference does it make whether a church sends its contribution directly to a preacher or church; or through another church, acting as its agent?” The difference is exactly this: One is found in the New Testament and the other is not! (Phil. 4:15-16; Acts 11:27-30)

“Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son (2 Jn. 9). (Truth Magazine [10 Jan. 1974], p. 156)

Guardian of Truth XXXIV: 13, p. 388
July 5, 1990