Truth Magazine

By Robert Wayne LaCoste

Regrettably, few religious teachers want their doctrine publicly examined in honorable debate or discussion. One reason no doubt is because, over the years, many debates have been nothing more than an exercise in two speakers trying to see which one could out insult the other. I’m not sure what that should be called, but it is not debating.

However, that’s not the main reason men who teach error reject honorable debate. They know full well their doctrines can not stand the test of public scrutiny. False doctrine just can’t be defended with any reasonable amount of success. In other words, when denominational teachers weigh the possible gain against the conceivable losses, they are quick to retort, “We don’t believe in debating.” As one Christian Church preacher told us several years ago, “We used to debate the instrumental music question, but we don’t do that anymore. The last time we did, we lost members left and right.” We don’t agree with that ideology, but we do understand it! Though he may not have intended to do so, this gentleman spoke for more than himself.

In the latter part of last year I had the opportunity to begin plans for a real in-depth study on denominational error. The effort was designed to look at the various main religious bodies from not only an historical standpoint (founder, origin, place, etc.), but focused in on main beliefs. As the series developed on paper, I tried to put myself in those folks place who would read our personal letters of invitation to attend. I did not like what I saw. If I were them, I would see this as simply another “church of Christ” preacher taking potshots at different churches. I was compelled to take a different approach. I began a diligent search for any material I could get my hands on written by respected men of the different churches. It didn’t take me long to gather quite a bit of material. What creed books I didn’t have of the different churches, I was soon able to obtain. I wanted more than that though. Soon, I had articles, interviews and tracts by well known men of every major religious body in America. I decided in all fairness to quote from their own materials and compare that with Scripture. Each one in the audience then could simply compare. The challenge to this was not in gathering the material or using it fairly. The challenge was going to be the actual manner of the comparison. How do you compare truth with error, showing the importance of one and the condemnation of the other and still retain objectivity and prudence? Every gospel preacher will tell you this is the greatest of challenges in the presentation of God’s word and the rebuke of error.

The main motive behind this series was not to inform members of the church on different denominations. The main reason was to invite different religious people to come and in a somewhat tranquil and unimposing atmosphere, get them to realize why we believe and teach as we do and get them to question why they are what they are religiously.

Still, something was missing. If fairness is going to be truly the order of the day, then why not invite any preacher of any of these churches to respond publicly on anything we say or do, with the repeated encouragement to correct us on any matter they feel we have misrepresented or misstated. This was not to be considered a “challenge” for a debate. This was simply a way to show all listeners how sincere and deeply serious we were about facts.

The series began. It went back to look how apostasy begins in any generation; how shortly after the church began there was corruption in the early church at Corinth (A.D. 60; 1 Cor. 1). From there we showed how it took nearly six centuries to eventually become the Roman Catholic Church. We took a look at the Reformation and Restoration periods and all the while we sent letters to the churches that came out of the many passing years. We did have different denominational people attend, but it wasn’t until we had our investigation on Joseph Smith and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (The Mormons) that we received an opportunity to have a public discussion on our differences.

The Mormons realized this was no job for a young missionary or bishop of their own ranks. Mr. Darryl Townsend, their stake president for this part of Texas was their spokesman. He and I over many weeks tried to plan a period of study that would be beneficial. To them, debate was out of the question. Though they felt we would behave honorably, they simply felt “uncomfortable” with it. I didn’t push it therefore, but agreed to an exchange where affirmative material for the most part would be the main oratory. We agreed there should be given time to the audience for questions, as long as they were written down and were proper questions. We agreed that perhaps more than one speaker would be profitable. Though we were at liberty to use up to 3 speakers, no one was under any obligation in that regard. We knew who we wanted. Harry Osborne would come from Alvin, Texas and present material on “Prophets and Prophecy,” I would try to show facts concerning “The New Testament Church,” and brother Joe Price would deal with “The All Sufficiency of the Scriptures.” Joe Price has lived with, worked with and converted members of this church over the past seven years he has lived in the state of Utah. He preaches for the church in Kaysville, Utah.

I was disappointed that Mr. Townsend was their only speaker, but he was well qualified to espouse Mormonism and he conducted himself as a gentleman. Surely, we did the same.

The first night, a large crowd gathered and in our building that seats 300, there were few seats remaining. We were blessed to have many gospel preachers in the audience. Among them were Jim Ward, Robert Turner, Tim Coffey, Elton Haley, Jack Holt, and Robert Farish. Mr. Townsend spoke over an hour on the origin and some of the main doctrines of Mormonism. Joe Price and Harry Osborne then responded with the material mentioned above. Time ran out on us, but on the second evening I began by talking about the one true church and Mr. Townsend then talked about the Church whose headquarters are in Salt Lake City, Utah. Afterwards we dealt with the written questions we had received and Mr. Townsend answered some of the questions our brethren gave him. All speakers had about the same amount of time on the floor.

We know not what may have been accomplished by this activity last month. As God knows our hearts it was our desire to openly discuss matters which divide people spiritually. Of course, God doesn’t expect results from us, just the effort. He will take care of the results (1 Cor. 3:7). The feedback from brethren was encouraging. In fact, most said they thought it went better than most debates they have witnessed.

Certainly it was far from being the ideal arrangement, bu who knows? Perhaps in time, more people will see the need and importance of reasoning together in an effort to ascertain truth. Truth should motivate us to arrange the method or exercise necessary to preach the gospel. If false teachers refuse to sign propositions, then we must search for other opportunities to reach out to the lost. May our Father bless us in these efforts and defeat us in anything contrary to his will.

Guardian of Truth XXXIII: 18, pp. 560, 566
September 21, 1989

By Mike Willis

A government promoted campaign to curb drug abuse has reached into most cities and towns in America. Its message has been aimed at children, educating them regarding the dangers of drugs and exhorting them to say “no” to drug abuse. I am encouraged by the program because it is based on sound fundamental truths.

Presumptions of the Program

1. The program presumes that individuals must accept personal responsibility for their actions. In emphasizing that drug abuse can be controlled by the individual saying “no,” the program encourages individuals to take personal responsibility for their conduct. Each person is responsible for what he chooses to do.

2. The program presumes free-will. The program presumes that man has the ability to choose to use or not to use drugs. Each person is able to choose not to use drugs. There is no fatalistic, deterministic, beyond one’s control drive that forces one to choose to use drugs.

These presuppositions are sound and the program will work – it will inform children of the dangers of drug abuse and encourage them to choose not to use drugs. Not every child will choose to say “no” to drugs. Some children will use drugs, although they are informed of the dangers of drug abuse. However, the program presumes that most young people will choose to say “no” to drugs when they are properly informed of its dangers.

Will It Work In Other Areas?

As I have watched the enthusiasm with which this program is being received, I have wondered why other, similar programs cannot be started. Here are some sample proposals:

1. Just Say “No ” to Tobacco. We have been encouraged by Surgeon General C. Everrett Koop to curb tobacco use. Why not take that program into the grade schools and push it like we are pushing “just say ‘no’ to drugs”? Already some of this work has been done with good success.

2. Just Say “No” to Alcohol. Why not begin a similar program that is aimed, not at controlling drinking of alcoholic beverages, but at saying “no” to alcohol? Why not teach our children to totally abstain from this drug? We could raise a generation of sober citizens who did not slaughter each other on the highways while under the influence of alcohol. Instead of teaching our children “how” to drink, why not teach them to say “no” to alcohol?

Someone says, “This will never work.” Yet this is exactly the program which is used after a person admits that he is an alcoholic! The program is proven to work with alcoholics; why shouldn’t it work with those who are not alcoholics? If the program “just say ‘no’ to alcohol” will work after a person becomes an alcoholic, why not teach our young to “just say ‘no’ to alcohol” before they become alcoholics?

3. Just Say “No” Fornication. Instead of spending tax dollars to send Planned Parenthood representatives into the schools to teach children that there are no moral absolutes regarding sexual practice, how to use condoms and receive free birth control pills, and where to get an abortion, why not organize a program which teaches children the danger of pre-marital and extra-marital sex (venereal disease, illegitimate babies, AIDS, etc.) and teach them to say “no” to sex outside the marriage bed. Already I can hear the liberal establishment saying, “That will never work. Teenagers will experiment with sex.” Some children will, just like some children will choose to say “yes” to drugs despite all of the efforts to discourage its use. That should not deter us from teaching them to say “no” to fornication and adultery anymore than the fact that some will choose to use drugs should discourage us from encouraging young people to say “no” to drugs.

The very ones who criticize a “just say ‘no… program regarding fornication will resort to this very program after a diagnosis of venereal disease. Once a person is identified as a carrier of venereal disease, he is counseled, “Just say “no” to sex.” If the program will work after venereal disease has been diagnosed, why not use it before it has been diagnosed?

Can you imagine the impact a drug program would have if it were conducted like the Planned Parenthood organization conducts its sex education program? The program would say, “There are no moral absolutes about drug use. Each person must decide whether he chooses to use drugs or not. There are some dangers to using heroin, uppers, downers, etc., but clean drug use is innocent, stimulating, and safe. It you need clean needles for drug use, you can receive them at Planned Drug Use Clinics. If you want help in overcoming the harmful effects of drug use, you can stop in at the Planned Drug Use Clinic and receive your help. By all means, however, do not allow anyone to impose their moral standards on you regarding drug use.” Would you be happy with federal dollars funding such a clinic? We have that already in sex education – Planned Parenthood.

4. Just Say “No” to Homosexuality. Why not initiate a program which teaches that homosexuality is wrong, what its harmful effects are, and encourage young people to say “no” to homosexuality? People are responsible for their actions and have the ability to choose to abstain from homosexuality. Why not begin a program which encourages responsible humans to abstain from homosexuality before they get AIDS? That is exactly the program which is encouraged after they get AIDS. If it will work after they get AIDS, why won’t it work before they get AIDS?

Conclusion

Just maybe the time has come for personal responsibility to be emphasized in our society. Maybe our government has accidentally stumbled onto a program on drug abuse which they will apply in other areas as well. Maybe this program will change the thinking that releases drunkards from personal responsibility by saying that they have a disease called “alcoholism,” releases criminals from personal responsibility by the defense of “temporary insanity,” and releases homosexuals from personal responsibility by saying that they were genetically programmed to be homosexual.

Then, if this can be applied to these social problems, maybe we can persuade some of our Congressmen to “just say ‘no'” to fraud, embezzlement, influence peddling, womanizing, etc. Now, let’s not get too carried away. We may be able to persuade our children to “just say ‘no’ to drugs” but who can believe that we can persuade our Congressman to “just say ‘no'”?

Guardian of Truth XXXIII: 18, pp. 546, 565
September 21, 1989

By Polly Phillips

When brother Mike Willis asked me to write an article as a tribute to my husband Elwood, my mind went back many years ago when I met H.E. Phillips (known as Elwood). We were in high school and I had a class in English with the same teacher that he had for a class in French and, as we passed by going to and from our classes, our eyes met and I thought this was the most handsome young man with black wavy hair and black eyes I had ever seen. That began a great romance and finally a marriage that has lasted for over 54 years. Elwood, I honor you as a faithful and loving husband and a good father to our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. You have been an example of a godly and righteous man and I thank God for you every day. You have been my life and I love you more every year.

We were blessed with four beautiful daughters. Our third little girl died at six weeks of age and, as David of old, we hope to be with her again in Heaven. We have three wonderful Christian daughters who have married fine Christian men and blessed us with eleven grandchildren and ten great grandchildren. We also have many sons and daughters whom we have adopted while they were here in college and many stayed in our home which made our lives richer.

Elwood has been blessed to baptize all his children and grandchildren into Christ but the youngest two and he hopes to live long enough to baptize them. He also performed the marriage ceremony for his children and grandchildren.

Elwood was born just outside Bowling Green, Kentucky to a mother and father who were Christians; he was the first son born followed by four other boys who were born into this family. Two of his brothers, Eugene and Leroy, have passed from this life and two, Kenneth and Bobby, are living in Clearwater. They are truly my brothers too. I miss Eugene and Leroy, but I am thankful to still have Kenneth and Bobby. My relationship with Elwood’s four brothers has truly been a beautiful relationship and I thank God for them and the many good times we have shared together. At the time Elwood was baptized at 12th Street in Bowling Green, his grandfather was an elder; later in Clearwater, Florida, his father was an elder; and at the present Elwood is an elder at Fletcher Avenue in Tampa.

His father was taken from this life in 1956. His loving mother known to all as “Mamaw” is still living in Clearwater, FL. She will be 91 years of age in September. She has been such a great influence on our lives and the lives of our children. When I obeyed the gospel, I was not allowed to go to my father’s home for three long years and Mamaw and Papaw became my own mother and father. I will always be grateful for their love and care for me. In this tribute they play a very important part. Mamaw taught me the lessons I learned from Proverbs 31:10-31 and I praise her as a virtuous woman whose children rise up and call her blessed. When our marriage started, I was not a Christian. My father as a Presbyterian minister with two doctorate’s degrees from Vanderbilt University and such a brilliant mind. He read his Bible every day, yet never obeyed the gospel. He and my mother were such good parents and taught me so many good lessons pertaining to morality, honesty and being a good citizen. I am so thankful to them for that. They left this life never having obeyed God’s word. Elwood and I were married almost six years when one Sunday morning in Nashville, Tennessee, I was baptized into Christ. That began an even more wonderful relationship because, at that time, we had two little girls. On this day Elwood told me he wanted to preach, so we began to make plans for him to return to college and full-time preaching. He had made talks and taught classes and was very active in the work of the Lord. He felt he could not be as effective with people of the world until he could convert his wife.

While I was learning the truth, Elwood was such a faithful, dedicated Christian who would not let even his wife keep him from attending every service and taking a very active part in the work of the Church. He was the best example I had. His inspiration had been Foy E. Wallace, along with other gospel preachers he heard as a young boy and a grandmother who taught her grandsons Bible stories and encouraged them to be good Christian boys. She hoped one of them would be a gospel preacher and she lived to hear Elwood preach many times. These influences in his life started the burning desire to preach God’s word. Sometimes when I would get so lonely and tired I would say, “Why don’t you do something else?” his reply would be, “I must do this to go to Heaven.”

Elwood and I have had many years in the service of the Lord with him preaching and me as the wife of the preacher. We have worked with some of the best people on earth, Christians. We have shared many times of joy and happiness and then there have been times when our hearts were broken because someone we loved turned back to the world and we were persecuted because we stood for the truth. Besides preaching, Elwood had a desire to write, and he published a book on Scriptural Elders and Deacons. It speaks for itself through the years. He has written several tracts and some of them have been used for Bible classes.

In 1959, as I lay in a hospital in Tallahassee, fighting for my life after being in a bad car accident, Elwood got out the first issue of Searching the Scriptures in a hotel room close to the hospital. He spent days with me, feeding me, giving me pep talks and both of us praying often that I would live and continue my work as a mother, wife and preacher’s wife. He spent the nights working on the paper and praying that his paper would reach many souls and teach where he could not go. My life was spared and we have worked together for the Lord. As you see, by this article I am not the writer in the family.

We have had so many special times in our lives and one is when we went to Italy and made plans to bring two young Italian men to Tampa to attend Florida College. We felt that there was a need for these young men to sit at the feet of such good Bible teachers, then return to their land and preach to their people. They are both faithful gospel preachers in Northern Italy. They stayed in our home and through this experience we were taught many lessons. We learned not to take things for granted that we have, what hospitality really means, what true zeal and enthusiasm really is, what true sacrifice is and what true love is. Every Christian should read the book of Phillipians often. We have learned in whatsoever state we are in, therewith to be content (Phil. 4:11).

To all of you who read this and have been a part of our lives, may I say, “Thanks be to God for you and your love for us in making our lives so rich with love and happiness.”

May God bless each of you to continue to serve God and strive to gain that great entrance into eternal life and may we all hear that “well done thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joys of the Lord.” I am closing my article with one note written to me by Elwood on my birthday in 1982, and one that was written to me on one of our anniversaries. As you read them you will see why I love this man so much and thank God every day that our lives crossed and we have been able to have a wonderful home and good children. I pray we can spend eternity together.

Dear Polly,

God has been very good to us through the years to permit us to live as “one flesh” to this 54th anniversary of our wedding. No man ever had a more virtuous woman for his wife than I have. No man ever had a more dependable help meet than I have. “Thou excelleth them all” for me.

Our three children and their husbands, our eleven grandchildren, and our ten great-grandchildren rise up and call you blessed, and I also praise you (Prov. 31:29).

My dear sweet wife, as we stand at the threshold of our 55th year as husband and wife, I anticipate the greatest and happiest year of my life with you. These 54 years have been so wonderful to me. We have laughed together and cried together. We have been on the top of the mountain together and in the valley together. We have shared the joys and sorrows of life together. Life would be impossible without you. Thank you for every moment of it!

I will hold your hand tightly as we walk together the last few years of our lives together. Then we shall spend eternity together at the throne of God.

I love you second only to God!

Elwood

(To Polly on her birthday, October 26, 1982)

To My Wonderful Wife:

In the early springtime.of life our eyes met and started the fires of love which within a year brought us to join hands and hearts in marriage vows, and God joined us together for the rest of our lives.

In the springtime of our lives all the joy, thrills, dreams, ambitions, and love were ours! What more could we ask for?

As the summer came on we were filled with the happiness of young parents, but we faced the hardships, plans, disappointments, anxieties and pain of young parents! We had the complete joy and happiness of sharing ownership of the greatest blessings on earth – our children. They brought us real fulfillment in our lives.

But in the autumn of life we shared an even greater responsibility: the caring for, training, and loving unpredictable teenagers with their schools, dating, finances, and finally marriages. There were many solemn hours which only we and God shared. The hot sunshine, the blistering winds, and the stormy seas, separated by the periods of refreshing calm, brought us through the adolescence and young adulthood of our beautiful loving children. They were worth it and a thousand times that much. It was not really bad – it was only the inexperience of two young, concerned, loving parents, who wanted the very best for their children. Because of you they got our best.

Now we walk hand in hand in the beginning of winter. Our steps are slower, the sound of the birds is softer, and the beauty of the sunset is not so brilliant. But we thank God for all the happy memories, and for the many wonderful things we now have.

As the shadows lengthen and we realize that our “three score and ten years” is not far ahead, our hands hold tighter, our loves grows stronger, our faith in God is greater, and we rejoice that we have been so blessed with so much so long!

Guardian of Truth XXXIII: 17, pp. 521-522
September 7, 1989

By Ron Halbrook

“We are determined to teach the pure gospel as it is taught in the New Testament, nothing more and nothing less. . . . We have no policy but to be scriptural, fair, sincere, and faithful in our work” (Searching the Scriptures, Jan. 1960, p. 2). This aim expressed by H.E. Phillips and James P. Miller perfectly captures the spirit of the preaching done by brother Phillips in the 25 years I have known him. How did God prepare and raise up this servant? What avenues of proclamation have been utilized in his evangelistic work? What is his manner of presentation in gospel preaching?

Preparation

Harlin Elwood Phillips was born 31 October 1916 near Bowling Green, Kentucky. Elwood’s paternal grandfather was an elder at the Twelfth St. church of Christ in Bowling Green (1927-37), where the young man was baptized in November 1929 by A.B. Barret (1879-195 1). Young Elwood was especially close to his grandmother, Mrs. Charles (Ella Martin) Phillips (1873197 1). She often read the Bible to the five Phillips brothers. After Elwood heard Foy E. Wallace, Jr. (1896-1979) in a gospel meeting at Twelfth St., he wanted to be baptized and preach the gospel. He asked “Grandma” if he was old enough.

With a loving embrace she suggested that I read the book of Matthew and come and talk with her again. Each time I came back she wisely suggested that I carefully read the next book, until I had finished the book of Acts. . . . The, power of this influence still lives in me and my children and my grandchildren (“Ella Martin Phillips,” Searching the Scriptures, Dec. 1971, pp. 372-73; for more detailed account, cf. Earl Kimbrough, “A Grandmother’s Wisdom,” Ibid., Oct. 1981, pp. 524-25).

The Bible often mentions the role of godly parents and grandparents in raising up men and women of great faith. God said of Abraham, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord” (Gen. 18:19). In the face of his duty to God, Moses was not afraid to spurn the beck and call of the king’s court, but he learned to exercise such faith from his parents and was especially trained by his mother (Exod. 2:5-10; Heb. 11:23-24). Mothers and grandmothers can do no greater work than to teach children “the holy scriptures,” to exemplify godliness before them, and so to raise up Timothy’s to bless this sin-cursed world (1 Tim. 2:9-15; 2 Tim. 1:5; 3:14-15). We, too, can raise up men like Timothy and Elwood today if we bring up our children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). Elwood’s spiritual training is reflected in this observation, “From the earliest traces of memory he recalls being taught the Bible at home by his parents and being carried by them regularly to Bible school and worship” (Kimbrough., op. cit.).

In 1931 the Charlie Phillips family moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where Elwood attended high school. Four years later he married Pauline Younger, the daughter of a Presbyterian preacher. In spite of her family’s, opposition, she was converted to the truth (ca. 1940). Polly’s deep convictions and staunch support of the truth have been a mainstay to her beloved Elwood as they have labored together in the gospel through all of these years.

Brother Phillips did not learn to preach in college classes, although as an adult he would later attend the University of Tampa and the first semester of Florida Christian College (now Florida College) in 1946. His training to preach came through the local church and the help of experienced evangelists. His family first attended the Grace Avenue church of Christ in Nashville, and in 1934 went to the Lischey Avenue church, where he “began ‘making talks’ and teaching in 1938” (see biographical sketch in Melvin D. Curry, ed., The Doctrine of Last Things. Florida College Annual Lectures 1986, p. xvii). He preached his first full sermon away from home in Cottontown, Tennessee in January of 1942. If we are to have more Timothy’s and Elwood’s, local churches must provide vigorous and sound teaching to young people, provide opportunities and arrangements for young men to Work alongside experienced preachers, and provide occasions for younger men to develop their talents in public teaching.

The early influence of Foy E. Wallace, Jr. deepened through the years as brother Phillips saw and heard him proclaim the positive truths of the gospel while also challenging error in its strongholds and its citadels. Foy’s powerful lessons in the 1930s-40s on the dangers of premillennialism and institutionalism were never to be forgotten. Neither were the night classes taught at Grace Avenue in the 1930s by H. Leo Boles (1874-1946). By all account, Boles saturated his auditors with Scripture and a love for it. Batsell Baxter said, “His Bible classes were full of information, free of speculation, true to the book,” and N.B. Hardeman observed,

He was one of the best Bible teachers of all that have gone before…. He filled his audience with a love for the truth and with courage to defend it. He spoke with confidence and knowledge that carried convictions. Weak and ailing people were heartened by what he had to say (L.L. Boles and J.E. Choate, I’ll Stand on the Rock: A Biography of H. Leo Boles, pp. 209 and 227 respectively).

Brother Phillips read carefully Boles’ wide ranging articles in the Gospel Advocate.

F. B. Srygley (1859-1940) also made deep impressions for truth on young Elwood both by articles in the Advocate and by the spoken word. Two Sundays per month Srygley preached before the Lischey Avenue church in Nashville and Elwood was in the audience when the veteran warrior came to the pulpit with the help of two brethren and a cane and sat in a chair to preach his last sermon there. To read of the spirit of such men is to realize that they kindled the same fire in the hearts of others like H.E. Phillips. Boles remarked upon “The Passing of F.B. Srygley,”

No one has sacrificed more time from home and family for the cause of Christ than Brother Srygley. No one has endured more hardships, suffered more bitter persecution, and been slandered more than was he. Those who read his editorials can bear testimony that he waged a relentless warfare against every encroachment on the truth of God and against the enemies of the church of our Lord.

Brother Srygley never faltered, evaded, or compromised any truth or righteous principle. . . . He was as courageous in criticizing his friends as he was in defending the truth against enemies. His genial good nature helped him in offering criticism and corrections, and removed the sting of the critic (Gospel Advocate, 15 Feb. 1940, p. 148).

In like manner, brother Phillips has endured hardships, opposed every encroachment on the truth, and criticized his friends when necessary in a spirit of love (see, for instance, his review of Yater Tant’s abortive unity plan, in Searching the Scriptures, Dec. 1982-May 1983).

During his Nashville years, Elwood was influenced also by the conservative and dedicated teaching of H.M. Phillips 1887-1960; not related). With uncanny foresight H.M. Phillips warned in 1929 that “the church is liable to get top heavy with organizations” parallel in principle to the missionary society, including church hospitals, universities, health resorts, “orphan homes, old ladies’ homes, and clinics. . . . So far as I know, the church, as such, has no organization but the local congregation” (“Is This Scriptural?” Gospel Advocate, 13 June 1929, p. 577; reprinted in Gospel Guardian, 15 Sept. 1960, pp. 289, 301). Such warnings were not lost on Elwood, who heard H.M. at Lischey Avenue a number of times. As the 1930s-40s wore on, brother Phillips and other good brethren recognized a creeping softness among certain churches and preachers.

The preparation of H.E. Phillips as a preacher is instructive to us 0. It shows a happy combination of individual efforts, home influences, church work and strong preaching. Whenever and wherever a local church concentrates on edifying all its members and on sounding out the word of the Lord, there is the potential for God raising up men willing to endure any trial and to make any sacrifice necessary to spread the gospel of Christ (Eph. 4:16; 1 Thess. 1:8). Gospel preachers should give special emphasis to the charge of 2 Timothy 2:2, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”

Proclamation

Brother Phillips has used every avenue and opportunity he could find to spread the gospel. He had a very responsible job with a sheet metal company in Nashville and moved to Tampa, Florida in 1940 with this job. While supporting himself, he helped with the preaching at the Sulphur Springs and Belmont Heights churches in Tampa. About 1942/43 the church at Dover near Tampa asked him to labor with them on a full time basis; he agreed, and gave up his secular job. After preaching for churches in Lake City (1944) and Clearwater (1945), brother Phillips was invited to work with the East University Avenue church in Gainesville in 1953. Finally returning to Tampa in 1960, his efforts have been concentrated there with the Forest Hills (1960-75) and Fletcher Avenue (since late July 1975; briefly called Northwest) churches. His heavy duties for many years, his advancing age, and his health problems have taken their toll. Though H.E. continues to serve as an elder, brother Everett Hardin carries most of the load of preaching at Fletcher Avenue. Two outstanding features of his work with local churches have been a constant emphasis on the need for sound teaching and the constant expression of personal love, especially by extending to people the hospitality of his home.

While working hard to build up the local church where he lives and labors, he has also been untiring in his efforts to reach souls with the gospel far and wide. In addition to his use of Searching the Scriptures, gospel meetings have been conducted through much of his life at the rate of 7-12 per year and including some 20 states. Before the full onslaught of liberalism, many such meetings were held in Nashville in the 1940s, where he once preached before an audience of 1,000 people at a closing service. These travels have carried him as far away as Italy, Switzerland, England and Germany.

The pen as well as the pulpit has been utilized by brother Phillips in spreading the gospel. His articles appeared in the old Gospel Broadcast, the Apostolic Times, and occasionally in the Gospel Advocate. James P. Miller (1915-78) and H.E. Phillips saw the dangers of liberalism rapidly developing and jointly put out the Southeastern News Letter (called Florida News Letter the first few months) beginning in March 1958 in an effort “to keep brethren talking and discussing their differences. . . . We were too late with this effort, and besides we learned that it was not the right way to deal with false teachers” (H.E.P., “Editorial,” Searching the Scriptures, May 1973, pp. 259-62, see p. 260).

Therefore, in January 1960 they launched Searching the Scriptures with a determination “to teach the pure gospel as it is taught in the New Testament,” to allow brethren to freely discuss “controversial matters,” and in all things “to be scriptural, fair, sincere, and faithful” (joint “Editorial . . . A New Paper Is Born,” Ibid., Jan. 1960, p. 2). After two years H.E. took full editorial responsibility to allow brother Miller “to intensify his labors in other fields,” although Miller continued promoting the paper and was listed as a co-editor through December 1969 (H.E.P., “Editorial,” op. cit.). When brother Phillips passed, the editorship to the capable hands of Connie W. Adams in May 1973, the circulation exceeded 6,500 per month. Only eternity can measure the great good accomplished through this medium, which remains a bastion for truth until this day.

Brother Phillips has used other avenues of proclamation. He has done some radio preaching and edited church bulletins. Phillips Publications was established in 1947 and has published 17 books, booklets, and tracts which he authored. His Church Officers and Organization was later expanded and published as Scriptural Elders and Deacons (1959), which was reprinted by Cogdill Foundation Publications in 1974 and has sold out again. His 1952 booklet “Must I Attend Every Service of the Church?” was reprinted in the Guardian of Truth (19 Nov.-17 Dec. 1987, pp. 686-87; 707-709; 741-42). For many years Phillips Publications offered tape recordings of many sermons and debates, and brother Phillips hired a professional reader (Richard Lupino) to provide a set of New Testament tapes.

The efforts put forth by brother Phillips in spreading the gospel seem endless. He worked 18-20 hours a day, seven days per week, until heart attacks in January 1967 and August 1971 forced him to “slow down and take it easier” (H.E.P., “Editorial,” op. cit.). Even his slower pace would outrun many of us. His continued health problems are a tribute to his sacrifical labors in the gospel. He will be embarrassed by our recounting some of these things, but our purpose is not to draw him larger than life or to suggest that he is a perfect man. He would detest such implications and idolatry. Our pupose is to express love and gratitude to him for his faithful labors in the gospel, and also to stir up greater zeal, unselfishness, and dedication on the part of all who read these lines! The Bible underscores many of its greatest lessons by the record of the example of godly men and women. Such servants of the living God can still be found today, if we have eyes to see.

Presentation

The style and manner of presentation of H.E. Phillips in the pulpit is impressive, but not from the standpoints of eloquence or egotism. His preaching is above all scriptural in focus and content. It is Book, chapter, and verse preaching. Bible passages are read and quoted. Bible texts are dissected and discussed. Appropriate illustrations are used, but the Bible itself dominates his presentation. The meaning of God’s Word is sought in its context and then applied to modem situations, questions, dangers, trials, and challenges. As a college student I first heard brother Phillips point out that the “banqueting” of 1 Peter 4:3 is equivalent to modem social drinking. Further research has confirmed the accuracy of what he taught on that issue at Forest Hills 25 years ago in such clear and simple language.

Brother Phillips occasionally refers to some commentator or reference book, but he always makes his final appeal to Scripture because he believes he can cite no higher authority than God himself. Human learning has never enamored him. He exemplifies as fully as any man I know what the Holy Spirit commanded, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God” (1 Pet. 4:11). He truly believes the Word is sufficient to meet, every true spiritual need, of the human race (2 Tim. 3:16-17). This does not mean that he considers himself incapable of erring on a given point, but it means that he considers the Bible as the final standard of measurement on any and every point under discussion. Not only does he measure the teaching of other men by this standard, but also fie is willing for other men to measure his teaching by this standard (1 Cor. 4:6; 1 Jn. 4:6).

The preaching of H. E. Phillips is utterly sincere. To hear him preach is to be aware that his very soul is appealing to the soul of each listener. Pride, pretense, and personal promotion are utterly absent in his presentation. The man is lost in the message he brings. “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Cor. 4:5). He is engrossed too much in the search for hungry souls and in the reality of man’s eternal destiny to be a clock-watcher or a card-puncher determined to “get out on time.”

Preaching at the North Meadows church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee in the mid-1970s in a gospel meeting, brother Phillips discussed Romans 12 and the importance of each and every Christian being alert, active, and alive as members of the body of Christ. His sincerity and concentration on the lesson at hand made it seem as if the Apostle Paul himself were there delivering the message of inspiration to the audience. His preaching aims not at obtaining praise but at the progress of truth in the hearts and lives of us all.

Brother Phillips is militant in his preaching, and makes no apologyfor it. He is “set for the defence of the gospel,” and God has given him the spirit “of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” He is therefore not “ashamed of the testimony of our Lord” nor afraid of “the afflictions” we may suffer at the hands of unlearned, unsound, and unreasonable men (Phil. 1:17; 2 Tim. 1:7-8; 2 Pet. 3:17; 2 Thess. 3:1-2). He has nothing but disdain and disgust for the sweet, soft, syrupy spirit of compromise. Not only does he disagree with every departure from the truth of God, but also he detests every departure. “Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way” (Psa. 119:128). 1 can not count the times I have heard him warn both in public preaching and in private conversation about the dangers of the philosophy which says, “Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative.” The warning of Christ is echoed by the preaching of H.E. Phillips, that “ravening wolves” come under the pretense of broad smiles and in “sheep’s clothing” (Matt. 7:15).

Brother Phillips strives to speak and preach the truth in love (Eph. 4. 15). His constant appeal is to the truth of Scripture and the love of God. His love for. saints and sinners is evident in his presentation but there is not the least indication of toleration for sin, not even for his best friends. I count myself rich to have such a friend as brother Phillips who would not hestitate to talk and plead with me if he thought I was turning toward sin or error.

I will always remember his sermon at the Knollwood church in Xenia, Ohio on Sunday morning, 16 September 1979, emphasizing the need to be thankful. The whole tenor of this sermon reflected his own deep love for God and man, and his deep desire to express that love. He impressed me more deeply with the need to express gratitude and love toward those who bless and help us in life. In fact, this article is a small expression of love and gratitude to God for the blessings he has brought into my life through his servant H.E. Phillips, and to brother Phillips for his willingness to be so used of God. I mean to include sister Phillips in that same expression.

Time and space fail me to tell more of the preparation, proclamation, and presentation of H.E. Phillips, the preacher. Many are the lessons to be learned as we reflect upon his life. May God help us all to be more tireless, determined, and unselfish in spirit as we labor to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world. May God help us all to show more hospitality and consideration to younger preachers and to all brethren who need our encouragement. May God help us all to strive to be scriptural, sincere, militant, and loving as we preach the gospel of Christ, and to be “scriptural, fair, sincere, and faithful” in all our work and conduct in this life. In so doing, we honor not H.E. Phillips, but rather the God who made us all and who seeks to save us all!

Guardian of Truth XXXIII: 17, pp. 525-527, 536
September 7, 1989