Truth Magazine

It is approaching 1:00 a.m. as I write. All in the house are asleep but me. A few minutes ago I just finished reading some material on the value of sleep. I was convinced by the author’s evidence that the body needs proper rest. Toward the end of the material, as my eyes got heavier, his point hit home more than ever.

Surely it has dawned on you, as it did me, that there seems to be some contradiction in staying awake to learn more about the value of sleep. One who would stay awake to the wee hours of the morning to read about the value of sleep surely has some interest in giving his body what it needs. Yet, in the process, the very needs are denied. Isn’t that a little like doing without food in order to have money to buy a book on nutrition?

I got to thinking — folks act the same way in spiritual matters.

All too often some father will work long hours (even taking more than one job) to be able to provide what the family needs. Yet, in the process the very thing they need (his love and attention) is deprived (See: Prov. 22:6; Eph. 6:1-4).

It has always interested me how people engage in Bible study (be it in Bible class or listening to preaching) with- out a Bible. I am amazed at the person who can grasp a text being explained in its context without ever opening the covers of the Bible (See: John 5:39; Acts 17:11).

Purity of thought (Prov. 23:7) is emphasized by parents as they train their children. They are taught about the evils of association and familiarization with sin (Ps. 1:1-3). We, as parents will not allow them to listen to music or watch TV that violates those principles. Yet, some parents will take their children to movies that use a good bit of profanity and even have suggestive scenes (see: Rom. 1:32).

Preachers have been among the worst of those who, in the name of doing good, in the end, do wrong. It is not uncommon to see some preachers who sacrifice all to study the word and go preach. Among the sacrifices (though not intentional) is their health and, even worse, their marriage and children. Preachers, like any other Christians, have the responsibility to be good husbands and fathers (1 Pet. 3:7; Eph. 6:1-4).

I have always been amused at those who will argue with you that it is wrong to debate. Or those who condemn those who condemn. And what about the ones who judge us be- cause they think we are judgmental?

We live in a society that cries out for the poor fellow on death row. Though he may have killed a dozen people, the liberal element will tell us that he is a human being and deserves to live. Yet, the same people will contend for a woman’s right to abort her child (see: Gen. 9:6).

The hour is getting late (or early). I really ought to practice a little of what I just read a while ago. I think I will go to bed.

Jesus said, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32). Freedom from sin is provided only through the death of Christ as a perfect sacrifice for sin (Heb. 10:12). As the blood of animals was sprinkled on the first covenant, so the New Testament of Christ was sealed and sanctified by the shedding of his blood (Heb. 9:15-23). As we abide within his covenant, Christ keeps us free from sin.

Free from Separation from God

Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden of Eden by their sin. Their blissful relationship with God was broken and their access to the tree of life was blocked. God “drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the Garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life” (Gen. 3:24). Sin separates us from fellowship with God, makes us enemies of God, and denies us the blessings of God (Isa. 59:1-2; Col 1:21). When we live in sin, our prayers are not accepted through the mediatorial name of Jesus Christ.

Christ restores our broken fellowship with God, giving us “all spiritual blessings” (Eph. 1:3). Both Jews and Gen- tiles have access to God through the blood of Jesus Christ. “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13). Christ frees us from sin so that we can enjoy full fellowship with God when we obey the gospel and are added to the church of Christ. Thus, we are reconciled “unto God in one body by the cross” (Eph. 2:16).

Free from Sin’s Enslaving, Degrading Effects

Sin soon enslaves us, leads us further and further away from God, and makes us vulnerable to many foolish and hurtful lusts. Mere covetousness opens the door to all sorts of temptations (1 Tim. 6:10). Step by step, King David was led deeper into sin, but he finally repented, whereas Judas followed a similar path and ended a suicide. Neither man intended to go as far as he did. Sin seems at first to be the servant of our desires but soon becomes the master of our souls! The history of the Gentile world shows that those who depart from the truth of God are soon “filled with all unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:29). Brethren who begin to com- promise the truth with the best of intentions may end up as false teachers who “wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” (2 Tim. 3:13).

When we are “baptized into Jesus Christ,” we are raised to “walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4). When Christ cleanses our souls, he turns our lives around. The moment we obey the gospel, we are “then made free from sin” and become “the servants of righteousness.”

For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life (Rom. 6:18, 20-22).

The Lord can take our broken hearts and lives, so marred by sin, and remold us as vessels of honor in his service. He removes the garments so spotted and stained with sin, and clothes us in the beauties of holiness as his servants.

Free from the Old Law

The Old Law prepared men for the coming of Christ but could not itself provide a perfect sacrifice for sin. Once a man sinned under that Law, he stood under the condemnation of sin (Gal. 3:10-13). The only hope of forgiveness was in the Christ to come, but after Christ came and offered the perfect sacrifice for sin, it was impossible to serve God under the Law of Moses. To attempt to do so, in whole or in part, is to return to the condemnation pronounced on the sinner by that covenant. Modern day Jews and sabbatarians appeal to the Old Law. Denominationalism tries to justify infant membership, a clergy or priesthood, special robes, burning incense, dancing in worship, clapping, instrumental music, and other practices on the basis of the Old Law.

Christ takes away the yoke of Moses’ Law and teaches us, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” To appeal to the Old Law to justify our- selves today is to fall from grace (Gal. 5:1-6). The message of the book of Hebrews is that we serve God under a new and better high priest, a new and better covenant, with a new and better sacrifice, a new and better sabbath rest, a new and better tabernacle, and a new and better hope. “In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away” (Heb. 8:13).

Free from Commandments and Doctrines of Men

Men are often misled in religion by false teachers who depart from the truth by omitting things from it and adding things to it. We are often warned against such men who twist the Scriptures “unto their own destruction” (Rev. 22:18-19; 2 Pet. 3:16). False teachers make us “subject to ordinances . . . after the commandments and doctrines of men” (Col. 2:20-23). Such things make a fair show of religion, but are utterly worthless to God or man in the plan of salvation. Denominational churches with their man- made names, creeds, dogmas, and practices enslave men’s souls to ordinances after the commandments and doctrines of men. All forms of apostasy and departure from the true gospel of Christ create the same enslavement to men.

Christ teaches us to test all teachers by God’s Word in order to distinguish truth from error (Matt. 15:1-9; 1 Pet.4:11; 1 John 4:1-6). Thus, Christ frees us from the dominion of men and the theories of men. We “are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ him- self being the chief corner stone” (Eph. 2:20). Being delivered from the confusion and uncertainty of human traditions and creeds, we are no longer “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).

Free from the Law of Sin and Death

Once we sin, we are doomed to eternal punishment in hell. Once we are cast into hell with the devil and his angels, into “the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone,” there is no escape, no relief from torment, and no hope of freedom (Rev. 21:8). Think of it: Sin promises us joyous freedoms but finally enslaves and entombs us in the dungeon of eternal despair! Seeing this end result of the sin’s captivity, Paul exclaimed, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom. 8:24) “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2). In Christ we have forgiveness and the hope of eternal life with God in heaven (Tit. 1:2). On the great resurrection day, our bodies will be changed and “fashioned like unto his glorious body” (Phil. 3:21). Both physical and spiritual death will be defeated. We shall live forever beyond the reach of the law of sin and death “when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality.”

Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:54-57).

False Forms of Freedom

We are not free to continue in sin, or to teach and practice false doctrine. Freedom in Christ is not a license to do wrong with impunity. False teachers open the door to sin and error by promising a false form of “liberty” (2 Pet. 2:1, 19). Those who oppose this false plea are attacked as “legalists,” “intolerant,” “sectarian,” “traditionalists,” “creed writers,” “narrow-minded,” “negative,” and “cultists.” The false teacher who hardens his heart will eventually leave God’s true people or else be rejected from their fellowship after repeated admonition (1 John 2:19; Tit. 3:10). He may become increasingly bitter, rash, and reckless as he waxes “worse and worse” under a false banner of freedom (2 Tim. 3:13).

Many practices not authorized in God’s Word are promoted under the false banner of freedom, such as sprinkling in place of Bible baptism, women preachers, church sponsored recreation, adulterous marriages, instrumental music in worship, and unity in doctrinal diversity. These doctrines and commandments of men are no part of the covenant sealed by the blood of Christ. Anyone with sincere questions about such things can be patiently taught such passages as Romans 6:4, 1 Timothy 2:12, 1 Corinthians 11:34, Matthew 19:9, Ephesians 5:19, and 2 John 9-11. Sincere brethren seeking to learn and grow are not treated like false teachers, but neither are false teachers granted the “freedom” they demand to spread error unchallenged.

How to Become Free in Christ

Christ frees us from sin when we accept him by faith, repentance, and baptism (Acts 2:36-38). Even when Christians fall into sin, Christ’s blood is always available to us if only we will repent and seek God’s pardon (Acts 8:22). Christ said of all who are willing to hear, believe, and obey his teaching, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Indeed, Christ is “the way, the truth, and the life” which leads us into that blessed freedom of fellowship with God for time and for eternity (John 14:1-6). What good news to sinners who are tired of Satan’s lies and slavery!

By Larry R. DeVore

The Lord’s supper is a solemn occasion to remember the death of our Lord and the great sacrifice he made for us on Calvary. It ought to be observed with the serious- ness and dignity that befits the occasion. I do not imply that the partaking of the Lord’s supper is more important than any other act of worship. They are all equally important. The Christian is to participate in each activity in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). The death of Christ was a propitiation (atoning sacrifice, 1 John 2:2) for us, that God might be able to forgive us our sins and put us into a covenant relationship with him. No other act except the death of the sinless Son of God on the cross could accomplish this.

Consider the Purpose of the Lord’s Supper

The apostle Paul tells us that the purpose of the Lord’s supper is to remember his death. In 1 Corinthians 11:25- 26. “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (NKJV). We see in verse 25 that the Lord’s supper is a remembrance; a memorial if you will, of the Lord’s sacrifice of himself for us. Man builds memorials and monuments of stainless steel, granite or marble; material he hopes will endure. The Son of God built a memorial that has lasted 2000 years; assembled each week from perishable elements. Unleavened bread and grape juice are not enduring materials. They will mold and become stale. Yet these very elements, prepared weekly by faithful hands, become by faith the body and blood of the Lord in the communion service every first day of the week. The Lord’s supper is a lasting memorial, for the purpose of observing (looking back on) the Lord’s death on Calvary, and faithful Christians will continue to par- take of it “until He comes.”

The Frequency of Observing the Lord’s Supper

The “when” of partaking the Lord’s supper is found by example of what the early church did. “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight” (Acts 20:7). There is no other example of the early church partaking of the Lord’s supper on any other day of the week. Those who claim they can do so need to cite their authority from Scripture. Divine silence eliminates every day but the first day of the week. We see also that the Lord’s supper is a congregational function, rather than an individual one. It is something done “when the disciples came together.” I believe this eliminates carrying the communion to shut- ins in hospitals, and private or nursing homes. If one cannot assemble, then he or she is excused from partaking. We can do many things individually; we can sing and pray; study and teach others. But the Lord’s supper (and the giving of one’s means) is a congregational function or activity. Let us be dedicated to observe the Lord’s supper with other disciples, upon the first day of the week.

The Manner of Observing the Lord’s Supper

The manner in which a Christian observes the Lord’s supper should be the attitude he would display in engaging in any act of divine worship. The apostle Paul tells us we can control our thinking (Phil. 4:8). So as we observe the Lord’s supper, we need to concentrate on Jesus’ death for us on Calvary; the suffering, the anguish he went through in order to secure our salvation. Try to block out external distractions, that we may meditate on the greatest sacrifice the world has ever known. A few well-chosen remarks by the one presiding at the table will help each disciple to meditate on Calvary.

Duties of the One Presiding at the Communion Service

The brother who presides at the serving of the Lord’s supper can do a great deal to make the service meaningful to the participants. This should involve something more than simply reading Matthew 26:26-29 or Luke 22:17-20, where Jesus instituted the supper. This is fine, but tells us little or nothing about why he was instituting the supper. There are many passages that dwell on his suffering and death that would be more appropriate for the communion service. Some of these would be: Psalm 22; Hebrews 2:9-17; 7:22-27; 9:24-28; 1 Peter 1:18-21; 2:21-25. The one in charge, or “presiding” at the service should be neatly dressed and well prepared to lead the congregation in a meaningful participation of the Lord’s supper.

Duties of Those Who Serve the Communion

Those who serve the congregation are important to an orderly and meaningful communion service. They should also be neatly dressed in their best. A tee shirt and jeans are not appropriate attire to appear before the congregation (unless that is all one has to wear). We are in the spiritual presence of the Son of God, not attending a foot- ball game. Neat, clean clothing is essential. The brothers serving should strive to serve the communion in an orderly manner, seeing that no one is overlooked. Those who are serving should not partake of the communion first, but serve themselves last, at the rear of the auditorium, or where it has been decided in advance. Good judgment and common sense should prevail. The congregation is to be served first, themselves last.

Praying at the Serving of the Lord’s Supper

A few words need to be said regarding the prayers offered at the table for the bread and the fruit of the vine. Too often, a brother will pray for everything and anything, and sometimes nearly forget to give thanks for the elements involved. The observance of the Lord’s supper is not the time to ask for forgiveness of sins, or to pray for the sick, or for safe travel, etc. These items should be taken care of in the opening prayer. The prayers at the Lord’s table should be brief and to the point.

The prayers offered at the Lord’s table should keep the congregation’s thinking focused on Calvary, and what was accomplished by Jesus on our behalf. The brethren who pray and serve the communion service are vital to making the service meaningful to each disciple. Don’t consider this a “little duty” or chore to be carried out. Your faithful service here is extremely important to the proper partaking of the Lord’s supper on the first day of the week.

By Samuel Csonka

God throughout all the ages has continued to let man remain on this earth because he is longsuffering. . . . God is truly thinking of us, and desiring our reconciliation. He does not wish to see us continue on our pathway to destruction.

In Exodus 34:5-7,we find Moses on Mt. Sinai ready to receive the Ten Commandments from God. Before this happened, though, God came down and presented himself before Moses:

Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious,  long- suffering, and abounding in good- ness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.

God described himself to Moses as “longsuffering.” In this article, let’s examine the longsuffering character of God:

1. God is very longsuffering, but his longsuffering has limitations. Since God created man to be a free moral agent (ability to choose right or wrong), he has had to deal with man’s sin. For about 1500 years after creation, man’s sin grew worse and worse; At least, until we read of God’s reaction to it in Genesis 6:5-7: “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’”

Of course, we know that he kept Noah and his family alive, so that the human race was not totally annihilated. But soon after this we see man up to his old ways of trying God’s patience and longsuffering, and doing what pleased himself instead of what pleased God.

Even 900 years after this, when God had rescued the Israelites from Egyptian bondage, they turned their hearts away from God. Psalm 78 provides us with a very nice outline of the things that Israel did to test God’s patience:

Psalm 78:10-11 says, “They did not keep the covenant of God; they re- fused to walk in His law, and forgot His works and His wonders that He had shown them.” Verse 17 continues: “But they sinned even more against Him by rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.” Notice God’s reaction to them: “Therefore the Lord heard this and was furious; so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel, because they did not believe in God, and did not trust in His salvation” (Ps. 78:21- 22). Continuing his longsuffering and patience with them, he provided them with sustenance and protection. But, “In spite of this they still sinned, and did not believe in His wondrous works. Therefore their days He consumed in futility, and their years in fear” (Ps. 78:32-33).

They went back and forth, back and forth, rebelling and returning, sinning and repenting. “But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, And did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, and did not stir up all His wrath; for He remembered that they were but flesh, a breath that passes away and does not come again” (Ps. 78:38-39).

Throughout the long period of the rule of judges and the dynasties of kings, Israel continued the same oscillation — back and forth, rebelling and returning. Then by the mouth of Jeremiah, the prophet of Anathoth, God spoke these words: “If you will return, O Israel, says the Lord, Return to Me; and if you will put away your abominations out of My sight, then you shall not be moved. And you shall swear, ‘The Lord lives,’ in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; the nations shall bless themselves in Him, and in Him they shall glory. For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: ‘Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your hearts, you men of Judah and inhabit- ants of Jerusalem, lest My fury come forth like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of your doings’”(Jer. 4:1-4).

God gave them fair warning that his longsuffering was running out. But, still they remained disobedient. And, after the fall of Jerusalem, Jeremiah reminded them of how they had tested God and worn out his patience with them. He said, “So the Lord could no longer bear it, because of the evil of your doings and because of the abominations which you com- mitted. Therefore your land is a desolation, an astonishment, a curse, and without an inhabitant, as it is this day” (Jer. 44:22).

Even so, God did not utterly destroy the people. In Isaiah 48:9, he declared through the prophet: “For My name’s sake I will defer My anger, And for My praise I will restrain it from you, so that I do not cut you off.” He had promised to save a remnant of the people to bring them back into the land for he had a future purpose to accomplish.

Years later, the Levites of the remnant of Israel who returned to Jerusalem remembered God’s patience and the limit of his long- suffering. While remembering their father’s sinful ways, they exclaimed, “Yet for many years You had patience with them, and testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets. Yet they would not listen; Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands” (Neh. 9:30).

Throughout all these thousands of years, God’s longsuffering had been tested and tried. Man, due to his sin and incontinence, had revolted against the mandates of the Al- mighty God and received his just reward for it.

Now, come ahead several hundred years, to the New Testament age. Re- member the future purpose that God wanted to accomplish? The apostle Paul in Romans 9 refers to this, and also to God’s longsuffering in order to accomplish this purpose. He says, “What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared be- forehand for glory, even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?” (vv. 22-24).

The reason that Paul gives for why God was so patient with the Israelites, was so that God, through the lineage of David, might bring forth the Messiah to be the Savior of all — both Jew and Gentile. He had also mentioned this in Romans 3:25-26, where he wrote of the Christ “whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” God had, through his love and forbearance, offered mankind the very thing which he needed, but couldn’t provide for himself — redemption from sin. Yet, knowing this, the majority of the people of Paul’s day rejected Christ and his teaching. Why? Because of the very thing that separated man from God in the first place, and that still separates him from God — sin. Sin, in the form of selfishness, worldliness, unrighteousness, and just plain wickedness, had been the reason for their rejection of God and his Word.

Even Jesus himself, during his last days on the earth had this to say about his chosen people: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matt. 23:37). It is sad to look back on all the chances that they had to make peace with God, but squandered.

Nevertheless, God throughout all the ages has continued to let man re- main on this earth because he is longsuffering. Peter reveals the main goal of God’s longsuffering in 2 Peter 3:9 where he writes: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long- suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” God is truly thinking of us, and desiring our reconciliation. He does not wish to see us continue on our pathway to destruction. He wants us to return to him. God’s words: “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezek. 33:11), could be applied spiritually to every man. “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” (Rom. 2:4).

Truly God has been, and continues to be, longsuffering to those who reject him and his will. But, the time is coming soon in which sinful man will receive his just reward. For the apostle Paul through the Spirit of God says: “But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each one according to his deeds: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil . . .” (Rom. 2:5-9).

Now, what about you? You who have lived on this earth for “X number of years” and have still not obeyed the gospel of Christ. What are you waiting for?

In Romans 1:20, Paul proclaimed that all men through- out the ages were without excuse before God: “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” If those who had not even heard the gospel of Christ are without excuse, what about those who have heard it time and time again? Remember — God’s longsuffering has a limit, and yours runs out on the day that you die. Haven’t you made him wait long enough?