Truth Magazine

By R. L. (Bob) Craig

I have preached the gospel for about 35 years. During that time I have also been an employee with, or an employer of, literally, hundreds of different types of people. Some of these people who have worked under my supervision and over which I had power to hire and fire, were drinkers, fornicators, liars, profane and a few were homosexual or lesbian (gay).

All of these are in the category of sin, and I shall proceed to prove that in just a moment, but I cannot remember a single instance in which these people were refused employment or fired because of these sins, unless it would be the sin of lying. This sin cannot be tolerated by an employer, not because lying is a sin, but because the liar is not a person who can be trusted to handle the business of another.

I say all that for the purpose of saying that, so far as I know, the question of human rights or civil rights in regard to any of these people has never been violated even back in the years when you called some of these things by bad names and whispered when you discussed them. I do not know how everyone has reacted to them, but the above is my experience. As long as a person did his job and did not allow his sin to interfere with his work, then what he did in his off hours were of no concern to me or these other employers I have mentioned. In other words, I believe that the “Gay Rights Movement” of the present day is not designed to obtain these above mentioned rights for these people but for the purpose of making sin respectable. And, as far as I am concerned, I have no time or disposition to discuss the political or social aspects of this situation. And, even though I do not agree with all aspects of the Anita Bryant campaign, I believe that she is not fighting against these people having equal rights of employment, etc., but is fighting the idea of homosexuality or lesbianism becoming respectable.

What some of these people, and many others have seemingly forgotten and evidently do not care about, is that employers and land-lords also have some rights. Some land-lords, and if I were one I would be in this category, will not allow people who are not lawfully married to one another, to “shack up” in their house and apartments. They do not want to make their respectable apartments into “houses of disrepute” which is about all you can make out of most of the “living in” arrangements without the benefit of marriage that is presently taking place. The lesbian and homosexual arrangement would certainly fall into this category. They have no legal right nor God-given right to their illicit arrangement therefore a land-lord ought to have the right to refuse lodging to such. Does he have no rights? I will agree that there are several arrangements that God does allow that men have prejudiced their minds in regard to and these people need some kind of legal protection.

So much for the political, civil and social side of this matter. What about the Bible? Does it allow homosexual or lesbian activity or does God regard such as sin? Now remember, these people do not regard themselves as being sick so we are not putting some kind of sickness over which people have no control into the category of sin. These people are saying that they should have the “right of choice” in regard to their sexual lifestyle. This is not something that they have to do, this is a choice that they have made for themselves. No one else has made the choice for them.

I am well aware of the fact that all kinds of morality cannot be legislated. But we are talking about what God desires. Does He have any rules in regard to the marital relationship. And, anyone who has even casually read the Bible knows that He has. In the beginning God ordained that man and woman should come together as husband and wife and that relationship was to continue “until death do us part.” That is, basically, what everyone who enters into such an arrangement makes a vow to do. I recognize, also, the exception to that rule but we will not discuss that right now. The point is that anyone who desires to follow the Bible and serve God will follow His rules and regulations. If they make their own, then they are not following God neither do they have the proper respect for Him that they claim to. All right, any arrangement other than that stated in the Bible, is an arrangement made by man himself, and God has been left out. A marital relationship between two women or two men is not what God ordained. If the state or the denominations founded by men allows such, it will still not be God’s will and therefore will fall into the category of sin.

If there was nothing more in the Bible than the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, that would be sufficient to make people know God’s feelings toward “perversion” of His marital and sexual law. If you have not read the story or have not read it in a long while, now would be a good time to get your Bible and turn to Genesis 18:26 and read through the 19th chapter. Sodomy is the legal term now used for sexual perversion and it originated with Sodom and the sexual perverts who lived there. These people were not condemned because they were sick, but because they were wholly given over to a perversion of the law of God in regard to the marital arrangement.

Then, in the New Testament, please read beginning with Romans 1:20 and then to the end of the chapter. Nothing could be any more emphatic than these verses to let people know how God feels about the homosexual and lesbian relationships. Notice: “.. . . women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly . . . did not like to retain God in their knowledge . . . who, knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

Anyone who believes the Bible knows that it teaches against such. How can the churches of today condone any such? How can the people who are engaged in such, think that they are well-pleasing in the sight of God? People are called on to repent of every misdeed they are guilty of, and perversion is one of them. These people do not have to continue as they are; they can change if they want to serve and please God. Until they do, they stand condemned in God’s sight. The law of the land cannot change that and all the demonstrations and protests will not alter it. These people are seeking for respectability in the eyes of society and in the sight of God, but sin is not respectable, and never can be even if all people everywhere accept it like they did in Sodom.

Nearly all these people have become Bible-quoters. Their main verse is that spoken by Jesus concerning the woman taken in adultery: “Let him that is without sin, cast the first stone.” The idea is that we all sin, therefore, no one has the right to call anyone else a sinner or to judge concerning another man’s sins. I will agree that none lives above sin. If we could live perfectly then we would not need Christ; He is the atonement for sin. At the same time, people are called upon to not “continue in sin” (Romans 6:1-2). These people also need to look further into their favorite verse and see that Jesus told this woman to “Go and sin no more.” We must get control of ourselves in every way possible. When we are striving to overcome sin in our lives, we need all the help we can get which includes others trying to overcome sin, also. When all are doing that, we will become a help to one another. Then, striving against sin, when we make a mistake through our human weaknesses (not because we have determined that we are going to live in sin, regardless) the grace of God has been extended to forgive as we repent of that misdeed. Certainly, we all sin, but let’s not let it become a way of life.

So, we are not opposed to all people having a right to live, get employment, eat in a restaurant with others, sit in the same compartments on public transportation media, nor do we think that anyone ought to be mistreated because of their sins. But we are greatly concerned about those who would try to make sin, whatever it is, respectable. I have no more regard for the gossip, perhaps not as much, than I do for the pervert. The liar is one who cannot be trusted by anyone and I have no respect nor regard for him, not only because he is a sinner, but because he is one who is not trust-worthy. Gossip and lying and perversion can never be respectable because God has placed them in the category of sin and sin is the only thing that will separate man from God.

Let’s make our fight against sin. And let those who are engaged in it give it up and turn to God in true repentance and he will receive them. If we are going to serve God, it will have to be His way and not mine or anyone else’s. What I think or what I practice has nothing to do with it. If I am the worst hypocrite on earth, that will still not make your sin respectable, will it? It may make you feel better to find someone you can criticize and someone who also sins, but it will not justify you in God’s sight. You can not go to heaven on the coat-tail of another and you can not escape hell on the misdeeds of another.

Truth Magazine XXI: 42, pp. 661-663
October 27, 1977

By Mike Willis

As we live in a world beset by the problem of unabated inflation, we are constantly asking what certain goods cost. What they cost yesterday is usually different from what they cost today. We live in a world of high prices. There seems to be no stopping of inflation. Despite the fact that prices are going up in every other aspect of life, Americans want a cheap religion, one which costs them nothing-no time, no money, and no sacrifices. Because of the attitudes which many have toward their religion, I think that it will be profitable for us to consider the price of Christianity.

What Christianity Cost Christ

When I think of the price of Christianity, I begin thinking of what Christianity cost our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus existed in the beginning with God; He was in the form of God and, thus, had all power under His authority. There was not one thing which He could want but that it was within His power to have it. But, Christianity cost Jesus the sacrifice of such a blessed state to come and live as a man.

Having become a man, Jesus lived as a carpenter’s son. He could have been king of all of the earth, reigning on the throne of His choice. But Christianity demanded a cross instead of a crown. Hence, He lived as a carpenter’s son and did what carpenter’s sons do. His was no life of luxury.

While upon this earth, Jesus endured much mistreatment. We think sometimes of the agonies of the cross but forget some of the things which Jesus endured prior to His crucifixion. Consider some of the things which Jesus endured prior to the crucifixion:

1. He was betrayed by one of His close friends. Judas had been hand-picked by Jesus to be one of His apostles. For three years, they had been in close association with each other and, no doubt, Jesus had come to love Judas as He did the rest of the apostles. Yet, Judas betrayed Him. With a kiss, the most intimate expression of love, Judas identified Jesus to His enemies. Anyone who has been mistreated by those whom He thought were his friends knows how Jesus’ heart ached when Judas betrayed Him.

2. He was physically punished prior to His trial. At the house of Annas, one of the Jewish officers struck Jesus with his hand (Jn. 18:22). Before Caiaphas, the Jews spat in Jesus’ face, beat Him and slapped Him (Mt. 26:67-68). When before Herod, the soldiers “set Him at nought, and mocked Him …. arraying Him in gorgeous apparel” (Lk. 23:11). Pilate had Jesus scourged (Jn. 19:1). The soldiers stripped Jesus, put a scarlet robe on Him, plaited a crown of thorns which they placed on His head, put a reed in His right hand, offered mock worship to Him and spat in His face (Mt. 27:27-30). Can you imagine the Lord of Glory enduring such humiliation from man whom He created? He had the power to call ten thousand angels to defend Himself but He willingly endured such mistreatment from the hands of ungodly men.

Having endured all of these agonies prior to His crucifixion, the Son of Man was then taken outside the city and crucified. They nailed His hands to the cross and then did the same to His feet. I can remember, as a kid, stepping on a rusty nail when playing at a friend’s house. I can remember some of the pain that went with that. Yet, I did that accidentally. I cannot imagine the physical and mental anguish which Jesus must have felt when the Roman soldier took his hammer and spike and drove it through Jesus’ hands and feet.

Having nailed Jesus to the cross, the Roman soldiers would then have placed the cross in the hole which they had dug for it in the ground. Lifting the cross, they let it drop into the hole which they had dug for it. No doubt, as the cross on which Jesus hung fell into its hole, Jesus’ body sagged against the nails. His flesh was torn by sagging against the nails. The pain must have been intense.

In addition to the physical pain which Jesus endured while hanging on the cross, there was also mental anguish. Can you imagine the horrible feeling which must have welled up inside of Jesus as He witnessed a crowd of people who gathered to watch Him die? My father has a picture of a public hanging which occurred in Groveton, Texas in the early 1900’s. There must have been a thousand people (that is a lot of people for a town of one thousand) who had gathered to watch a man be hung. There was a similar crowd gathered to watch Jesus die.

The crowd hurled one insult after another at Jesus. “Ha! thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself, and come down from the cross” (Mk. 15:29-30). “He saved others; let him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen” (Lk. 23:35). “And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, Art not thou the Christ? save thyself and us” (Lk. 23:39). Yet, Jesus endured these insults without so much as trying to retaliate.

As I think of what Jesus endured, I think of what I would have done had I been in His place. Had I been able to have as much power at my command as Jesus had, I would probably have spoken the word which would have caused some of those who railed the loudest to have died on the spot. I would not have been the meek lamb which Jesus was. But, my friend, Jesus did not act that way because He was paying the high price which Christianity cost.

Christianity came at a high price to Jesus. He had to shed His blood on the cross of Calvary ,in order that the sins of man might be forgiven. A greater price to be paid by Jesus cannot be imagined. He sacrificed more than His possessions; He gave His life for you and me.

The story of the cross is a story of love. God loved us enough to send His Son Jesus to die for our sins. Jesus loved us enough to go through the pre-crucifixion agonies as well as to die on the cross. We had done nothing to deserve the wonderful sacrifice of Jesus; instead, we had acted rebelliously against God, being counted as His enemies. Yet, God still loved us enough to plan the means whereby we could be saved.

Jesus said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself’ (Jn. 12:32). When Jesus laid this, He was referring to His death. Jesus recognized that the story of His sacrifice in behalf of man was the drawing power of the gospel. That Jesus gave His life as a ransom for our salvation should cause us to love Him and want to express our sincere thanks for what He has done for us. The gospel which details the story of Jesus’ love for us is the only power which God will use to bring men unto Him. If men are not emotionally touched by the story of Jesus and God’s love for us, they are too hard-hearted to be saved.

My friends, Christianity came to man at a very high price. God gave His only begotten Son. Jesus gave His life for us. The price of Christianity was, indeed, very high. Yet, Christianity costs more than just Jesus’ blood. There are some prices which man has to pay (not in the sense of earning his salvation) in order to be saved. We shall consider some of them next week.

Truth Magazine XXI: 41, pp. 659-670
October 27, 1977

By John McCort

In February of 1976, Jady Copeland, Donald Vaughan, and I made a trip to Independence, Missouri to see the three Mormon visitor centers. The city of Independence (a suburb of Kansas City) and the surrounding area is rich in Mormon history. The three centers- are located almost in the heart of Independence. On one street corner is the RLDS Auditorium which houses the world headquarters for the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. On the opposite street corner, directly to the east of the RLDS Auditorium, is the Salt Lake City Mormon visitors center. Directly across the street, to the north of the RLDS center, is the Temple Lot Church of Christ which is a faction of the Mormon church more commonly known as the Hedrickites.

We began by making a tour of the RLDS Auditorium. During our tour we were shown some “conference rooms.” The RLDS church has many different “quorums” such as the “First Presidency,” the “Presiding Bishopric,” the “Council of Twelve,” etc. One of the functions of these quorums is to discuss and vote on the validity of the revelations of divine truth the President-Prophet has received from God through the Holy Spirit. The revelations are then submitted to the membership delegates ,to be voted on during the bi-annual world conference. If the membership delegates approve the revelations they are then incorporated into the Doctrines And Covenants of the RLDS church. Strangely enough the membership cannot in any way amend these revelations. They can reject them but they cannot change them in any way. The President-Prophet is supposed to be inspired by the Holy Spirit and yet the quorums and membership must decide if and when the Holy Spirit revealed something to the President. The membership delegates must also be inspired by the Holy Spirit to make a decision like that because surely mere man could not determine what revelations were divine and what were mere figments of the President’s imagination. The votes at these bi-annual world conferences are very close at times. I have wondered if the Holy Spirit votes against himself at these conferences?

The Salt Lake City Mormon Visitors Center is a very beautiful structure. During our tour of that center (which turned out to be instant chloroform) our tour guide made the claim that the Book of Mormon had been “proved” by modern archaeology to be true. That was a very strange statement to make in view of the fact that the chief Mormon archaeologists claim that archaeology has neither proved or disproved the Book of Mormon. Mormon archaeologists state that not enough is known about the time periods supposedly discussed in the Book of Mormon to verify or discount Mormon claims. (For further information see my article on Mormon Archaeology which was published earlier this year.)

We ended our tour by going through the Temple Lot Church of Christ. They have a small church building located directly north of the RLDS Auditorium. The church is so named because it is built upon the two and three-quarter acre plot that Joseph Smith designated as the lot the temple would be built upon. That lot was set aside as the temple lot August 3, 1831. Shortly thereafter the Mormons were driven out of Jackson County, Missouri. In 1864 Granville Hedrick supposedly received a revelation from God to return to Jackson County, Missouri to begin the regathering of the saints and eventually to rebuild the temple. Hendrick never had aligned himself with the Salt Lake Mormons and thus he was an independent Mormon. Hedrick and about 100 others returned in 1867 and began purchasing the temple lot in 1869. In 1929 they began excavating the site to build the temple. In the process they dug up two markers apparently set by Joseph Smith which designated the ground as being the temple lot. Shortly thereafter the depression ended their efforts to rebuild the temple.

The presence of the Temple Lot Church of Christ (no connection with the Lord’s church) represents a monumental embarrassment to both the Salt Lake and RLDS Mormons. The little Temple Lot Church of Christ claims to be the original Mormon church and has possession of the temple lot to back up their claim. Both the RLDS and Salt Lake groups have unofficially tried to purchase the temple lot for huge sums of money. This little group has steadfastly resisted any efforts to buy the land or force them off of it.

If you are ever in Kansas City, you need to visit these centers. It will be a very educational experience. Avoid the guided tours if possible. They are very boring and time consuming.

Truth Magazine XXI: 42, p. 658
October 27, 1977

By Luther Blackmon

In the Old Testament the amount that Jews had to give is pretty definite. Some think they only gave a tenth. They did not “give” a tenth. They were taxed a tenth. They came more nearly giving 25% than 10 % .

In the New Testament the Lord has left the amount to us–put us on our honor. “Give as prospered;” as we “purpose in our hearts,” “cheerfully.” Have you ever considered the danger inherent in this freedom? If you have not, it is time you did. The very freedom which God has granted us in our giving (as “prospered” and as we “purpose in our hearts”) may be the means of causing us to lose our souls. Seldom have I met a member of the church who was not concerned with the “amount” he should give. And I have found that generally speaking, what he wants to know is how “little” can I give? What is the very least the Lord will accept? He wonders if a tenth, a tithe, will do. Either this fellow does not care or he has not yet learned that the very fact that God did not specify the amount we are to give is the means of testing us.

One fellow asked, “How is a man to treat his wife?” The answer came back, “Love her with all your heart and then just treat her any way you please.” Of course if he loves her with all his heart he would not mistreat her. And I might add that he wouldn’t spend much time wondering if she could make out with one dress and one pair of shoes. Not if he loved her. The Lord knew about this disposition in man before we found out about it. And the Lord knows that if we love Him, we will not have to be told exactly how much we must give. In leaving it up to us He makes it a test of our love for Him and for His church.

If “as he is prospered” means “how little” to you, you need to be converted to Christ-at least on this point. If “as he is prospered” means “how much can I spare and still meet my obligation to my family,” then you have found out why the Lord did not tell us how much to give. Giving is a grace, Paul said. And grace is something God does for us, not something we do for Him. God does not need your money. He does not need you. Then why did He tell us to give? He could have preached the gospel to every man on earth through the medium of angels if He had desired to do it that way. Where then did we get the idea that God needs our money? The only reason on earth that God requires us to give anything is for our benefit — to help us. What other motive could have prompted the Creator of the universe, including man, to ask for the use of our measly, soiled dollars. Ask yourself that question out loud sometime and then be honest with the answer.

Truth Magazine XXI: 41, pp. 653-654
October 20, 1977