Truth Magazine

By Philip S. North

When the sin of adultery is committed, what is the first thing that begins to develop in our minds (Christian or non-Christian)? I personally find in my own experiences that too many people in this day and age have tendency to point the finger of shame at the woman per se. Such is no more right than to teach and preach that God is dead or that the Bible is a fraud. Many high moraled individuals, Christians or simply “good people,” will agree that the act of premarital sex is wrong, sinful, looked down upon by any person who honors God’s commandments, and therefore should not be loosely classified in the category of, “Well, they do love each other.” Thus, these types of people will agree that sex outside the bonds of marriage is adultery, as we read in no uncertain terms in Hebrews 13:4: “Marriage is honorable in all. and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” That is fine, my good reader. I will go with you all the way to your grave and my grave both because that is what the inspired word of God instructs. However, can one be right in pointing the sin of adultery at the woman (or girl) only? Just what does God’s word have to say about such judging of adultery?

So often, the man develops the outlandish thought that after he has “gotton what he wanted,” he can then proceed to straighten up, smile, and in a feeling of accomplishment (?), walk away from the woman as though nothing really happened at all. Friend, if that is your conviction, then you are as wrong as can be. First of all, God is not in any way, shape, form, or fashion, a respecter of persons (Prov. 24:23; Jn. 7:24; Acts 10:34; Rom. 2:11; Eph. 6:9; Col. 3:25; 1 Pet. 1:17; Jas. 2:1) In no way whatsoever is God like such. We can thereby sensibly conclude that God judges all people alike, by His same law, be a person male OR female. If a man commits murder, he stands in the eyes of God condemned just as much as when a woman does likewise. The same thing holds true of theft, drunkenness, profanity, etc. God judges both of the sexes alike who are of an accountable mind to be responsible for their actions. However, look what else the Bible has to say on this matter.

In Galatians 5:19-21, Paul gives mention to a multitude of sins, and the very first sin that is condemned is adultery. “So what?” you may say. Well, loon what Paul said in 1 Cor. 6:15: “Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? Know ye not that he (he, my friend-not she-PN) which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, with he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but, he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.” It is many times argued the difference between fornication and adultery. Whichever way that you as the reader wish it to be, it is still (fornication and adultery) the act of sexual relationships outside the bonds of marriage, whether an individual is single and engaging in such, or whether the individual is “going out” on his or her marriage spouse. The above verses did not sound one iota to this writer that Paul was condemning the woman only! 1 Cor. 10:8, we see where Paul again says, “Neither let us (us-plural; more than one-PN) commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.” Paul was referring here to the Israelites in Numbers 25. They committed adultery with the daughters of Moab, and just such many met instant death. Was it just the daughters of Moab that died? Hardly, friend. It was the men who were condemned, as well as the women.

I also wonder how many people have recalled the old, trite saying which says, “It takes two to tango?” Have you ever thought it that way? It is just as true as your own mother and father. It takes two to sin. TWO!! Yes. I am remembering homosexuals, but I speak specifically here of man and woman. So often, I hear (and I am sure, not alone) people come out with one-sided remarks such as the following: “Look at that immoral girl; she has a man in her apartment. She does not deserve to breathe. That prostitute! She will surely have hex part in the lake of fire.” Yes, dear reader, she will; but so will all the men that commit the act of premarital sex with her. They are not immune to the punishment of the Lord either.

What am I “driving at?” I am not excusing the girl from the act of sexual intercourse outside of the bed of marriage, but I am not excusing the man either. The same expecially goes for God. He will punish both! The next time we take the prejudiced, snobbish idea that a woman is immoral when she engages in adultery, just remember that it takes the man to make the filthy act complete, and that he stands just as guilty and just as condemned in the eyes of God (Rom. 3:10,23). “It takes two to tango” is the old saying, and certainly applies to the act of pre-marital sex. Let us take care lest we become chauvinistic of immoral women, with reference to sexual intercourse outside marriage. Let us keep the record straight!

Truth Magazine XXI: 14, pp. 221-222
April 7, 1977

By Larry Ray Hafley

With the above title, a Missionary Baptist preacher, Wayne Camp, wrote the article below:

“In West Monroe, La. it was Sunday morning. A large congregation had gathered for worship. During the invitation a sincere penitent lady went forward and made the confession: `I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’ Her baptism was scheduled for that evening.

“That afternoon her life was snuffed out in an auto accident. The preacher of the church declared that she had gone to hell! Yes even though she had repented of her sins that availed her nothing, she had gone to hell! Yes! Even though she had confessed Christ as the Son of God and Savior of sinners, she had gone to hell.

“Many members of the congregation were horrified. They suddenly did not agree with the doctrine of baptismal regeneration they had stoutly defended before. Many left. The plan of salvation propounded from their pulpit was not good enough to die by. IS YOURS?

“Consider the Bible plan of salvation. `Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved’ (Acts 16:30,31).

`Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God’ (1 In. 5:1). Christ gives eternal life the moment one repents of his sins and receives Him as Savior. Would you now trust Him for salvation that will be good to die by even if you die in the next few moments? `He that believeth on the Son hath (note the present tense) everlasting life’ (Jn. 3:36)” (Wayne Camp, Washington. Ill. Courier).

Delayed Baptism

This article shows the need to baptize one immediately. There is not a single case of delayed baptism in the New Testament. “Then they that gladly received his word (the word to repent and be baptized `for the remission of sins’) were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41). “And he took them the same hour of the night (midnight-Acts 16:25), and washed their stripes, and was baptized, he and all his straightway” (Acts 16:33). The lady mentioned by Mr. Camp should not have tarried. “And now why tarriest thou? arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).

Baptismal Regeneration

The Bible does not teach baptismal regeneration. One obtains forgiveness of sins, newness of life, and is regenerated when he obeys from the heart the form of doctrine delivered in the New Testament (Rom. 6:3,4,16,17; Titus 3:5). These blessings are not received prior to baptism “into Jesus Christ” (Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27). Baptists believe that salvation and regeneration are received at the very moment one believes Jesus is the Son of God. Is that the doctrine of “faith regeneration”?

A Parallel Predicament

“In Washington, Illinois, it was Sunday morning. A large Baptist Church had gathered for worship. During the invitation a sincere, penitent lady went forward and was coming to the front where she planned to pray and receive Jesus into her heart as her personal Savior, but on her way down the aisle, she dropped dead of a massive heart attack. The preacher of the church declared she had gone to hell! Yes, even though she had repented of her sins, that availed her nothing, she had gone to hell! Yes! Even though she had gone to pray for the Spirit to implant faith in her heart that Jesus is the Son of God and Savior of sinners, she had gone to hell.

Many members of the Baptist Church were horrified. They suddenly did not agree with the doctrine of faith regeneration they had stoutly defended before. Many left. The plan of salvation propounded from their pulpit was not good enough to die by. Is yours?”

One cannot help but wonder about those “chief rulers” who “believed on” Jesus in John 12:42,43. They would not confess Him, but they believed on Him. Suppose one of them was killed in a chariot accident that afternoon. Imagine how horrified the disciples would have been if the Lord had said they had gone to hell. Even though they heard Him, even though they believed on Him, they had died and gone to hell? Yes, their doctrine of “confession regeneration” was good enough to preach in the synagogues, but it was not good enough to die by.

The Real Question

The question of salvation is settled by the Word of God, not by emotional experiences or suppositional situations. One who dies without faith in Christ is damned (Jn. 8:24). One who dies without being baptized, dies outside the promise of the Word of God. “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mk. 16:16).

Men are lost because they are in sin. They are not lost because they do not believe. They are not lost because they will not repent. They are not lost because they will not confess Christ. They are not lost because they have not been baptized. They are lost because they are in sin. What is the remedy of sin? The blood of Christ was shed “for the remission of sins” (Matt. 26:28). Christ’s death reconciles us to God (Col. 1:21-23). We reach the benefits of the death and blood of Christ when we are “baptized into Jesus Christ,” “baptized into his death” (Rom. 6:3,4). Car wrecks and dying soldiers in foxholes will not change the Word of God. It is not a matter of the sadness of a situation. It is a matter of what the Bible teaches.

Can one be saved apart from the blood of Christ? “No,” say even the Baptists. Now, will one who dies without complying with the terms of pardon set forth in the New Testament be saved by the blood of Christ? One who dies without faith in Christ is lost, even according to Baptist doctrine. It is not that they are cruel tyrants who want to pronounce judgment on one’s salvation. It is a question of what the Bible teaches with respect to who shall be saved. They concede that the person who fails to believe and “receive Christ as his personal Savior” is lost. The same is true with respect to baptism. Baptism in water is one of the conditions of salvation set forth in the New Testament (Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16). Baptism puts one “into Jesus Christ” and “into his death” (Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27). Will one be saved who does not obey the Lord and meet the requirements of the Gospel? An emotional story will not alter or abrogate the Word of God, whether one speaks of faith, repentance, confession, or baptism.

Consider the Bible Plan of Salvation

Mr. Camp’s conclusion does not cite a passage that mentions the necessity of confessing Christ as Lord. He says repentance is essential, but he does not cite a passage to that effect. He says one should “receive” and “trust” Jesus as Savior, but he does not say how this is done. So, consider the Bible plan of salvation in contrast to the Baptist plan. All are sinners. Christ died that we might be saved. His blood brings redemption by grace through faith (Rom. 3:23; 5:6-8; Eph. 1:7; 2:8,9). “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Rom. 10:9). “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38).

Truth Magazine XXI: 14, pp. 220-221
April 7, 1977

By Lewis Willis

Gary Gilmore and The Bleeding Hearts

Gary Mark Gilmore is dead! By order of the 4th District Court in the State of Utah, he was executed by a firing squad on January 17, 1977, and was pronounced dead at 8:06 a.m. Thus ended another life in an overgrowing company of violent men. The action of the Utah government was a landmark, in that it reversed a non-execution practice dating back to 1967 when the Colorado gas chamber was used to execute a criminal. The U.S. Supreme Court had declared a moratorium of almost 10 years, trying to determine the constitutionality of capital punishment. The question was: “Is capital punishment cruel and unusual punishment?” A decision of only a few months ago stated that it was not. Dates of execution were being set in those states where the death penalty for certain crimes was a law. Appeals were and are pending before almost every magistrate on behalf of those who are condemned to die.

Gilmore created a sensational news item when he asked that no more appeals be filed on his behalf. He had been sentenced to death and he had accepted the decision of the courts. When his mother and the American Civil Liberties Union filed appeals over his protest, he sought to take his own life and very nearly succeeded. But the courts would not reverse their decision. So, on that Monday morning in January, Gilmore was executed.

A Lifetime Of Crime

The State of Utah ended a violent life. Half of his 36 years had been spent in prison for crimes he had done. At age 14, he broke some school windows and was put in jail. In the years to come he would be convicted of crimes including vagrancy, auto theft and grand larceny. ABC News said he was guilty of rape and many cases of robbery. On the night of July 20, 1976, having had a fight with his girlfriend, he went to the City Center Motel in Provo, Utah, robbed the clerk, 26-year-old Bennie Bushnell, ordered him to lie on the floor, placed a pistol against his head and pulled the trigger twice. For this crime he was executed. Prior to his execution he had also admitted that the night before he had murdered Max David Jensen, 24, an Orem service station attendant, while committing a robbery. In two days Gilmore brutally murdered two young men in their mid-twenties, and each victim left a young widow and child.

Outside the prison, there were prayers that he not be executed. An all night vigil was kept in spite of the cold Utah weather. Inside the prison, Gilmore seemed to feel no compulsions of conscience for the evil he had done. There was no evident consideration of what was before him as he entered eternity. Throughout the night he tried to calm his relatives and lawyers who visited him. He danced with his cousin and gave pointers on boxing to those who were there. He refused the traditional final meal, took a nap, and prepared for the next day. After 11th hour appeals failed, he was taken to the place of execution, heard the decree and was asked if he had anything to say. After a few moments, his caustic reply was, “Let’s do it.” The five man squad fired, striking his heart, and the murderer died.

The American Conscience?

Now, what shall we make of Gary Mark Gilmore? Will the American people immortalize him in ballads extolling his bravery? Will he be thought of as a martyr in an unjust cause? Will he become] a national hero? Or, will he be recorded in history as a hardened criminal who paid the supreme price for his crimes? What is the American conscience? Is the American conscience that of those who kept that all-night vigil, many of them religious leaders from various parts of the country? Is it represented by the lawyers for the ACLU? Are the bleeding hearts of this nation’s “do-gooders” representative of the thinking and conviction of the American people?

Where have all these pious, religious leaders (?) been during the past decade as hundreds have been brutally slain at the hands of lawless men? When have they led a public outcry against the criminal who perpetrates such horrible deeds? Whose voice is raised in behalf of those murdered, their parents, their husbands or wives, and their orphaned children? Who lobbies for their rights? Who cries out against the inhumane treatment viciously imposed on them by the greedy, godless criminal who prefers to rob and kill instead of work like other decent people? The voices of these civil libertarians have been silent for the most part. No television camera for the national news broadcasts buzzes for the victims of the crime-just for the criminal. So, this nation’s religious leaders fall on their knees in the ice and snow to pray that the murderer might live. For what? So that he can kill again?

What are the rights of a murderer? About two weeks ago, a couple entered an Amarillo Pizza Hut. They put the employees in a large, walk-in cooler, forced the woman-manager into a back room where she was killed. But, she was not killed in the same manner as Gary Gilmore. They crammed her head into a commercial dough-mixing machine used to mix the heavy dough of which pizza crust is made, and absolutely mangled her head! Her husband was discouraged from viewing her body after she was killed. Now, what are the rights of those who would do such a thing?

A Divine Law

God’s law legislates that they have no rights! By their crimes they have forfeited the rights of citizens in a civilized society. In every age, God has declared the same punishment for such a crime. In the Patriarchal Age, He said, “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood. by man shall his blood be shed . . .” (Gen. 9:6). In the Mosiac Age, He said. “He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death” (Exod. 21:12). Some seem to think, however, that with the Age of the Gospel now ushered in, this law of God has changed. But the fact is, it has not.

Today we are taught of God, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Rom. 12:19). Many have concluded that this means that God shall execute wrath upon the criminal in the Judgment. Such is only partially true. The murderer shall be punished in Hell (Rev. 21:8). But, God has made provision for his punishment in this life as well. That provision is civil government. “The powers that be are ordained of God,” and this civil power “beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil” (Rom. 13:1,4). The wrath of God is meted out to the murderer through civil government as the instrument of God. The State of Utah was just such an instrument in Gilmore’s case. Gilmore got what God and the State said he should have gotten. He was no martyr! He was a common criminal who was executed in keeping with the severity of his crime. I have no tears to shed for him except those which would be shed for any man who defies the law of God unto his own ruin. It should be our prayer that God’s will might be executed by government in the many other cases pending before the courts. When the death-rows of this nation have been emptied, and when justice is speedily executed, then shall sanity be restored to our society. “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil” (Eccl. 8:11).

Conclusion

Our society is so corrupt that one is fearful for his life when he hears an unexplained noise in the night. For almost ten years the lawless element in our social system could do almost anything without fear of any life-endangering consequence. They seem to have thought that if they were caught they would go to jail for awhile, the State would pay all their expenses, they would be put on parole and be back on the streets again. If, however, the criminal knows that he will be quickly executed if caught, he has to think twice before taking an innocent life. Let the preachers go into the ice and snow to pray that God’s will might be executed, instead of praying that it not be done!

God’s way has always worked to man’s good before. It will be so again if we have the courage to implement it in American society. “And when civil government fails to carry out the penalty, this supreme penalty, . . . after a while the blood of those that were murdered is going to be washed out in the blood of the citizens of the society that tolerated the failure. I believe this to be a divine principle” (Homer Hailey, God And Capital Punishment, p. 15).

Truth Magazine XXI: 14, pp. 218-219
April 7, 1977

By Robert Jackson

Again we want to encourage you to get your Bible and study with us, with an open mind, and I recognize also that I am just a man. I have made mistakes and I have had to correct those mistakes. This is the reason I want you to bring to my mind anything that you feel like I have taught that is out of harmony with the will of God. I will assure you that I will make the proper correction. Even in our study, if you disagree with what has been written, we can disagree without being disagreeable. Our main purpose is to come back to the Bible, and be as God would have us to be.

We are studying issues that divide us. In our last article I brought to your mind that one of the first principles that causes division is a lack of respect and a lack of understanding of Authority. I tried to instill into your heart to respect Jesus Christ as the Son of the living God, to respect Jesus Christ as the One Who is the Head of the church, and to remember that “all authority” has been given unto Him, and that Jesus emphasized the fact that “if you reject my word, that you have rejected me.” There are some people that labor under the impression that they can believe in Christ, and then turn right around and deny His word. This is impossible. If you deny His word, you deny Christ. And so then, you need to be concerned about Bible authority.

Bible authority is identified by either a generic command or a specific command, which come under three headings: that is, by direct command, a necessary inference, or an approved example. Now, either in a generic sense or a specific sense, you will find these three commandments; and thus we must observe this in our authority in religion. This is the reason that Christians make the plea: We speak where the Bible speaks, and we are silent where the Bible is silent. And thus, they united upon the cause of Christ. They stand as one for the teaching of God’s word, and there is no division within their ranks.

But, secondly, we need to study another issue that divides us in the body of Christ, and that is, not having the proper understanding of what is the church. Now first of all, the question that I am going to present to you is: What is the Church? And let me emphasize the word the-What is the church of Christ? A lot of people today talk about “the Church of Christ,” and yet a lot of people fail to understand and recognize what is the church of Christ. So then, we are concerned right at this present time with what does the Bible have to say? What is the revelation of Christ in regard to the church of Christ?

In order to find the answer to this, let us turn to Matthew 16. You remember, beginning at about verse 13, when Christ came to His disciples and asked them the question, “Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am?” It was then that Simon Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered and said unto him, “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father, which is in Heaven. And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.” Now stop for just a moment and get this: He said that “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Now then, this is the Church. Christ said, “I will build my church,” the church. So then, the church is the body of Christ. The church is the church of Christ. It is the church of the Lord, the one that you read about in the teachings of God’s revelation.

But, now in Matthew 16, when Christ said, “I will build my church,” or the church, He was talking about the church in the universal sense, which includes all of God’s people all over this earth. Now this is not like what some people have in mind. In John 15, some people turn and say that the Lord said, “I am the vine and ye are the branches and the branches represent churches. You just pick out any branch or any church that you want to join, and that will be pleasing with God.” But that, my friends, is perverting the word of God. In John 15, when Jesus said, “I am the vine and ye are the branches,” you will observe that He did not say that the branches are churches. He identified the branches as men. He said, “If any man abide not in me.” And so then, He was talking about individuals there, and not churches.

So then, we have the church in the universal sense that makes up all of God’s people everywhere, and they are people who are separated, called out from the world. That is exactly what the word church means, the called out people of God. They are separated from other people. Jesus said, “I will build my church.” They are separated from others, they are called out from others.

First of all, the church is composed of people who have been separated by the blood of Jesus Christ. Now, without the blood of Christ, there would not have been the church! Jesus died for the church, and paid for the church with His own precious blood. The apostle Paul emphasized this in Acts 20:28 when he was talking with the elders of Ephesus over at Miletus. He spoke in regards to “the church of God that he has purchased with his own blood,” and so the church is composed of blood-bought people, people who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Now then, when we talk about being redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, how were they redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ? My friend, they were redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ when they obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ. Without obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ, they could not be redeemed by the blood of Christ. I challenge you to find one time in the word of God where there was ever a man redeemed by the blood of Christ without first obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ! You cannot find it. In every case of conversion, before a man was added to the kingdom of God, the family of God. the bony of Christ, the church-before he is pictured as one of God’s called-out people, this man obeyed the commandments of God. Now this is where a lot of people miss it. Some people have the idea that they can be a member of the church by just believing in God, saying that there is a God. But this is not so. In order to be a member of the church, they must be sanctified, separated by the blood of Christ; and they cannot be sanctified and separated by the blood of Christ until they have obeyed what God said.

Now let me give you an example. In Romans 6:3,5, Paul said, “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?” Now notice they were baptized “into his death.” Now when they are baptized into his death, they’re baptized where they reach the blood of Christ–not the literal blood that was shed upon the cross of Calvary. Had you been standing there the day they killed the Son of God and a drop of the blood of Christ would have hit you on the head, it would not have sanctified you in any sense of the word. The blood of Christ meant that He gave His life. Now then, you have got to contact that blood, you have got to contact His life; and this is in obedience, and Paul says you do so when you are baptized into Christ. So you can see that the Church is composed of people who are separated by blood.

But also they are separated by living. They are called out of darkness into light. They are called out of the kingdom of the devil, into the kingdom of God. And when you talk about “What is the church?”, you need to understand that the church is composed of people-people who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ, people who are separated in their living, people who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, people who have enough humility and love and faith to simply say, “Lord, you speak and I’ll obey.” And when Jesus said, “I will build my church,” He was talking about “I will call my people out;” and the people who make up the church of Christ are the people who have obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And I will tell you something else, my beloved friend, with the love of God within my heart. When you obey the gospel of Jesus Christ, you will not be added to any other church other than the church of the Lord, the church of Christ.

So then, when you ask the question, “What is the church?”, we are not talking about the church building. We are not talking about some church built and established by man. We are talking about the church of Christ, the people of God who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. And, as a result of not understanding this, we have division within our own ranks.

But now, this leads up to the second important question, and that is: What is a church of Christ? Now then, keep in mind we have established what is the church of Christ. The church of Christ is the universal church, the body of Christ, without any earthly organization whatsoever-just the blood-brought people of God, people who have obeyed and responded to the invitation of Christ. Now then, the second question: What is a church of Christ?

Now a church of Christ is a local church of Christ. You read about this in the revelation of Christ in Romans 16:16. The Bible says, “The churches of Christ salute you.” Now some people have in mind when it talks about “churches” that he is talking about man-made churches. That is not what he is talking about. He is talking about local churches. For example, in Galatians 1, “the churches of Galatia.” In the book of Revelation, “the seven churches of Asia.” Now then, you can find local churches of Christ. A good example is in the book of Phillipians, chapter 1, when Paul was writing to the “church which is in Philippi,” as he did in Corinthians 1, “to the church which is in Corinth.” So then, when we ask, What is a local church?, we are talking about a local church of Christ.

Now a local church of Christ is composed of Christians who come together in a specific locality. It was called the church at Corinth because it was at Corinth. Now the church at Twin Oaks is made up of people in a specific locality where they have joined together as the saints of God, meeting together in a specific locality and identified as the Twin Oaks Church of Christ. That is what a local church of Christ really is.

But now, secondly, the local church of Christ is organized. It has an organization. Now this organization has been revealed-the arrangement made by the God of Heaven. Let me give you the scripture. In Acts 14:23, “they ordained elders in every city.” So then, they had to have elders in every congregation. But these men must be qualified, as 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 bring out the qualifications of the men who serve as elders in the local church.

But now, let me establish one thing here that we want to come back to further in our study. In 1 Pet. 5, he said that elders have the oversight of “the flock of God which is among you.” Now then, when you talk about “What is a church of Christ?”, you have got elders to oversee it. But they only oversee the flock of God which is “among” them. They have no oversight of another church. They have no jurisdiction outside of the local congregation. They only have the oversight of the flock of God which is “among them.” As a result of misunderstanding this, and abusing this principle, we have division within our own ranks. We will have more to say about this later, but keep in mind that a local church is a congregation in a specific locality with elders to oversee it.

But also, they have deacons. If you have your Bibles, you might read of the deacons in the congregation, as we read about deacons in the church in Philippians 1:1. We read about deacons in the body of Christ, the local congregation. They are the special servants, and they must be qualified to serve in this capacity (1 Timothy 3).

But then, when you have a local church, you have a need to be met. There is a work to be performed: the preaching of the gospel of Christ, the edifying of the saints of God, the doing of the work of benevolence and taking care of their own poor. Then there must be money raised to take care of this. How is the local church to raise its money? Well, according to the teaching of God’s word in 1 Corinthians 16, a local church raised its money by the saints of God giving upon the first day of the week-no pie suppers, no rummage sales-just the saints of God giving.

So, what is the church? The church is the universal body of Christ with no earthly organization. A local church of Christ is organized with elders, saints of God giving and doing what God told it to do. So then, you are identified with a local church and where they stand for the truth.

Truth Magazine XXI: 14, pp. 216-218
April 7, 1977