Truth Magazine

By Mike Willis

With this issue, volume twenty of Truth Magazine will come to a close. Throughout the past twenty years, the pages of this journal have been filled with instruction pertaining to issues within the church in an effort to remind Christians that one must have Bible authority for all which he says and does. Truth Magazine began during the fight against institutionalism and the sponsoring church concept. For some years now, the lines have been pretty clearly drawn between the “liberal” and “conservative” churches; both groups have taken their stand and headed their separate ways.

In recent years, other issues have surfaced which have also had to be exposed as having their origin with the Devil. Hence, in recent years, the pages of this periodical have been filled with materials exposing the grace-unity heresy as propagated by Carl Ketcherside, Leroy Garrett, etc. Churches and preachers have been made aware of the existence of this heresy and have taken up the fight against it. Frankly, those of us who are associated with this paper are honored to have served the Lord in exposing this heresy through this teaching medium.

As we bring this year to a close, it is particularly important that I say “Thank You” to those who have helped us so much in the past.

Again this year, we owe Jeff Kingry a debt of gratitude because of the work which he has done in preparing the index to this volume of the magazine. The material which appears in the bound volumes of any paper is only as valuable as it is accessible; without the index which Jeff has prepared for us, the bound volume would be less useful than it presently is. Using the index to the bound volumes, one can locate any article quickly either by knowing the subject matter or the author’s name. Jeff, thank you for preparing this index for us. One word of thanks needs to be expressed to our writers as well. If the ones who contribute articles to Truth Magazine failed to do so, we would have nothing worthwhile to publish. Hence, we want to thank our writers for the fine material which they have sent to us. We would like to also invite others to send us articles for future use; we shall get them into print as soon as possible.

Truth Magazine XX: 51, p. 804
December 23, 1976

By Cecil Willis

In our extended study of conversion, we have but one motive in mind. We want to learn what men and women did in New Testament times in order to get the forgiveness of their sins, for we know that the same law that governed them still governs us today, Therefore, one must do the same thing to be saved today that men and women did in New Testament times.

Every case of conversion in the New Testament follows a certain pattern. Insofar as commandments are concerned, God makes no exceptions for men, regardless of their popularity or power. All must obey the same commandments. And if one who claims to be converted today should find that his so-called conversion transpired in a manner different from conversions in the Bible, he knows assuredly that he was not converted, but was deceived. God is not making a special case out of you or me.

Every time God gave a commandment He gave the rules to be followed in carrying out the commandment. When God commanded Noah to build an ark to avert destruction by the flood, God specified how the ark was to be built. It was to be constructed of a specific kind of wood, gopher wood, and was to be 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high, with one door and one window. These were the rules to be followed in complying with God’s command.

We find that a number of years after God told Noah to build the ark, He told Moses how the tabernacle was to be built. “This pattern fills three chapters of the book of Exodus and relates not only to the dimensions and apartments of the tabernacle, but also to its materials and furniture, its pillars and its coverings, its curtains and its fastenings; the most explicit directions being given with reference even to the smallest things pertaining to this unique structure” (B.F. Manire, Conversion, pg. 54). Then God exhorted Moses, “See . . . that thou make all things according to the pattern that was shown thee in the mount” (Heb. 8:5).

After the Israelites entered into Palestine, Solomon gathered about him the world’s most skilled builders, and according to the precise instructions of his father David, he guided the building of the temple.

Then when God’s spiritual house, the church, made up of living stones, came to be constructed, God’s wisdom is made known to us by the holy apostles in order that God’s rules in regard to the building of the church may by carefully followed. The church is adequately described in the Scriptures, and any organization that does not measure favorably in the light of the divine rules, is not the church of the Lord.

God also wanted people to be converted, for the spiritual house of God, the church, consists of converted people. There may be people who are nominally on a church roll who have never obeyed the Gospel. But in God’s sight, only these individuals who have sincerely submitted to the instructions of Christ and his inspired helpers are members of the church of the Lord. God wants all men to be converted. We have seen that God has always given rules to be followed in doing what He wants done. God’s desire that men be converted is no different. God has given certain rules of conversion, and these rules we want to study.

The Witnesses

Just prior to Christ’s ascension back into heaven, He gave the Great Commission. There were certain inspired men who heard Him proclaim the great salvation. They were witnesses to Christ’s declaration. These men who were to be witnesses of Christ had been chosen, trained, commissioned by Christ, and finally Christ sent the Holy Spirit upon them to endue them with power. They were especially chosen men, and were given special powers by God to confirm their word as they went forth.

Just prior to Christ’s ascension, they asked, “Lord, dost thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath set within his own authority. But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:68). Again in 2 Pet. 1:16,17, Peter declared that he was an eyewitness of these things. Incidentally, we might observe that it is absurd for one to declare that he is one of “Jehovah’s witnesses” when he was not an eyewitness as were Peter and the other apostles. We may recite the testimony of the witnesses, but we are not Jehovah’s witnesses as were the apostles. But to call ourselves by a title given to those who were eyewitnesses is no worse than many denominationalists do. They claim the power that God gave to His specially chosen witnesses, One might just as well claim the name that God gave His witnesses, or one might as well call himself “Jehovah’s Witness” as to claim he can perform the miracles that God enabled His witnesses to do. But to do either or both is wrong.

These inspired witnesses who heard Jesus tell them what to preach ought to know what the God-given rules of conversion are. So let us turn to the testimony of the inspired writers. We want to consider the testimony of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

Matthew quoted Jesus as saying, “Go ye therefore, and make disciples (teach, K.J.V.) of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28:19, 20). Mark’s testimony reads, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned” (Mk. 16: 15, 16). Luke’s account reads, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24: 46, 47). This is the testimony of the witnesses. In their statement of what Jesus said, we see that the preacher has something to do in converting people; the sinner has something to do in his own conversion; and God is the One who grants the remission of sins. Let us study the rules of conversion by studying the responsibility of each of these separately.

The Duty of the Preacher

If you will notice carefully what each of the three witnesses say, you will see what the duty of the preacher is. Matthew records Jesus’ statement in which the preacher is told to make disciples of all nations (A.S.V.). The King James translation reads “Go ye therefore and teach all nations.” Mark says, “Go ye therefore and preach the gospel to every creature.” Luke says, “that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” The work of the preacher in one’s conversion is that of preaching the Gospel of Christ. In fact, this duty is the responsibility of every Christian, and the magnitude of our obligation should be clear when we see that we are to preach the Gospel to every creature. A tremendous task! But as we learn God’s rules of conversion from the mouth of these three eyewitnesses to the giving of the Great Commission, we learn that this coincides perfectly with Paul’s declaration in which he says, “it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save them that believe” (1 Cor. 1:21). So in the conversion of the souls of men and women, the task of the preacher is to preach the Gospel.

The Duty of the Sinner

But in conversion, it should be, and usually is, recognized by all that the duty is not all the preacher’s. Faithful Gospel preachers could spend their lifetime preaching, and not a soul would be saved unless the sinner recognizes that he has a duty also. In these three records of the Great Commission we are studying, the sinner’s duty is clearly defined. The preacher is to preach the Gospel. The Gospel consists of certain commandments that one must obey. Of course this is not the whole of the Gospel story, but it is a definite part of it. No one will share in the blessings promised in the Gospel who does not obey the commandments of the Gospel.

Remember also that it is merely the business of the preacher to proclaim what God said. It is not the business of the authority of the preacher to alter a single commandment that God has given to us. The preacher must preach the Gospel; the sinner must obey the Gospel. As we read again Christ’s statement as recorded by Matthew, we hear Christ saying, “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” In this instance, Matthew says the sinner is to be baptized. In Mark’s record, Jesus says, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” In Mark’s account we see that two conditions precede one’s salvation. One must believe and be baptized in order to be saved. Remember that man did not make this statement; Jesus did, and that this is the same statement by which you will one day be judged. Luke adds, “that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations.”

In these three passages we see the duty of the alien sinner stated. He must believe in Jesus Christ, repent of his sins, and be baptized. No man lives who has the authority to promise an unbeliever salvation. No man lives who has the authority to promise an impentitent believer salvation. No man lives who has the authority to promise an unbapztized penitent believer salvation. But the Lord Jesus, who has all authority, tenderly promises to save those who believe, repent and are baptized. There will not be a person saved who has lived in the Christian dispensation who has not done these things.

God’s Part

God has conditioned certain blessings on man’s obedience, Mark says that he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. Luke says that repentance and remission of sins are to be preached in Jesus’ name. These are the great blessings ihat we can enjoy through Christ our Lord. No greater blessing could be ours than the forgiveness of our sins. No greater curse could come upon man than for him to die guilty of sin. No greater privilege could be extended to us than the opportunity to have our sins forgiven. We could picture no more wonderful home than the one Jesus has prepared in heaven.

We need to constantly be reminded that what happens to us in judgment will be up to us. God has provided a plan of salvation that is broad enough in scope to include all men, but God has not promised to save a single person unconditionally. He has stipulated certain rules of conversion. There will be no conversion except these rules are followed. Regardless of how good, or how saved you may feel, let me assure you that if you did not follow the rules we have studied this week or in previous weeks as they were expressed by our Lord, you have not been converted! The Lord will not permit you to substitute a plan of salvation of your own for the one that He has given.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the witnesses have faithfully told us what Jesus said for us to do. Gospel preachers are diligently trying to teach people God’s way of salvation. If we preach what Jesus said, people can be saved by obeying it. Unsaved people must do the duty the Great Commission enjoins upon them. You must believe, repent and be baptized. You are not, nor will you ever be, saved before you do this! But when you comply with the rules of conversion, you can assuredly know that God, who promised eternal life will keep His promise. But you may also know that if you die without obeying the Gospel, that the same God promised to take vengeance on those who obey not the Gospel, and He will also keep that promise.

The most important decision you will ever make in this life will be the decision to become a Christian by obeying the rules of conversion. Have you done that?

Truth Magazine XX: 51, pp. 802-803
December 23, 1976

By Bruce Edwards, Jr.

It is sometimes surprising to witness the behavior of some who profess to be among the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. The claim of discipleship is a claim to Jesus as Lord-Lord of everything in the disciple’s life. It is thus somewhat conspicuous behavior when professing Christians utter profane language. There is perhaps no more telling evidence of one’s infidelity than his improper use of the tongue.

The concept of profanity certainly encompasses more than uttering several naughty words. Profanity is the practice of taking that which is holy, set apart for sacred use and making it common and ordinary. It involves irreverence and indolence, insolence and flippancy. It is the product of both ignorance and rebellion. We have come to associate profanity with filthy speech because it is perhaps the most graphic manifestation of disrespect that we encounter. However, such things as tampering with God’s word, using His funds unscripturally or corrupting His worship are no less instances of profanity-taking the holy and making it common.

For the Christian, the concepts of the sacred and the profane have their roots in the Old Testament. God’s word is said to be holy-an expression of His Holy Character. And when His people obey His word, they in turn become “holy” (Lev. 20:7, 8; Ezek. 22:26). The Book of Exodus particularly deals with the idea of a holiness manifested in God’s people, one that is founded upon their personal sanctification to the Lord. In Ex. 20:7, Jehovah says, “Thou shall not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.” Here perhaps the Lord has in view the entire life-style of a people dedicated to Him. The thought encompasses more than, though it includes, the mouthing of some nasty words. Using the Lord’s name, His word, His authority, in a frivolous or irreverent manner is despicable and incompatible with the claim of discipleship. One who only in pretense is set apart unto the Lord is living a vain and profane life . . . and the Lord “will not hold Him guiltless.”

In the New Testament, James has a lot to say about the use of the tongue. In the third chapter (vss. 3-12) he points out the folly and danger of a loose tongue. He illustrates the fundamental inconsistency of one who uses his tongue to bless God and then turns and curses those made in the image of God. The theme of the holy versus the profane life is echoed in the New Testament in such discourses as Eph. 4-6; Col. 3, 4; and Gal. 4, 5. Particularly in Eph. 5:3, 4 does a New Testament writer register a stinging rebuke for those with a nasty tongue. Paul argues, “But fornication and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as becometh saints; nor filthiness, nor foolish talking, or jesting, which are not befitting; but rather giving of thanks.”

Though the mores and morals of a society may change and thus its concepts of obscenity and profanity, the Law of God does not change. There is no place for Ale filthy, the suggestive or the obscene in the vocabulary of the Christian; but there is much less place in the behavior of a Christian for the vulgar tongue which uses the name of God in a vain manner. Frivolous and flippant exclamations of “Lord,” “God,” “Jesus Christ,” and the subtle euphemistic forms (“Gosh,” “Golly”, “Gee,” etc.) are inexcusable and should be eliminated from one’s speech.

Profane language begins as a subtle habit absorbed from thoughtless parents and social peer groups, but soon if progresses into a life-style difficult to reform. Let the professing Christian consider his speech and deilermine if it is in keeping with his claim to discipleship (2 Pet. 1:1-8). Profane speech is an indica[ion of immaturity and total lack of self-control. It is neither “masculine” (or for that matter “feminine”) nor (as some seem to think) the only way to command attention, to motivate desired behavior or to fortify an argument. May we seek to sidestep profane behavior in every aspect of our lives. To do less is to deny the Master who bought us with His own blood.

Truth Magazine XX: 50, pp. 797-798
December 16, 1976

By Irven Lee

The righteousness of God is revealed in the Bible. Of course, God is righteous, and this is made clear, because He is the perfect standard of righteousness. In addition to this fact, the New Testament reveals God’s plan of righteousness for man (Rom. 1:16-18). The teacher, called the man of God, is well equipped and completely furnished to every good work by the word. It gives all things that pertain to life and godliness. Man should be forever grateful that God has spoken and that He has confirmed His word. We all need His whole counsel (2 Tim. 3:14-18; 2 Peter 1:24; Heb. 1:1,2; 2:14).

An amazing fact about the book of God is that it is as new and fresh today as it was when the apostles and prophets first wrote it for man’s enlightenment. The principles of righteousness are eternal. They are just as relevant now as they ever were, and they need to be proclaimed boldly by stout-hearted men to this corrupt, materialistic generation. It is difficult for man to realize how precious the revelation is and how great his need of it. The devil has been successful in keeping it out of the hearts of the masses through the centuries even though it was written to be read and understood (Eph. 3:1-5). Its influence has always been wholesome in the lives of those who have learned and appreciated its message of wisdom.

Our Lord’s command that the gospel be preached to every creature was carried out in one generation (Mark 16:15; Col. 1:23). There were no methods of rapid travel or means of mass communication, but the teachers had the zeal to walk and carry the message if there were no better way to reach the people. It has been in periods of much gospel preaching that there has been growth and the spreading of the borders of the Lord’s church. Apostasy comes when the church people look away from or lose sight of the revealed message and heaven’s authority expressed in it. In such times men in their ignorance of God’s righteousness go about to establish a righteousness of their own (Rom. 10:1-3).

Beginning with the council of Nicea in 325 A.D. men have given out many official pronouncements concerning religion, and they have often upheld them by the strong arm of the military and judicial powers of established governments, God wills that the governments exist, but it is not their prerogative to decide what is true in religious matters, nor can they force men to accept some prescribed creed of their fellows. Decisions of councils took the place of the Bible to a great extent. The councils handed down official decisions as if the inspired and confirmed testament of Christ were not already official and authoritative. This was a sad turn of events for the sin cursed world. The church must constantly fight against such or the superstitions and false beliefs of the world about it will come inside the body itself and hide the Bible from the people.

Men began to decide matters of religious controversy by vote, and these decisions we call creeds. When Rome fell into the hands of barbarous people ignorance covered the world with a blanket of darkness. Men were not taught to read. The Bible was pushed aside by the customs and beliefs of the pagan people, and the church went into the apostasy of the dark ages. As far as the typical man was concerned, it was as if there were no Bible. The decisions of ecumenical councils and the conformity with the world took the Bible away from the people. Out of this period of darkness there arose a church that was more like the Roman Empire in government and more like the pagans in practice and belief than it was like the Bible pattern for the Lord’s people.

The leading men of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century were, of course, men of courage because they ran the risk of losing their lives in opposing the doctrines and practices of the vicious Roman church. There had been several men who had tried to break that yoke, but they were killed before their efforts got off the ground. Luther and others of his generation succeeded in their efforts because there were many powerful political leaders as bitter toward Rome as were the reformers. That is how they were able to tear the church of the dark ages apart at the seams.

How do comments about the Reformation fit into an article about “The Bible through the Ages”? It is very much on the subject because one chief effort of those who opposed the pope and his dictatorial powers was to get the Bible to the people in a language they could understand. There were few copies of the Bible, and they were in Latin. The people were told that only the priests could understand it. The situation was as if there were no Bible. The people did not see a copy or hear it read. Their religion was pre-digested for them. It included ritualism, superstition, and paganism, dispensed by a money-loving, religio-political machine. One of the greatest things the reformers did was translate the scriptures into the language of the people. The printing press had come on the scene, and Bibles could at least be scattered to the extent that there could be one or more copies in each community or in each secondary school.

There is a very sad story associated with the Reformation in regard to the Bible. Calvin, Luther, Knox, and others taught that all were born totally depraved and incapable of any good because they were all heirs of Adam’s sins. They also taught that the decision as to those who were to be saved had already been settled by God. If they were destined to be saved they would be saved. If the decree of God was that they be damned they would be lost anyway. His grace was unconditional and irresistible. In other words, they were told that the Bible teaches thus and so and it was not necessary that they study it. No doctrine can do more to take the Bible away from the people than the doctrine that all decisions are made in heaven and man is so helpless that he need not try.

The Restoration Movement was a powerful influence in getting the message to the people that the Bible can be read and understood, that man is accountable, that he is invited to learn, and that he may obey as a free moral agent. The leaders of the Restoration taught that God has spoken to the common man, and for the sake of his family and friends, and for the sake of his own soul, each should search the scripture. The devil continued in these years to advance the old Calvinistic doctrine of helplessness. The god of this world blinded men to the Bible by getting them entangled and overcome in lust and pleasure, and by getting them ensnared by the love of money. The immorality and materialism of our pleasure mad age have taken the Bible from the people again. There are millions of copies of the good book, but there are tens of millions who never look inside it. To them it is as if there were no Bible. Many children are not taught its precepts, but they are taught evolution and skepticism.

The gospel is God’s power to salvation. The word is the seed of the kingdom and abundantly able to save. Faith comes by hearing the word, but millions among us are so blinded by the god of this world that they never hear it. The word is the seed of the kingdom, but many are like the wayside soil. People need to search the scripture until they can handle it aright. Keeping the Bible from the people is the way the devil keeps his power. Emotionalism requires no Bible study. It can satisfy without the word. How many ways has the prince of this world tried in keeping the Bible from the people? Resist the devil and reach for the Bible, please.

Truth Magazine XX: 50, pp. 796-797
December 16, 1976