Truth Magazine

By O. C. Birdwell

“If thou put the brethren in mind of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished in the words of the faith, and of the good doctrine which thou hast followed until now: but refuse profane and old wives’ fables” (I Tim. 4:6,7).

These words are from Paul to admonish an evangelist named Timothy, and all others who want to be “good ministers.” The word “minister” is obviously not used as a religious title, but rather to describe what Timothy was. The word translated “minister” is also translated by some, “servant,” and is used often with reference to a teacher of the gospel. Paul’s letters to Timothy show some characteristics of a good minister and faithful steward. Notice a few of them.

A good minister must be a servant of Christ. Sometimes preachers and churches forget this. How often have people reasoned “We pay his wages, he should do our bidding,” or “He must preach what we want because he works for us.” But wages of a gospel preacher come from money contributed to do the work of Christ; therefore, Christ should dictate what that work is, not some large giver or influential person. A congregation should not try to strangle a gospel preacher and force him to preach what they desire. With a dedicated servant of Christ the effort will fail anyway.

To many a preacher is like an elected political figure. “You please us or else.” Paul warned Timothy about this kind of attitude in these words: “For the time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables” (2 Tim. 4:3,4). When preachers begin to “serve a church” they turn away from the truth. A faithful minister will not swerve to the right or to the left, regardless of the financial or social pressures. He will fearlessly expose any teaching or practice that is contrary to the truth.

A good minister will be dependable and responsible. “. . . It is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1 Cor. 4:2). His mission is to “preach the word, be urgent in season, out of season, reprove,, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Tim. 4:2). He must be faithful in presenting the good news of salvation of both Jew and Gentile in the one body which is the church (see Eph. 2:14; 3:3). But rather than do this, some who claim to be Christ’s ministers would mock Him by contradicting His teaching or by affirming that what He taught was for an outdated First Century and not needed now. One faithful to Christ must know that His message is authoritative, that it is final, and that our task is to obey it.

A good minister must not fear man’s judgment. Paul said, “But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment . . . (1 Cor. 4:3). This does not mean that a preacher should not be concerned with the welfare and wishes of people. Neither does it mean that he should strive to make people mad at him. It simply means that he should not be intimidated by their judgment, opposition, or hatred so as to change his teaching or soften it in any way. God will judge all by Jesus Christ (Acts 17:31; 2 Tim. 4:1). God’s judgment will vindicate the message and the faithful messenger (2 Cor. 5:10).

Next: Kinds of Preaching.

Truth Magazine XX: 33, p. 514
August 19, 1976

By Wayne S. Walker

The Bible claims to be “given by inspiration of God, and profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works,” so said Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. Peter informed us that the scriptures came into being when “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:21). The New Testament affirms that the Bible is the Word of God. That is a relatively simple statement to make, but I appreciate it more and more as I come in contact with those people we know as Pentecostals or Charismatics. Most individuals who attach the name “Christian” to themselves and think of themselves as fundamentalists or evangelicals would say they believe the Bible is God’s Word-yet so few really believe it. What the Bible actually teaches is that it is the one and only method God has chosen to reveal His will to mankind in this age. Let us see what we can learn by an examination and comparison of the different ways God has revealed Himself in past eras and the present time.

In Nature

God has always manifested Himself through His creation: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handywork” (Ps. 19:1). Even to the ancient heathens, “He left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17). Thus, these pagan Gentiles were without excuse in their atheism, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made” (Rom. 1:20 NIV). While it is true that nature reveals the existence and deity of God, man left solely to nature for his information concerning God usually degenerates into worshiping and serving “the creature more than the creator” (Rom. 1:25). The reason is that the physical universe does not reveal the mind, the will of God. It was necessary for God to make this known by special means.

In Times Past

Front Hebrews 1:1, we learn that God “at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets.” In His dealings with man in days gone by, He has used various means to make known His desires at different times. For instance, He spoke directly with Adam and Eve, Noah, and Abraham, as recorded in Genesis. He communicated with His chosen nation of Israel through the law which He gave by Moses. Later, as the Jews began to apostatize, He sent specially picked messengers, called seers or prophets, to tell them His will. Many times Isaiah declared, “Thus saith the LORD . . .;” or Ezekiel, “The word of the LORD came unto me saying. . . .” However, we do not live in those days. How does God express Himself in our time?

In These Last Days

The Hebrew writer continues in verse 2, that God “hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.” We should not expect God to speak directly unto us or send a special prophet-we must depend on Christ for our knowledge of God. Jesus Himself declared, “All, things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him” (Matt. 11:27). The next question of importance would naturally be, by what means does the Son reveal the Father? In answer, we cite some promises Jesus made to His eleven chosen apostles (Judas had already departed) in John 14:26, 15, 26, and 16:13: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. . . . But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me. . . . Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” Just what did the Holy Ghost do?

The Scriptures

Paul expounds on this in Ephesians 3:3-5: speaking of the mystery of Christ, “which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.” Paul himself “wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ.” He also stated in 1 Cor. 14:33, “That the things I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.” So there we have it. The Father having delivered all things to the Son, Christ sent the Holy Spirit from the Father to guide the apostles and prophets into all truth. As the Spirit revealed the mind of God to them (1 Cor. 2:6-16), they recorded it in the form we call the New Testament Scriptures, the Bible. In this manner, we have “the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3 ASV), and completely confirmed by God “with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost” (Heb. 2:4 in fulfillment of Mark 16:15-20). When we read these words, we can understand the mystery of Christ.

Faith

Therefore, we do not need the Father, the Christ, or the Comforter to speak directly to our hearts today, or through prophets, visions, dreams, voices, experiences, feelings, or any other extra-scriptural means. Faith is not produced in this way, but rather “cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). The Bible is thoroughly capable of accomplishing its purpose without supernatural aid: “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book: But these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 10:30-31). If men do not believe through the written word, as Jesus explains in the story of Lazarus and the rich man, “Neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” (Luke 16:31).

Conclusion

A man might claim God revealed it to him to assassinate the President of our nation. And not one Pentecostal could deny it, for there are no exclusive criteria on which to test these revelations as there were in the First Century, except the Bible. Once the gate is open for God to speak directly to anyone in this period of time, no one can refute the claims of anyone else concerning a personal revelation from Heaven. If someone might argue, “But the man said he received a revelation to kill, and the Bible says men shouldn’t kill,” making a sincere and honest appeal to the Scriptures, then it can be shown to him that God does not reveal His will in this way at all today. It is not a matter of what God can or cannot do-God can express Himself in any way He desires. But it is a question of what He has chosen to do, of what He has said. And He has said, “His divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us to glory and virtue” (2 Pet. 1:3). God’s people need to be students of the Word. Instead of sitting back and waiting for God to talk to us in a direct manner, or for the Spirit to enter our hearts and lead our lives directly, let us be like the happy man of Psalm 1, whose “delight is in the law of Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night,” for the Bible is the Word (law) of God, His complete and final revelation to man, and the sole source for knowledge of His plan for mankind in this dispensation.

Truth Magazine XX: 32, pp. 509-510
August 12, 1976

By Jimmy Tuten, Jr.

The church is a distinctive organization with a distinctive function. It has a purpose, a mission or a work to perform. In this writing we will be observing the work of the local church because the local church is the only functional organization of the church revealed in the New Testament. When we use the term “church” reference is to the local church. It will be seen that God has a definite purpose for the church and that this purpose is clearly revealed in the Scriptures.

Primarily Spiritual

The work of the church is primarily spiritual in nature, involving the saving of souls. The spiritual nature of the church is demonstrated in a number of passages. The church is “not of this world” (Jn. 18:38). Peter calls the church a “spiritual house” when he said, “ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house . . . (1 Pet. 2:5). In verse 9 he refers to those who make it up as a “holy nation.” That the function of the church is spiritual in nature is demonstrated by 1 Tim. 3:15, “. . . the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” The word “pillar” denotes a column supporting weight. It comes from the Greek word stulos. The word “ground” comes from hedraioma and denotes a foundation, a mainstay of truth. Further weight is added to this thought when we observe that after describing the church as a “chosen generation, an holy nation, a peculiar people,” Peter says that it shows “forth the praises of him who hath called you . . .” (1 Pet. 2:9). To “shew forth” in this text means to declare or make known. Thus the church has a distinctive, spiritual function.

What Is The Work Of The Church?

The work of the church is threefold in nature, involving evangelism, edification and benevolence. Let us look at each of these in the order in which they are listed:

(1) To Preach The Gospel In All The World-It is the function of the church to sound “out the word of the Lord” (1 Thess. 1:8). As seen above, the church is the pillar and ground of truth (1 Tim. 3:15). The purpose for preaching “the unsearchable riches of Christ” is to “make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God . . . to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God” (Eph. 3:9-10). It is the purpose of the church to propagate and uphold truth. The First Century church saw clearly this mission and performed it well. Hence, Paul could speak of the Philippians’ fellowship in the Gospel from the first day until now (Phil. 1:5). He could refer to the hope of the Gospel as having been preached to “every creature which is under heaven” (Col. 1:23). Today we are to sound out the word of the Lord beginning at home and then abroad as opportunity presents itself. The church is saved to save others.

(2) To Edify Itself In Love-Speaking of the church, Paul said, “from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh the increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love” (Eph. 4:16). Edification is a requisite to growth. Therefore we are to exhort each other and build ourselves up in the most holy faith (Heb. 3:12-14; 10:24-25).

(3) To Supply The Needs Of Its Own Indigent Members-Benevolence is a work of the church. All passages showing the church’s engaging in benevolence limit that work to saints. Brethren and disciples were objects of benevolent work from the treasury of the church (Acts 6:1-3; 11:27-30; Rom. 15:25-26; 1 Cor. 16:1-2; 2 Cor. 8-9). All that the New Testament says about benevolence from the treasury of the church constitutes the pattern. The pattern limits the church in its benevolent work to the needs of poor saints. The Deeds of non-saints are fulfilled by individuals who have a broader obligation (Jas. 1:27; Gal. 6:10). The church is limited even in what it can do for saints (1 Tim. 5:3-16).

What The Church Is Not To Do

The church in its function is limited to the areas cited above. By Divine authority, the church cannot operate and function in the area of secular education, entertainment, recreation, politics, secular business and civic functions. In these areas the church is not to be charged. Hence, building hospitals, homes for unwed mothers, schools, old folks homes and orphan homes are not a part of the work God authorized the church to do. The church can utilize any means that is lawful and expedient to carry out its mission, but it cannot, without violating Scripture, operate in these fields. God has placed limitations upon the church and what it can do from its treasury.

How Is The Church To Do Its Work?

Most Christians agree that the Scriptures constitute the pattern for work and worship. The work of the church is to function according to the pattern (Heb. 8:5). God has given the pattern for everything he authorized the church to do. Hence the necessity for following the pattern.

Let us look at the pattern of cooperation among churches. Keep in mind the fact that each congregation is self-governing (1 Pet. 5:14), and each independently operates (Phil. 2:14-16; 1 Thess. 1:7-8). The Philippian church, for example, not only “held forth the word of life,” she had fellowship with Paul from the beginning of the Gospel (Phil. 1:5). While Paul was in Thessalonica, Philippi sent once and again to his necessity (Phil. 4:15-18). In this we see the pattern of one church supporting a preacher. In 2 Cor. 11:7-9 we see Paul taking wages of other churches while he preached at Corinth. The pattern here is a plurality of churches sending to the preacher. Notice that it was sent directly. To these thoughts we add the fact that one church can send a preacher to different places (Acts 13:1-3). There is simply no example anywhere of churches working through boards as is the case in the missionary society. Neither did they work through a sponsoring church arrangement such as the Herald of Truth. The pattern in evangelism is sending funds directly to the man in the field. There is to be no organization, human or otherwise, between the supporting church and the preacher.

Now let us look at the pattern in bentvolence. First, in the case of the Jerusalem church we see one church caring for its own (Acts 6:1-3). The pattern also teaches that one church can help another church care for its own (Acts 11:27-30). The new Testament also teaches that a number of congregations can send to one church in need (Rom. 15:25-26; 1 Cor. 16:1-2; 2 Cor. 8-9). In the cases of churches’ helping each other it was done that there might be equality (2 Cor. 8:13-15). In benevolence the funds were always sent to the need. There is no example of even one church’s functioning through benevolent societies. If brethren would insist on each church’s doing its own work in the way the pattern teaches the strife and division that exists would cease.

Conclusion

May God help us to get more involved in the work of the Lord. We need to follow the Divinely revealed mission, purpose and function of the church. Let brethren cease their departures from the pattern. Remember, when God specifies either by command, example or necessary inference how a thing is to be done, that ends all controversy on the matter. May God help the church to hold to the pattern in its work and mission.

Truth Magazine XX: 32, pp. 507-508
August 12, 1976

By Daniel H. King

A Clue From Joshua

When Joshua gathered the tribes of Israel together at ancient Shechem, the aged solider and leader of the armies of God reminisced about Israel’s hoary past. But it was not altogether resplendent with glory. In the years before God’s revelation of Himself to Abram, there was no distinguishable difference between the patriarch’s religious heritage and that vile heathen idolatry which was the possession of the nations around him. “And Joshua said unto all the people, ‘Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor: and they served other gods. And I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac'” (Josh. 24:2,3). Joshua’s allusion gives us added information upon the religious patrimony of Abram which is only hinted at in Genesis chapters eleven and twelve.

Importance of Names

One of the suggestive elements of the Genesis account is the presence of certain theophoric designations, i.e. names given to children which glorify a particular deity. It was the practice of ancient peoples to name their children after a god, or with the name of the god in combination with a phrase which said something about the god or the child in connection with the god. When Israel was unfaithful to the Lord many of her children were named after Baal: Gideon’s name was also Jeru-baal (“Let Baal Contend,” Judges 7:1; and cf. also 6:32); one of Saul’s sons was named Eshbaal (“Fire of Baal,” 1 Chron. 8:33; 9:39), although he is called at other times Ishbosheth (“Mari of Shame,” 2 Sam. 2:10); Jonathan, also a son of Saul, had a son named Meribbaal (“Baal’s Fighter,” 1 Chron. 8; 34; 9:40) who is called in other places Mephi-bosheth (“Destroying the Idol” or “Destroying the Shame,” 2 Sam. 4:4). Many who held resolutely to the Lord as the sole God, however, named their children with appellations glorifying the true God: Eli (“My God is El”), Joshua (“Jehovah Saves”), Daniel (“God is My Judge”), Jeremiah (“Whom Jehovah Appoints”), and etc. It was the practice to name children after tutelary or protecting gods even as far back as the time of Abraham. In fact, ancient sources evidence that it even antedates the time of Abraham by many centuries.

Terah of Ur

Terah the father of Abraham, is specifically mentioned at Joshua 24:2 in connection with idolatry. And, it is interesting to note that linguists have for many years related the name of Terah to a Hebrew root meaning either “moon” or “month” (according to the vocalization: Yareah, “moon:” as at Josh. 10:13; or Yerah, “month” as at 1 Kgs. 6:37). The French archaeological mission which worked at Ras Shamrah under Mons. C. F. A. Schaeffer between 1929 and 1939 uncovered numerous tablets written in a language now called “Ugaritic” after the ancient name of the town in North Syria where it was spoken. Among these cuneiform texts are many documents devoted to religious matters. From them we learn that in North Syria the name of the Moon-god was “Terah.” The man Terah was, as an Aramaean, a blood-relation of the North Syrian peoples, and their language (to a degree, at least) was his also. There can therefore be no question here of an accidental resemblance between words of difference origin and meaning. The name of the Moon-god was Terah. The name of Abraham’s father was Terah. It can only be that Terah was considered to be under the special protection of that deity.

Another piece of evidence fitting nicely into this picture comes from the fact that the patron god of the city of Ur was the Moon-god Nannar. There were (according to Woolley) numerous temples and shrines consecrated to other members of the pantheon-but to Nannar the city itself was dedicated. The heart of the town was set apart as the Moongod’s sanctuary. The great ziggurat or temple-tower was his. And, although other gods had their shrines within the sacred enclosure, they were only there as attendants on the majesty of Nannar; he was the “King of Ur,” the “Lord of Heaven.” It was from this same city that the Bible tells us Terah and his family came (Gen. 11:28,31). Moreover, from the written documents of Sumerian Ur names appear compounded with the name of Nannar, e.g., Nannar-ludug, Nannarishag, etc. The possibility therefore exists that Terah was called “Nannar” (or a compound therewith) in Sumerian Mesopotamia but “Terah” by Syrians-Palestinians.

The Migration of Haran

In Gen. 11:31 the record of the migration of Terah and his family (with the exception of Haran who had died at Ur) is recounted. At this point a further piece of evidence is derived: “And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the iand of Canaan; and they came into Haran, and dwelt there.” Now, it is both facinating and interesting that the city of Haran was a seat of the worship of Sin, the Moon-god, from very ancient times. In fact, some have called the inoon-cult of Haran “simply a replica of that of Ur.” If Terah was indeed a benefactor and patron of the Moon-god cult, then it is manifestly apparent why the selection of Haran as a stopping-place on the trip to Canaan. He stopped there for religious reasons, but such as we would hesitate to believe.

Sarah, Laban, and Milcah

In this connection the etymology of the name of Abram’s wife is also important. “Sarah” (or “Sarai”) corresponds to Sharratu (“the Queen”), which is the Akkadian translation of the Sumerian “Ningal,” the spouse of the god Sin. From later references, Laban, brother of Rebekah and son of Nahor, according to Gen. 24:29; 29:5 (and appearing only in the geographical context of the city of Haran in the country called Paddan-arani and Arain-naharaim; Gen. 24:10; 25:20) has also been connected by some scholars with the lunar-god, lord of Haran. The name Laban is documented by a sinall tablet found at Mari, which mentions a Laba-an. In any case we know that Laban possessed household gods, or teraphim (Gen. 31:19) and is characterized in the biblical text as being unscrupulous and dishonest. So there would not be any good reason to objecting to this thesis. Laban’s covenant at the heap called Jegarsahadutha or Galeed (“heap of witness” in Aramaic and in Hebrew; Gen. 31:47) should only be considered typical, for ancient peoples were about as little concerned with religious differences between themselves and others as denominational folk are today. This is altogether evident if Gensis 31:53 is translated literally from the Hebrew.

Other names important to this study which have been brought to light in other ancient literary texts besides the book of Genesis are: Abraham, which is not directly attested from Ur but is found in Mesopotamian texts at the beginning of the second millennium B. C. under the following forms: A-ba-ra-ma, A-ba-am-ra-tna, and A-baam-ra-am, Nahor, the name of Abraham’s brother and his grandfather, is found in Assyrian as Nakhur; Nahor’s wife, Milcha, could be related to the Assyrian malkatu (“princess”). Edouard Dhorme has also traced this latter name to the lunar cult. No such connection exists with either the name of Abraham or Nahor.

Called Out of Paganism

Perhaps some of the above evidence is sketchy and some may even be shown to be dubious in the years ahead, but it is exciting to think that we may know the particular form of paganism Terah and Abram in his youth were adherents of and from which Abraham was “converted.” Abraham was not only called out of his country and from his kindred he was called out of paganism! The all-important how of his “conversion” we have long known: “The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, and said unto him, ‘Get thee out of thy land, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee.’ Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Haran: and from thence, when his father was dead, God removed him into this land (Canaan). . . ” (Acts 7:2-4). God’s revelation of Himself to Abram is the explanation which we accept by faith of Abram’s complete departure from his heathen heritage. The high monotheistic concepts of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as well as that of their loyal descendants were not borrowed, evolved or invented-they were revealed by God: by theophany.

Later writers imaginatively enlarge upon the story of Abram’s early life in apocryphal tales about his and his father’s involvement in idolatry. In the Genesis Rabbah, a late Jewish treatise, Abraham is pictured as the first iconoclast, the first smasher of idols. It is most entertaining: “Abraham’s father, Terah, sold idols. Once, upon going away, he left Abraham to sell them in his stead. A man came and wished to buy one. Abraham asked him, ‘How old are you?’ When the man answered that he was sixty years old, Abraham rebuked him, ‘You should be ashamed, a man of sixty wanting to bow down to an object that is but one day old.’ The man became embarrassed and left.

“Another time, a woman came carrying a plate of flour and said to him, ‘Take this and offer it to them.’ Abraham, thereupon took a stick, broke all the idols and placed the stick in the hands of the largest among them. When his father returned, he demanded to know who was responsible. Abraham answered, ‘Why hide it from you? A woman carrying a plate of flour came and told me to offer it to them. When I did so, each idol insisted that it must eat first and the largest idol got up, took a stick and broke all the others.’ Hearing this, Terah cried out, ‘Why do you mock me? Do idols have any knowledge? Abraham then retorted let your own ears hear your lips speak'”.

Although this is only a fanciful tale which has no rootage in reality, yet the fact of the matter is that the strong theological and philosophical arguments against idolatry and the other follies of heathenism began with God’s revealing Himself to the patriarch Abraham. Thereby God saved him from the absurd religious notions accepted even by his own father. And with him-us!

Truth Magazine XX: 32, pp. 505-507
August 12, 1976