Truth Magazine

By Bob Felkner

A good citizen will obey the laws of the nation in which he lives (Rom. 13:1-7). Not only should he obey those laws, but he should also encourage legal action against criminals. We usually insist on the prosecution of murderers, rapists, thieves, and dope peddlers, but what about smut peddlers? Why do we allow them to promote perversion in our cities? I am often amazed at our apathy! So many people are sitting around and spewing forth pessimistic statements like, “We can’t do anything about it.” Others complain about the pornography problem, but too often they direct their complaints to the wrong people. We need to express ourselves publically against pornography. This will also provide us with an opportunity to reveal what the Bible teaches about sex, morality, and family life.

For those who are interested in the fight against filth, I have prepared a few suggestions:

1. In order to combat the pornography problem, citizens must coordinate their efforts.

2. Contact leading citizens and ask them to speak out against pornography.

3. Every citizen should be made aware of the severity of this problem. It is far worse than immodesty or nudity. Pornography includes torture, rape, and sickening perversions (Lev. 18:22-23; 2 Cor. 2:11).

4. Study federal, state, and local obscenity laws. John Drakeford’s book, Pornography, the Sexual Mirage is very frank and informative. In order to stay informed, you may want to get on the mailing lists of the following organizations: Citizens for Decency through Law, 5670 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90036 and Morality in Media, 487 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022. I am not suggesting membership in these organizations, but the information they publish is very helpful.

5. Speak to store owners and managers about the materials they are selling. Also speak to the owners of movie theaters.

6. Circulate petitions against X-rated movies and pornographic magazines. Make copies . of the signed petitions and present them to public officials. (A petition is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as: “a solemn, earnest request; entreaty” or “a formal document embodying such a request.”)

7. Meet with city and county officials and urge them to enforce existing obscenity laws. Complain until you get results (Lk. 11:8). Be kind but firm, and speak to the sheriff, city attorney, district attorney, mayor, and oracles of God” (1 Pet. 4:11); while John cautioned, “Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ hath not God, but he that abideth in the teaching the same hath both the Father and the Son” (2 John 9); and Paul instructed, “and whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17). From these passages we learn that whatever a man does in religion that is done without the name (or authority) of the Lord Jesus, and whoever transgresses by going onward and not abiding in the teaching of Christ and so does not speak as the oracles of God brings the displeasure of heaven upon himself. There is no escaping this conclusion. And, a choir is without the necessary authority and so displeases God. “The Bible doesn’t say you can’t have one” is not sufficient authority. In fact, the very fact that such an argument as this is used in its defense is almost enough to cause lovers of God to exclude it.

2. A church should not have a choir because it amounts to a harking back to the Law of Moses. The Bible tells us that in the Old Testament worship a special class called “singers” was appointed the task of performing in this capacity in the temple worship (1 Chron. 15:19). At times they seem to have sung with the congregation (2 Chron. 23:13), while at other times “in the congregation” but not “with the congregation” (Ps. 68:25, 26). They performed with instruments of music accompanying them (2 Chron. 23:13). And this was also a part of a system involving dancing in the worship (Ps. 150:4) as well as animal sacrifice and a multitude of other outdated and now unscriptural modes.

Brethren have always realized the distinction in the right division of the Word between that which is a part of the Old Testament and the New Testament. The only time that the difference begins to get fuzzy is when there is a pet practice that is not authorized in the New but was practiced in the Old. And in the case of the choir that is what we have. The Hebrew writer marked clearly the difference: .”But now hath he (Christ) obtained a ministry the more excellent, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been enacted upon better promises” (Heb. 8:6), and “He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second (Heb. 10:9). Paul said, “having blotted out the bond written in ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us: and he hath taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross” (Col. 2:14). Choirs are found in a law which has been “taken out of the way” and “nailed to the cross.” They have no business in the church of God.

3. A church should not have a choir because it seeks, to please the human ear rather than the Divine Will. The first argument usually heard in defense of the introduction of a choir into the church is based upon human satisfaction therewith: “It just sounds better than congregational singing.” This argument has been used all along by those intent upon justifying the use of mechanical instrumental music in the worship. The question we should ask at this point is, “To whom does it sound better?” Whom are we trying to please when we worship, ourselves or God? Perhaps it does sound better to certain human ears, but that is not a good enough reason for adopting it. In effect we are worshipping ourselves if we are the ones we are attempting to satisfy by our worship. After all, worship is “showing reverence for a deity” (Webster’s New World Dictionary, p. 627), and if our reverence is for our own wishes rather than His, -how can we think that He is pleased by such self-centered service?

4. A church should not have a choir because it makes worship a spectator sport instead of an act of communion of the saints with God. When Paul wrote to the Colossian congregation, he said, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns arid spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts unto God” (Col. 3:16). To the Ephesians he wrote, “Speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord” (Eph. 5:19). Christians in their singing are told to “teach and admonish one another” and to “speak one to another.” A select group from the congregation is riot given the task of teaching and admonishing the remainder of the church. Everyone is to participate. This is congregational singing. In this situation everyone makes melody with his heart and all possess grace in their hearts to God. They are not special qualities possessed of an elite segment of the church. Neither is the singing a thing .to be watched and listened to by a majority while a small minority of the church “performs.” The New Testament nowhere teaches that singing should be a spectator sport. Neither soloists nor choirs have any place in a church that is trying to please God. Their intent is for the enjoyment of those present rather than God-the satisfaction of the human ear instead of the divine will. “Through him then let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which make a confession to his name” (Heb. 13:15).

5. A church should not have a choir because it is of denominationalism. It is a well known fact that denominational churches have long made use of choirs in their worship services. This is not strange, though, for it is obvious that denominationalism does not usually concern itself with the limitations enjoined by scripture. Choirs originated in the 4th century A D. during the period of apostacy from New Testament simplicity and order. By the time of Gregory the Great (died 604 A. D.), a Schola Cantorum or “School of Singing” was established for training choristers. The practice was continued by the Catholics down through the centuries and taken over by many Protestant groups. In Catholicism a choir still sings certain parts of the Mass, Vespers, etc., either independently or antiphonally with the congregation. (Cf. F. L. Cross, ed., The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, p. 273; L. A. Loetscher, Twentieth Century Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. I, p. 238; and Donald Attwater, ed., A Catholic Dictionary, pp. 92-93).

But wherever and whenever, churches have forsaken Catholicism and denominationalism and their doctrines and practices they have left choirs behind. And whenever once-faithful churches have left the truth and begun to sink ever more deeply into denominationalism they have introduced choirs into their worship. The same has generally occurred with the mechanical instrument of music. Both are characteristics of mancentered worship, rather than God-centered, Biblecentered worship. And the fact that some churches of Christ across the land are starting to desire them is simple evidence of this transition. Members of the church of long standing are usually staggered by the very thought of their introduction. It is another sign to them and to faithful people of God everywhere that the church is losing its identity, its distinctiveness. Once the cry “Come ye out from among them and be ye separate” f2 Cor. 6:17) was heard from pulpits far and wide, but now that plaintive call is all but silent in most.

6. A church should not have a choir because it is divisive. Where there are still people who ask for “Book, Chapter, and Verse” there will be a fight whenever a questionable activity is engaged in or an unscriptural practice is introduced. They realize that it is their responsibility to fight the good fight of faith (2 Tim. 4:7), and prove all things, holding fast what is good (1 Thess. 5:21). They cannot compromise with error by fellowshipping it and allowing it to go unreproved (Eph. 5:11). Thus division will many times occur when choirs are introduced, and the fault of the division will usually be placed upon those who oppose them even though the promoters are actually responsible. Some will therefore be manifestly shown approved of God by such (1 Cor. 11:19) while others will be damned for the aforementioned sins as well as dividing the body of Christ (Gal. 5:19-21).

Choirs have no place in churches of Christ. Perhaps there are other reasons why they do not, but these should surely suffice to prove this point.

Truth Magazine XIX: 51, pp. 807-809
November 6, 1975

By George Welsh Tyler

At Denver, Colorado on May 21, 1962, the 174th general assembly of the United Presbyterian Church approved a record mission budget of $30,354,672 for the next year. More than 2500 packed the city auditorium for the Sunday night city-wide service. Dr. D. T. Niles, a Methodist minister from Ceylon, in delivering the chief address said, “The separate church denominations cannot do what needs to be done in the world.” “The gates of hell can prevail against the Presbyterians, or the Methodists, or the Congregationalists, other denominations.” He also said, “The gates of hell cannot prevail against the church of Jesus Christ . . . .” “Don’t clutter up your lives with all these things. God will tell you what to do – go out and do it! These other things will only sap you energy.”

Sometimes by pure accident, slip of the tongue, more comes out in these church assemblies, councils and conferences than was intended. One thing is certain Dr. Niles gave these Presbyterians, the Methodists and other denominations represented there that night something to think about for a long time. That which he said cannot be controverted. If these separate denominations could do what needs to be done in the world, then Christ Jesus would have built them and set them over the task! But He did not build them! Instead, He built His own church and gave it the commission to evangelize the world!. This left out every other “church” the world was ever to hear about!

When Christ promised that the gates of hell (hades) would not prevail against His church, that promise did not include any other religious bodies or groups! He said, “I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18). Instead, Christ prayed long and fervently for the unity of His disciples. He said, “Neither for these only do I pray, but for them also that believe on me through their word; that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us: that the world may believe that thou didst send me” (Jno. 17:20,21). A close study of this prayer reveals that God’s Son prayed fervently against every denomination in existence today or that may yet come. The reason Jesus gave for making that request is, “That the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” The only valid reason that can be assigned for the open infidelity, atheism, and skepticism prevalant in the world is a divided Christendom. Jesus is the authority for this statement. I believe Him. Do you?

Christ built His church and gave to it the great task of evangelizing the whole world. Paul writing to Timothy called it, “The house of God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). Through this church, Paul says, “Might be known the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Eph. 3:10,11). Christ said, “Aft authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18). This being true, no one had or has any authority to start another church! Therefore any other church than the one which was started by Christ would be a counterfeit institution and could not do what God ordained His divine institution to perform. The church of Christ is adequate for every need, and there is just is no place in God’s provisions for any other. Second, third, fourth and all others are spurious and cannot offer salvation from sin to any one. The denominations lead thousands right up to the gates of salvation but refuse to tell them what is necessary for them to do before the gates will be opened for their entrance into Christ and His church where salvation is obtained.

The efforts put into any denominational church is labor and energy spent for nought! When Jesus said, “Go work today in my vineyard” (Matt. 21:28, AV), He excluded all denominational organizations of every class and description -all were ruled out. David wrote, “Except Jehovah build the house, they labor in vain that build it” (Psa. 127:1). The reward of salvation is only offered in Christ. Paul wrote, “Remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ before our God and Father; knowing, brethren beloved of God, your election, how that our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance” (1 Thess. 1:3-5).

We plead with you with all the power we can muster to leave the human institutions, the man-made “churches” and the traditions of men. Seek safety and a field of labor in Christ Jesus our Lord by very humbly accepting His gospel plan of salvation, and Christ will be made preeminent and God will be glorified.

Truth Magazine XIX: 51, pp. 805-806
November 6, 1975

By Cecil Willis

Our lives have come to be regulated by appointments. Virtually everything we do is done by appointment. We have certain schedules we must keep. Most of us carry around with us a little book in which we keep track of our engagements. We have a certain schedule to meet at our work. If we wish to see a physician, we must first arrange an appointment. One must make an appointment with a dentist long before time for the call. If one wishes to have a suit fitted, it must be done by appointment. It is even getting to the place that if one wants to get a haircut, he must first arrange an appointment.

But there is a common trait of all these appointments. They can be broken, and often are. Sometimes I forget that I have made appointments. Often I am late for an appointment I have made. Men frequently will intentionally fail to keep an appointment. There is a great uncertainty about all of these appointments. But in this article we want to consider some appointments that we have already arranged for us. And my friends, these appointments we shall keep.

Appointment to Confront Christ in the Gospel

The first of these appointments we wish to study is that God has willed that each one of us come in contact with Christ through the gospel. This appointment is the least certain of any that we shall study, for it depends upon the actions of men. But God has willed that everyone of us come in contact with the gospel of Jesus Christ. In the great commission as recorded by Matthew, Jesus said “Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19). No nation is to be omitted. Each nation is to see Christ as He is preached in the gospel of Christ. This is the Lord’s plan. Peter elaborates upon this in Acts 10. For some time, only the Jews had been preached to, but when Peter came to the household of Cornelius, who was a Gentile, he said “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respector of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34, 35). Jews and Gentiles have equal right to the blessings in the gospel of Christ. This includes everyone. For there are only two classifications of people. You must be either Jew or Gentile. And both .are to have the gospel preached to them. All nations are to hear.

But Jesus is even more emphatic. Not only does he declare that we should preach to all nations, but he tells us to preach to every creature of every nation. In Mark’s record of the great commission, Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation” (ASV) or to “every creature” (KJV). Paul. says that the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men (Titus 2:11). And Peter adds that the Lord wishes that all might come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9). So effective was the New Testament church in the propagation of the gospel that Paul could declare that every creature under heaven had heard it preached. He speaks of ” . . . the gospel which ye heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven” (Col. 1:23).

The Lord commissioned the church to proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. He provided that every the saving an appointment the Lord has intended for us. However, it is conditioned by the effective efforts of the Lord’s church in proclaiming the gospel. These next appointments are not so relative.

Appointment with Death

One can have a choice as to how he will react to his appointment with the gospel. But to this next appointment, we shall all react alike. I speak of our appointment with death. As I drive into a big city and see the thousands of busy people on its streets, it is very difficult for me to imagine that these will all soon die. But experience teaches us that this will happen. The deaths in our families make us admit this sad reality. But the Bible also declares it to be true. The apostle Paul says, “And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment” (Heb. 9:27). Since the fall of Adam, God has appointed that men shall die. The millions that now walk upon the earth are but few when compared to the billions that now slumber in its bosom.

Peter further describes the finitude of man, when he says, “All flesh is as grass, And all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower falleth: But the word of the Lord abideth forever” (1 Pet. 1:24,25). If man learns anything in this little drama of life, it should be that his stay here is not permanent. He is like the grass and the flower. They are here but for a season, and then they wither away. James also describes the brevity of life, and the certainty of death. He says, “Come now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (Jas. 4:13,14). Vapors certainly are not permanent. Neither is our life. We are here, but for a little while, and then we relinquish our role to make place for the oncoming generations.

In the Psalms we are given some indication of the duration of our stay here. Mind you, this is not a guarantee of the duration of our life. For Job 3 indicates that we may die as babes or in old age. But Psalm 90:10 reads, “The days of our years are three-score creature should be brought face to face with power of the gospel of Christ. This is years and ten, Or even by reason of strength fourscore years; Yet is their pride but labor and sorrow; For it is soon gone, and we fly away.” Some of us will reach seventy, a few eighty, but that is about all. Then we shall go “the way of all the earth” (1 Kgs. 2:2), as David said to Solomon when he was old and about to lie.

The poets have described the universality of death. They have said that “Death is the black camel that kneels at the gate of all.” It is the common denominator of men. Our appointment with death is one appointment we are going to keep. When the time comes for us to die, we will not be too busy to go, though. We excuse ourselves from some of terrestrial appointments on this basis. Nor will we be too important to die. Just about the time that a man begins to think that he is indispensable, that the world cannot do without him, just about then the world suddenly does have to get along without him. And it usually does quite well. Remember, “it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment.”

Appointment for Judgment

Though we do not yet know by experience that this next appointment is certain, it is nevertheless as certain as death. We have an appointment with God to be judged. The passage which we cited earlier, Heb. 9:27, says, “And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment.” Death is certain. All of us know this. But death is the guarantee that we have an appointment for judgment. Just as surely as we cannot escape death, we cannot escape judgment. As surely as you die, you shall be judged. Judgment is a certain appointment. Paul plainly says, “So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:12). There will be no getting around it. Each one of us shall give account. In another epistle Paul says, “For we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). All of us shall be made manifest.

The apostle Paul makes an argument recorded in Acts 17 to show that judgment is certain: “The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent: inasmuch as he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Acts 17:30,31). God has given assurance that there will be a judgment because He hath raised from the dead Him who shall do the judging. As surely as Christ was raised from the dead, each one of us shall stand before Him to be judged. I have a certain and unchangeable appointment with the Lord. I will not be too busy to answer when He calls me forth to be judged. In the Bible pictures of the judgment, every man of every nation was assembled in the presence of the Lord to be judged. It will be the greatest and most important gathering ever known in the history of man.

Appointment with my Works

The next certain appointment I want to mention is that I shall certainly meet my works. Of some of the things we do, we can be proud. Of others, we should be ashamed. But when I stand before my Lord to be judged by Him, I shall meet my works. There will be many of them of which I will be ashamed. But the Lord will not be remembering just the good things that I have done. Both good and bad will be remembered in judgment. Notice again 2 Cor. 5:10, “For we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” The wise man Solomon had, by inspiration, declared the same truth a thousand years before. He said, “This is the end of the matter; all hath been heard: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecc. 12:13,14). We often try to hide the embarrassing things we do from our neighbors. But the way to keep our unrighteous deeds from being made manifest in judgment is not to do them or be forgiven of them. As surely as we do them, they shall be revealed in judgment.

Appointment with Heaven or Hell

After the appointment for judgment, we shall have but one other appointment. It will be one that shall never end. We shall have an appointment with either Heaven or Hell. You are now making the choice as to which this eternal appointment shall be.

Conclusion

The meeting we have with the gospel shall tremendously influence the way in which we shall meet these other appointments. If I meet death as a Christian, I can meet it without fear. I can see that death is but a doorway to heaven. But the man who rejects the gospel must approach death quite differently. He must approach it knowing that it is the door-way to everlasting damnation. Whether I obey the gospel or not shall greatly influence my attitude toward death.

But whether I obey the gospel when I hear it preached shall certainly affect my feeling when I stand in judgment. Paul speaks of some who will be able to come into God’s presence with boldness, but others shall come knowing they have not done what God expects them to do. And certainly when God comes to make manifest my works I shall be much happier to know that I have been a faithful Christian all my life so that I can dwell with God throughout eternity. If you have not yet obeyed the gospel, you must do so! Soon you shall die. Soon you shall stand before God in judgment. Soon you shall be confronted with your works. Soon you shall enter Heaven or Hell. Hearken to the call of the Lord!

Truth Magazine XIX: 51, pp. 803-805
November 6, 1975

By Larry Ray Hafley

QUESTION:

From Kentucky: “My girlfriend and I got to discussing the topic of pre-marital sex. We both believe that is is wrong and Heb. 13:4 says that the whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. But what about the couple that is in love and planning marriage? I am probably wrong, but I cannot see that it is all that wrong (she agrees ). I don’t advise it, and I think that the couple should wait until they are married. But is it wrong? What are your views?”

REPLY:

You have really answered the question yourself. You and your girlfriend “both agree that it (pre-marital sex) is wrong and Heb. 13:4 says that the whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” An unmarried couple, no matter how much in love or how close to marriage they are, is still an unmarried couple. Hebrews 13:4 shows that marriage’s physical relationship is to be held in honor. It does not say, “To those who are truly in love and who plan to be married, pre-marital sex is to be held in honor and their bed is undefiled.”

In 1 Cor. 7:2, Paul says, “Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.” The way to avoid fornication is to be married. If a couple is unmarried, their sexual relationship is fornication or sexual immorality. Paul did not say, “to avoid fornication, make certain you are in love and planning to be married,” but he did say the way to avoid fornication is to be married.

In 1 Cor. 7:9, Paul says, “But if they cannot contain, let them marry, for it is better to marry than to burn.” In Corinth, there were some extenuating circumstances that made marriage unwise and inexpedient. In verse 26, Paul mentioned that it was best not to be married during “the present distress” that existed in Corinth. However, if a couple could not withstand the pressures of their love and longing, they were to marry, “for it is better to marry than to burn” with passion. He did not say, “if they cannot contain, let them engage in premarital sexual relations just so long as they plan to be married soon.”

Next, consider the laws of God in other areas. In nature, water freezes at 32 degrees. Does natural law, which God instituted, begin freezing water at 33 degrees just because it is so close to the point when water does actually freeze? In the spiritual realm, what if I should preach that a believing, penitent person is saved IF he plans to be baptized in a few days, weeks, or months? Suppose I said, “I cannot see that it is all that wrong to say that one is saved before he is baptized or that water freezes at 33 degrees?” Regardless of what is said, water freezes at 32 degrees and one’s sins are washed away when he is baptized and not before (Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Pet. 3:21). In these natural and spiritual spheres you can see the definite laws of God. It is the same with respect to God’s laws for sex in marriage.

Fire is a wonderful creation of God. It cooks our food, keeps us warm, and is used to mold materials that form our cars and numerous household goods. However, fire can be an awful, terrible thing. Out of its proper place it is harmful and destructive. A bonfire or a campfire is fun, but a house or a forest fire is horrible. The difference is that one is controlled in lawful circumstances while the other is outside its intended purpose. The same can be said for the sexual nature of mankind. It is of God and in its rightful place is to be honored, but outside of marriage it is sinful and wars against the soul.

Truth Magazine XIX: 51, p. 802
November 6, 1975