Truth Magazine

By H.L. Bruce

In Matt. 16:18, Christ indicated that he would build his church. That being true, the church belongs to Him. The apostle Paul taught that Jesus purchased it with his own blood (Acts 20:28). His ownership is again attested in Rom. 16:16; the church is His bride (1 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:22-27). He loved the church and gave himself for it (Eph. 5:25). The church is to be in subjection to Christ in everything (Eph. 5:23-25). Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). This being true, He is the head of the church (Eph. 1:22-23). His church and kingdom are the same (Matt. 16:18-20). He is a son over His own house (Heb. 3:6). In all things, as’ the head of the church, He is to have the preeminence (Col. 1:18). At His second coming He is to deliver His kingdom (church) up to God, even the Father (1 Cor. 15:24). The church and the body are the same (Eph. 1:21-22). There is one body (Eph. 4:4). There is but one body (1 Cor. 12:20): Consequently, there is one church-the one that Jesus built, which belongs to Him. Upon these truths we stand!

Truth Magazine XIX: 34, p. 536
July 10, 1975

By William C. Sexton

Having noticed that one must prepare himself if he is to be successful in the most important activity a Christian can do-soul saving, and having seen that at least three things are essential: heart power, head power, and foot power, now we are ready to look at the actual procedure involved.

Suggested Procedure

Individuals can do this on their own, and they can aid and assist congregational cooperation and co-ordination. No one can be able to say that there was no opportunity for him to do personal evangelism, because he can do it by himself. However, no Christian ought to be content to be a member of a congregation that is not actively engaged in personal evangelism: going out regularly making contacts and having Bible study, training others to do it, and encouraging all to prepare and be participating in the same.

First, one has to find prospects, and one might search his mind as to who is a prospect? Relatives may not be the most fruitful field, but they certainly are people that should come to our minds when we think of saving souls. Also, they are people that we know of, where they are, what their attitude maybe at the particular time, and what some of their problems may be. If we can’t talk to them-that is if we feel that they won’t talk to us (although we should try first) then we may ask another to talk to them. They will probably respect you for your concern for their salvation, even though they may not think that your concern has any real basis.

Secondly, one of the most fruitful fields is the “visitors” group. Here many Christians ought to be ashamed of themselves and the ‘congregation: they allow a person to attend the services and get away without getting the person’s name and address recorded so they can follow up! There is just no justification for this, in my mind. The person who attends ought to be recognized as a “prospect.” He is present, manifesting some interest by being there. A , visit by someone to express appreciation for his presence is deserved, at least. A visit to ask if there is anything that we as individuals or as a congregation can do to assist in spiritual matters is demanded if we are conscious of our duty and privilege. Some congregations have no kind of register to get the names, no effort is made to get them to fill out a “visitor’s card,” and no individual makes a conscious effort to see that all names and addresses are obtained. I’ve gone to visit people and found that they had been to the congregation’s services and no one ever visited them and tell someone who is supposed to be one of the “active members,” to have them say, “Why, I don’t remember them.”

Thirdly, the “New Resident” group is a prospective field that needs to be worked. Someone ought to be conscious of how to obtain the names of those who move into the area-and in our day people are much more “mobile” than they used to be-and make some effort to contact them, making them aware that we, as Christians, are concerned about peoples’ souls and invite them to attend the services and see if there is anything that can be done to assist them in regard to spiritual matters.

Fourthly, “Newly Married” couples constitute a field that is prospectively fruitful. These people have started a new life, and they are looking for that which will make for their happiness and continue to be a source of comfort in time of need. Perhaps they are looking forward to having children, and they will want a place to bring their offspring for religious training, etc.

Fifthly, there is a group of “Complainers of Religious Practices,” which can be fruitful. Denominationalism is constantly changing, and some people become disturbed at these changes and they are ripe for fruitful discussion. Why not develop an alertness to such a voice? One has to be or become dissatisfied with his present position before one can move him. You may be a helper in his becoming dissatisfied or you may be one coming to his aid in his dissatisfaction-providing him with an answer to his searching mind, a solution for his problem.

There are many prospects around, if we will become conscious of their presence. Where to look: Everywhere! What about that person that moved in down the street? Have you visited him and welcomed him to the community? Did you ask him if he was a Christian? Where he planned to worship? Where he was going to take his family to participate in religious service? Have we spoken to that “Aunt Mary” or “Uncle John?” When you write people, do you mention your, religious life? If you conceived it to be a “life and death situation” would you not mention it? Have you ever gone out and taken a Religious Census on your block? In your town? In your community? Why?

Visiting-Purpose and Doing?

One can “visit a lot and never do any personal evangelism. Every visit will not be for the same purpose, nor will they be made in the same way. But, one should know what each visit is for and how it is to be conducted before he goes, and then, do it!

It should be real easy to approach a person that has been to services that morning in the afternoon of that same day. “We wanted to let you know that we are real glad to have you at services today.” “We wanted to ask if there was anything we could assist you with in the spiritual realm.” They can tell you why they happened to attend, if they have a problem that you can assist them with, and if they have a question you may seek to answer “by the Bible.”

You can present to them what the congregation has as its goal, hopefully, “to build a congregation saved by the blood of Christ, who worships the God of heaven, working for the Savior and Lord of Mankind.” If they are Christians, you can express your desire that they will become identified with the congregation and worship and work with this congregation of God’s people. If there is a subject that they would like to study, then make a date or ask for a time and promise to contact them shortly about carrying on such a study.

If they have been out of service to the Lord, which many are, then speak honestly and sincerely but firmly of their need to repent and be restored to their first love and get back to serving God faithfully. Express your genuine concern and willingness to help them in overcoming whatever may have hindered them before. Don’t put up a front; speak of the scriptures showing the danger of falling and being negligent, (Heb. 3:12-13; 2:3). Remember that in fact such persons are just as lost as those who have never been baptized and their souls are just as important as any others, (James 5:19-20; 2 Peter 2:20-22).

The importance of this is: know what you are going for in each visit, then be sure that you don’t forget to do what you went to do! It is easier to go to a person’s house, sit and talk for an hour or so and leave with bearly mentioning the church, the person’s soul, or the work of the Lord. We can’t do what is required of us unless we know what it is that we have to do, but knowing is not enough!

Next we’ll consider making the appointment!

Truth Magazine XIX: 34, pp. 534-535
July 10, 1975

By Cecil Willis

Recently we began a discussion of the deity of Christ. So abundant are the proofs of Christ’s deity that it is impossible to discuss them all, in one such lesson. So in this article, I want to continue our thoughts and show other proofs of the divinity of Jesus the Christ. Previously, we suggested, as a proof of his deity, the fact that Jesus never equates himself with men. He never prayed “Our Father who art in heaven,” but often he spoke of “my Father” and “your Father.”

Jesus: An Object of Faith

As an additional proof, I would like to suggest that the scriptures teach that Jesus is an object of faith, and not just a good example of faith. The modernist will very readily admit that Jesus is the most perfect example of faith the world has ever known. I believe it was Renen, the French skeptic, who said that there was never a particle of selfishness in Christ. Many who do not believe He is the Son of God will speak of Him as the Master Teacher, and will confess that He established the greatest moral system the world has ever known and that He is the best man the world has ever known and the perfect example of faith. But when one has said all of this concerning Jesus Christ, he has not said enough. Jesus was not just a good example for us. He was that, of course, but He was more than a good example. He is one in whom we are to believe. In John 20:30-31, the Apostle John cited the reason for his writing the gospel bearing his name. He said, “Many other signs, therefore, did Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” John wrote that we may believe that Jesus is the Sort of God. He is more than just a good man; He is the object of our faith.

In Luke 7:50, Jesus said unto the woman, “thy faith has saved thee; go in peace.” The saving faith of this woman was not in the fact that Jesus was a good man, but that He was the Son of God. Faith saves only when its implications are carried out, because the faith that saves is the faith that obeys. Another passage showing the fact that Jesus is not just an example of faith but that he is the object of faith is John 20:27-28. When Jesus said to doubting Thomas, “Reach hither thy hand and put it into my side: And be not faithless, but believing” (v. 27), all of the doubts of Thomas were immediately removed. The Bible says that “Thomas answered and said unto him, my Lord and my God.” The evidence was such that Thomas confessed more than that Jesus was merely an upright man. He was, indeed, God’s Son.

The Authority of Christ

As another argument, showing the fact that Jesus was divine, let us consider the authority with which He spoke: As the scripture says, “never man so spake” (John 7:46). In the Old Testament, we find many words of God spoken through prophets, but each time the prophet spoke, he would begin by saying “Thus saith the Lord,” but when the Lord Jesus spoke, being God’s Son, He did not have to attach a prefix to what he said. He himself could speak with the, authority of God.

So we find that His sayings are put on a level with Old Testament pronouncements, which were regarded by all as the very Word of God. To illustrate this, let us notice some of the things Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. He said, “Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: but I say unto you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment” (Matt. 5:21-22). Observe that He quoted the law and then said, “but I say unto you.” In the same chapter, verses 27 and 28, “Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, that every one that looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” And, of course, there are many other examples in this same sermon. These are sufficient to show that Jesus’ sayings were equated with the sayings of God. They were put on the same level.

The Claims of Christ

As we continue to select a few of the evidences of the deity of Christ, let us notice what Jesus said of himself. First, He said He would judge the world. In Matt. 7:2123, Jesus gives a description of the Judgment in which people shall stand before Him and give an account for what they have done. “Not every one that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” And in John 12:48, He says, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my sayings, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I spake, the same shall judge him in the last day.” An ordinary man does not have the power to give to men eternal life or send them into everlasting destruction, but Jesus has this power, because He is God’s Son. Further, He says, “For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of man also shall be ashamed of him, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (Mk. 8:38).

Secondly, another claim that Jesus made of Himself was that He had power to forgive sins. Of course, there are many denominational churches today which would assert that the power to forgive sins is no indication of divinity, because they feel that one must confess his sins to a preacher or other clergyman, and the preacher can make intercession for thesinner and get the sins blotted out. But the scribes spoken of in the New Testament were right when they said that the ordinary man who professes to forgive sins is a blasphemer. Had Jesus been an ordinary man, He would have been guilty of blasphemy. After having healed the man sick of palsy, “certain of the scribes said within themselves, this man blasphemeth, and Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, Thy sins are forgiven; or to say, Arise’. and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of mar hath authority on earth to forgive sins (then saith he to the sick of the palsy), Arise, and take up thy bed, anc go unto thy house” (Matt. 9:3-6). And in Mk. 2:7, we find the question asked, “Who can forgive sins but one even God?” So when Jesus claimed the power to forgive sins it was equivalent to saying, “I am God; I am divine.”

Thirdly, Jesus claimed perfectly to know God, and asserted that no one can know God except he reveal Him. “All things have been delivered unto me of my Father: And no one knoweth the Son saveth the Father; neither doth anyone know the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal him” (Matt. 11:27). Jesus says, “I know God.” The apostle John says, in John 1:18, “No man hath seen God at any time.” So Jesus was more than a man. John continues, “the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” So we see that Jesus claimed and did things that no man can do.

The Works of Christ

The works that Jesus did also testify to his supernatural powers. Miracles in the New Testament were called signs. A sign signifies something. Miracles or. signs signified Christ had divine approval in what He said. Nicodemus came to Jesus and said, “Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God; and no one can do these signs that thou doest, except God be with him.” Jesus was willing to stake His claim to be the Son of God on the works that He did. He said, “If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not, but if I do them, though you believe not me, believe the works” (John 10:37-38). Here is a temptation to divert our thoughts from our thesis and to discuss the many, marvelous works He did. But we must proceed with our presentation of other proofs of the Deity of Christ.

The Resurrection of Christ

The empty tomb of Christ is a historical fact with great implications. The tomb of Christ was guarded by a legion of soldiers. Yet on the third day, they had to admit, His body was missing. They had seen Him placed there dead. Later, the disciples saw Him, resurrected from the dead. His resurrection is a crowning proof of His divinity. No man before or since has made the claims that Jesus made, and then be willing to stake the truthfulness of those claims upon the fact that He would be raised from the dead. Paul says, in Rom. 1:4 that Jesus Christ was “declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” The same writer emphasized that if Jesus were not raised from the dead, the preaching of the apostles was in vain, as well as was the faith of all the Christians. The apostles had borne false witness; the dead are not raised; we are yet in our sins, and those that have fallen asleep in Christ have perished (1 Cor. 15:12-19). All of this is true if there be no resurrection. But the Lord was raised and begat us again unto a living hope by His resurrection (1 Pet. 1:3, 4). When He broke the bonds of death and burst forth from the tomb, He brought life and immortality to light and radiated hope to all mankind.

Other Evidences

The apostle John presents some evidences of the Deity of Christ, in 1 Jn. 5. These proofs are the testimony of the water, blood, Spirit, God and the disciples. At the baptism of Christ, God said “This is my beloved Son.” In the death of Christ His blood was shed. Yet He was raised to live ever more. The Holy Spirit of God, through the apostles, bears testimony to the fact that Jesus is the Christ. God said on at least two occasions, at the baptism of Christ (Matt. 3:17) and at His transfiguration (Mark 9:16), “This is my beloved Son,” and John said, “He that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he hath not believed in the witness that’ God has borne concerning His Son” (1 Jn. 5:10). Every person that says Christ is not God’s Son calls God a liar because God said He is. And the final testimony that John presents is that of the witnesses. He said “God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in his at Son” (1 Jn. 5:11). The disciples knew they had eternal life, and sealed their witness with their blood; their testimony also is to the effect that Jesus is the Son of God. We need more preaching today like Paul did in the synagogues of Damascus. After his conversion we read, “And straightway in the synagogues he proclaimed Jesus, that he is the Son of God” (Acts 9.20).

Truth Magazine XIX: 34, pp. 531-533
July 10, 1975

By Jeffery Kingry

It is possible to tell something about man in the things that he makes. Take the back off of your T.V. set or look at the circuitry in your stereo amplifier, and it will tell you something about the intellect of man. Gaze at a Rembrandt painting, or a sculpture from the hands of Michelangelo and it is possible to infer something of the eye and talent of man. If we can tell that there is intelligence and personality in man by looking at the things he creates, is it not also possible to infer something of God from looking at His creation? Indeed, that which can be known of God is plainly seen in his creation. We can tell something of the power and character of God in the things he has created (Rom. 1:19,20). Whether it be a butterfly upon a flower, or the vastness of space, we can look to all and say, “God is greater than these.”

This is what is so repugnant in the idea of reducing God to our level. The God who created the universe and all that it contains must be greater than His creation. He does not live in man-made shrines, neither can he be waited on by human hands, as if the Power who made all things needed anything that man has to offer Him. Indeed, it is God who gives us life and breath, and our existence in this life. It is not right for us to imagine that the Divine Image can be represented in gold or silver or stone-a work sculptured artistically by the inventive ingenuity of man’s thought (Acts 17:24-29).

This entire creation-from the intricate mathematical precision of the atom, to the raging power locked in the heart of the sun in its swift orbit-all proceed forth from the power and wisdom of God. How presumptive-how arrogant-how totally deceived we are when we presume to tell God by our lives and actions that we know more about living and the true reality than He does.

Do I Do That?

You might imagine that you are free from such presumption. But, when man is presumptive enough to set aside the will of God to follow what is aesthetically pleasing to himself–he has set his tastes above the will of God. Jesus said, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed. And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (Jn. 8:31,32). The truth is what makes men free, not man-made systems of thought. As a child, my father would sometimes bring me a model airplane to build. My first effort at putting the pieces together resulted in a lopsided plane, with many bits and pieces left over. My father viewed the disarray, reached into the box, and pulled out a folded piece of paper I had overlooked. “When all else fails, son, read the directions.” God did not give us this life and creation to “put it all together” by ourselves. All the unhappiness we see in this world is a result of men trying to put it together without the directions.

The things we see as quality-worthwhile-of lasting value, ultimately decay and pass away. The new car rusts, the flowers fade and fall, the fame passes away in the history books, beauty turns to wrinkles and grey hair, and eventually the dust receives them all. This is the crux of the whole of existence. What is enduring? What is of lasting beauty and quality? What is life for? Only the One who made all this to start with has the answers. We find the answers only when we submit to what He has said.

The Answer of God

When you submit yourself to God in true humility, then God will make you enduringly beautiful, and transport you into a way of life whose fruit is everlasting life. Not everlasting existence alone, but everlasting life! An eternity of pure beauty-unrivaled by any created glory which we can experience in this life. “For the Lord taketh pleasure in His people: He will beautify the meek with salvation” (Psa. 194:4). The beauty of this world will all eventually pass away, but the beauty of an eternal spirit, cleansed of all that is unclean, can never pass away. That spirit is you. Not your body, what you own, your job, or anything else tangible-but you.

Sin is what keeps us from eternal life. The only thing that can take away sin is the blood of Jesus Christ, His sacrifice upon the cross (Eph. 1:7). That blood bought the church of Christ (Acts 20:28), and the church is the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22, 23). There is only one way to partake of the sacrifice of Jesus: Baptism for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). In baptism we are added to the church (Acts 2:41, 47). We are baptized into one body (1 Cor. 12:13). We are baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:27). This baptism is a burial in water (not sprinkling or pouring) and a planting (Rom. 6:3, 4).

Man’s soul is the only thing of eternal value worth saving in this world. Do not throw away the beauty that could be in your life upon the beauty that fades away like a flower. What is a life? It is here but for a little while, like the brief existence of a frosty breath on a cold day. Why don’t you invest in the future what no man can take away from you? Why not become a Christian today?

Truth Magazine XIX: 34, p. 530
July 10, 1975