Truth Magazine

By Cecil Willis

Christians are exhorted to “sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord: being ready always to give answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear.” One of the fundamental foundations of Christian’s faith is the belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Hence, this article is an effort to explicate the reasons why we as Christians account Jesus as the Son of God. We are undertaking to give a reason for our hope.

Limitations in this Article

It is not the purpose of this article to prove the existence of Christ. Unbelievers and believers alike can join hand in hand in the belief in the existence of the person, Christ. Josephus, a first century Jewish historian, testified to the existence of Christ. He says: “Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was (the) Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him of the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the , divine prophets foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are, not extinct at this day” (Antiquities of the Jews, Book XVIII, ch. 3). There are many who question the genuineness of . this passage from Josephus, but it is doubtful if these same individuals would question it, were it a denunciation of Christ. But the existence of Christ is not dependent upon this historical fragment, whether it be genuine or not. If Christ did not exist, if He is a nonentity, someone should explain his unparalleled influence upon mankind for the past nineteen centuries.

Nor are we attempting to prove that Christ was a great man. He certainly was a great man, but He is more than merely a great man. There are some religionists, some churches, who have no higher goal than to elevate Christ to the position of a great man. They attempt to prove he was the world’s greatest teacher, the world’s best philosopher, the world’s most successful psychologist, the world’s noblest moralist. And Christ is all of these. But to leave Christ defined as just the greatest man that ever lived is to leave Him inadequately described. He is also the Son of God! The Christian’s faith in Christ is that he is the Son of God. And therefore we address ourselves to the responsibility of showing some of the reasons why we account Christ as the Son of God.

Prophecy

Man has come to regard historically conditioned proofs as the strongest. Prophecy is founded in history. The prophets were real men who made their predictions in the presence of other men. These prophecies were made centuries before the existence of Christ. The earliest promise of the coming Messiah is made in the first book of the Old Testament, virtually in the beginning of that book. In Gen. 3:14,15, God said to the serpent, “Because thou hast done this (viz., beguiled the woman), cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shaft thou go, and dust shah thou eat all the days of thy life: and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shaft bruise his heel.” Almost every Biblical scholar takes this to be a reference to the coming Christ. Again in Isaiah 9:6, 7, the prophet said: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of Jehovah of hosts will perform this.” This statement, applicable to Christ Jesus, was made nearly eight hundred years before his birth.

About a century later, the weeping prophet Jeremiah, added to the large number of prophecies concerning the coming Christ, when he said: “Behold, the days come saith Jehovah, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called: Jehovah our righteousness” (Jer. 25:5,6).

Many other prophecies could be , quoted from the Old Testament, but space will not permit us to do so. The tribe from which he was to come is foretold (Isa. 11:1); his birth was so carefully depicted in prophecy that the village in which it was to occur is named (Micah 5:1,2); he was to be betrayed by one of those given an office by him (Psa. 69:25); his suffering was described (Isa. 53); and finally his resurrection (Psa. 16), and ascension were declared in prophetical statements (Daniel 7:13, 14), all, made hundreds of years prior to their occurrence. Altogether, there were approximately three hundred details of the life and work of Christ foretold by the divinely inspired prophets.

When we turn to the New Testament, and see the record of the conflict between belief and unbelief, we see the importance Christ attached to the Old Testament prophecies in substantiating his claims. On one occasion, when speaking to a group of Jews, he said, “Ye search the scriptures, because ye think that in them ye have eternal life; and these are they which bear witness of me” (Jn. 5:39). They were searching the Old Testament scriptures, for these were all they had at the time Jesus made this statement, and he said “these bear witness of me.” So confident was Jesus of the fact that prophecy established his identity as the Son of God that he told them they could not accept the Old Testament without accepting him. He said, “For if ye believed Moses, ye would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?” (Jn. 5:46, 47). They were logically impelled either to accept Moses and Christ, or to deny both; the people to whom Jesus spoke were in the inconsistent position of trying to accept Moses, but deny the One of whom he spoke. So prophecy is one of the strongest foundations of Christian’s faith in the deity of Christ.

Virgin Birth

For Jesus to be the Son of God as we believe the Scriptures teach he is, he must have been born of a virgin. His virgin birth is the second proof or reason we offer to support our faith in his divine sonship. The virgin birth of Christ was a subject of prophecy. In Isaiah 7:14, the prophet said, “Therefore . the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Since the Revised Standard Version was released in 1952, considerable discussion has been devoted to the meaning of the word “virgin” in this passage. Of course, the discussion centered around the meaning of the Hebrew word so translated. Isa. 7:14 is not the only time this word occurs. It is also used in Deut. 22: 23, 24, a passage in which it unquestionably refers to a virgin, one who has never known man. So this other Old Testament usage should indicate that the word is properly translated with the English word “virgin” in Isaiah’s prophecy. He was telling us that Jesus was to be born of a virgin. Notice also that Isaiah said the birth of Jesus would be a “sign.” What would be the significance in a young woman, even a young married woman, bearing a son? There would be nothing extraordinary in such a happening. But if a maiden, who was a virgin, should bear a son, this would be a “sign” such as God promised, by which mankind could recognize the Messiah. In Matt. 1:23, the inspired writer quoted Isaiah’s prediction, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son.” So Jesus’ birth was to be an extraordinary event. There was never any birth before like it, or since.

If Jesus was not born of a virgin, he was born of a human father, and a human mother. Therefore, he would be wholly human. And if wholly human, he would not be divine in any sense, and certainly could not be called the Son of God. If he was but a man, born of human parents, then he is not the world’s greatest man. For Jesus taught that He was the Son of God, born of a virgin. If he was not so born, his teachings concerning himself, as well as those of his disciples, were untruths. But because of his virgin birth, we believe him to be the Son of God.

Miracles

Yet another thing that causes us to believe in the deity of Christ is his works. We mean by these “works” the miracles performed by Christ. Jesus Christ was willing to stake the truthfulness of his claims upon this one point alone. He said, “If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do them, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father” (Jn. 10:37, 38).. We read an instance of the public’s response to the works performed by Christ when we read the account of Nicodemus coming to Christ. He believed on Christ because of the miracles he performed. He said, “we know that thou art a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that thou doest, except God be with him” (Jn. 3:2). The apostle John emphasized that the miracles done by Christ should make us believers. 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 ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name” (Jn. 20:30, 31). When one contemplates His miracles, he knows they were not the works of a mere man. He walked on water, healed lepers, made the dumb to speak, the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, the blind to see, stopped storms, cast out demons. None of these are the works of man, but are the result of divine power.

Resurrection

The climactic event, proving to us the divinity of Christ, was his triumphant ascension from the grave. When Jesus was yet alive, He promised His disciples, that even though He were to die on the cross, He would rise again. He predicted the truthfulness of His claims, and teaching, upon the fact that He would rise from the dead. No other teacher, before or afterwards, has made such a claim. No founder of any religion, save Christ, has been willing to base the truthfulness of His claims upon His ability to come from the grave. They dare not! In Matt. 16, Jesus said the gates of Hades would not prevail against the building of His Church. He meant that He was going into the tomb, and even though His church could not have been built when this event came to pass, nevertheless he would accomplish His promises. He came forth to do what he said he would do.

We have the witness of both His friends and His enemies that He actually died on the cross. Afterwards we have the unwavering testimony of above five hundred brethren that He had come from the grave. The apostle John mentioned the intimacy with which he and others had known the Lord. He said, “That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld, and our hands handled, concerning the Word of life” (1 John 1:1). They knew Him well before His death, and then they did all of these things with him; closely associated with Him, after His resurrection. So we do have good historical proof that Jesus was raised from the dead. Paul says that Jesus “was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4). So His resurrection is conclusive proof that he was God’s Son, for if He was raised, and He was, then God had to raise Him. So by the resurrection He was shown to be the Son of God with power.

The prophecies He fulfilled, His virgin birth, His works, and His resurrection are a few of the more outstanding reasons why we recognize Him as the Son of God. And recognizing Him to be God’s Son with all authority, we humbly submit to His will in all matters.

Truth Magazine XIX: 33, pp. 515-517
June 26, 1975

By Franklin Burns

“And when they had appointed for them elders in every church . . .” (Acts 14:23). The passage before us contains the earliest mention of the appointment of elders, yet these were by no means the first elders appointed. ‘Paul and Barnabas, when sent to Jerusalem with a contribution for the poor saints, delivered it to “the elders” (Acts 11:30). This shows that there were elders in the churches in Judea. Titus was left in Crete that he might set in order the things that were omitted, and appoint elders in every city (Titus 1:5). James took it for granted that the churches he addressed ordinarily had elders, by directing in his general epistle, that the sick should call for the elders of the church, to pray for them and anoint them with oil, with a view to their recovery (James 5:14). Several congregations that have been established for years still do not have elders. In view of Bible teaching on elders the situation points up the need for more serious concern in many places.

This is a curious situation, and is approximately equal to claiming that we have business but no managers, or organizations without leaders. Such things just do not happen, but are caused by sinful neglect (in all cases where qualified men exist but are not appointed, or where no effort is made to develop qualified men). Two equally bad situations exist among such churches: (1) Some such congregations have what we may call “acting elders,” whether or not we acknowledge the truth of their eldership. These congregations have men functioning as elders; it does not make a particle of difference (from a practical standpoint) if we give them the title elders or not. From a religious standpoint it does matter.

(2) In many churches, no one “takes hold” or “acts” on matters which need attention. Many functions of the local church are crippled or totally neglected. Try as we will, we cannot effectively get around troublesome passages such as Acts 14:23 and Titus 1:5. As usual the Bible condemns our arrangements whenever we try to do things our way rather than follow scriptural commands and examples.

Churches in the first situation described above have often had men who guided and oversaw the congregations down through the years. These men are elders (in practice) in every sense of the word, and sometimes good ones, too. Their leadership is accepted almost without question by the congregation. The only thing lacking is the formal acknowledgment that these men are elders and have been carrying ‘on the business of that high calling for years. Why are they not scripturally appointed and recognized? That is a good question, but unfortunately there is no ready answer. The simplest and most painful answer would most likely be the rebelliousness of the congregation and its stiff-necked determination not to give in to clear scriptural authority. The congregation has decided that elders are not needed and prefer to operate without them. They seem to think “we have always gotten along without appointing elders, so why should we do so now?” It would appear that the congregations in question do not consider 1 Pet. 5:2 to be very important and have agreed to ignore that and other annoying passages.

When we refuse to follow divine commands on the eldership, we are crippling the church and therefore depriving ourselves of the divine, plan for carrying out our primary mission: to carry the gospel to the world. All other functions of the church are impaired, too when God’s plan and wisdom are not respected. If a congregation has qualified men but no elders or is making no effort to develop them, then that congregation is to that extent in error.

Not only do we need to study this subject, a lot of us need to do something about it. How much longer can this or that congregation go hobbling along in direct disobedience to the Lord’s command? It is strange that we are so sensitive about some errors, and so willing to accept others with nonchalance. We would disfellowship a man for playing an instrument of music when we are singing praises to God. We are not nearly so excited about men taking over the flock and being “lords over God’s heritage” (1 Pet. 5:3) without any scriptural authority for their actions. ,When we encourage or allow men to “take hold” of positions and functions without the divine method of appointment, we are encouraging them to “take hold” also of authority beyond that intended by, God even for scriptural elders. In other words, such men are likely to become tyrants or dictators, as the sad experience of some churches show. The Lord has commanded that congregation’s be led by elders and has gone into detail as to the qualifications of such men. We can see and know those within our congregation who possess the traits that fit men to be overseers of God’s people.

What must an elder be? See 2 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-14. Those qualifications may displease and disappoint many of us. That is too bad, because the Lord provided them. As a people we always have a number of reasons ready to explain our shortcomings, and no doubt there are numerous explanations as to how a congregation can follow the Bible and still have ‘elders who are unseen and unknown. Nevertheless, He does not leave any convenient loop-holes. We must approach the study of these scriptures with the conviction that they are “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). We realize that an appeal to the scriptures for our authority carries very little weight with those who do not regard the scriptures as inspired of God, hence, our concern and efforts are directed toward those who receive “the word of the message not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God” (1 Thess. 2:13).

Truth Magazine XIX: 33, p. 514
June 26, 1975

By Jeffery Kingry

A wise man once said, “A man’s character is the sum of all the decisions he has made in his life.” When we discuss character, and what makes people what they are, we overlook this simple fact. Have you ever wondered why some people are nothing while folks from the same background somehow turn out to be just the opposite. I believe the answer lies not in man’s environment or his genetic makeup, but in each man himself.

When I was a child a next door neighbor had a Japanese “pinball” machine. A lever was cocked and released and a small steel ball the size of a pea was launched up in the air to come clattering down, bouncing and careening off hundreds of little pins that changed the direction of the ball-till finally it came to rest in one of several cups placed about the interior of the machine. The object of the game was to hit the “jackpot” cup: the hardest cup to reach, right in the middle of the board, guarded on all sides by the pins of destiny. The “way” into the cup was barely large enough for the steel ball to pass. It would be no accident if the ball went in. We used to sit for hours, fascinated with the infinite variety of ways the ball would find to bounce down. On the rare occasion that the ball would hit the “jackpot” cup, we would painstakingly try to recreate the way that we had done it.

In a way, this is how life is. Only it is not the law of probability that determines whether we reach the “jackpot,” but the either-or choices we make day by day. The response we make to each decision we must make determines which way we are going to “bounce.” Every soul receives the same initial shot into the arena of life. All are confronted with the same “pins of destiny”: decisions that must be made. Life is lived a second at a time. Every man is confronted with choices-the responses of man to those choices makes him what he is. `Lot chose him all the plains of Jordan” (Gen. 13:11). Lot’s character was not fully formed when he stood with his uncle surveying the land seeking to make a choice where to pitch his tents. But the loss and sorrow he saw years later when his substance was destroyed, his wife dead, his sons and daughters gone, his youngest daughters corrupted and pregnant through incest, started when he made that first selfish decision to take the “best part” from Abraham. He chose the plain-he chose to pitch his tent towards Sodom-he chose to live in Sodom. Lot’s character developed in the opposite direction of Abraham.

Joshua knew the power of the right choice in determining character, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve” (Josh. 24:15)! Our day by day choices make us what we are. So often we see a young person who walks the edge of what is right. She begins to wear her skirt shorter, her makeup thicker, her sweater tighter. The choices are made, the character is formed and before long she is lost to the Lord and her-family. Any who have eyes to see have witnessed it. The young man who is silently sullen, who uses “little deceits” to conceal his actions from those who might rebuke him. His parents and brethren might jokingly chide him about his long hair or the hickey on his neck. They are hurt and wonder “why?” when he grows to be a man that has no use for morality or godly living.

Responsibility Is Respond-Abiiity

Jay Adams in his book Competent To Counsel noted, “What is responsibility? Responsibility is the ability to respond as God says man should respond to every life situation, in spite of difficulties.” God declares that every man will be judged according to his deeds whether they be good or evil. This implies respond-ability in man. Man cannot approach God with his sins and seek to justify them by minimizing them, by imputing them to others, by blaming environment or circumstances. Man is responsible. He doesn’t have to sin. Every man has the ability to make right choices according to God’s word. “There hath no temptation taken you but such is common to man: But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able: but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Cor. 10:13).

Each time we make a decision to do evil we step away from God and bend our character in the direction of Satan. Very many steps in the wrong direction produces a character more like the Devil than God. In the church we see brethren that ignore such passages as Matt. 5:23, 24 and Matt. 18:11-17 and let their brethren die in sin. The responsible Christian goes to his brother to change his behavior. Brethren who ignore sin in their own lives or the lives of others will reap the eternal consequences. What we are, and what we will be is determined by the choices we make now. Do we stand with God, or do we stand alone. What is your choice?

Truth Magazine XIX: 32, pp. 509-510
June 19, 1975

By Daniel H. King

I heard the phrase that heads this article at a football game a few years ago. It was shouted by a fan (obviously cheering for the winning side) to a group of agitated fans who were bemoaning the outcome of the game. How apropos that little sentence was! Anyone who participates in or watches an athletic contest should be quite aware that both teams cannot win. Somebody must walk off the field a loser. And, if one cannot enter the contest with the intention of being a “good sport” whether they win or lose, then they ought to stay out of the contest. It’s a matter of mental preparation, not necessarily for defeat, but for the possibility of defeat and a resignation as to how one will act when mere possibility becomes reality. To put it in the words of the unwitting sage: “If you can’t stand the heat: then get out of the kitchen.” Kitchens get hot, and games have losers. Those are simple facts of life, and those who cannot cope with reality should not place themselves in positions where their genuineness will potentially manifest itself.

But that phrase has more applicability than just to kitchens and sports. It may also be applied to the Christian life. Many people become Christians thinking that the life of the Christian will be a proverbial “bowl of cherries,” with its, consummation in heaven. And, after a few short bouts with the devil and temptation they go down for the count. When they find out that living the Christian life is, in reality, a daily contest with the devil and evil and that the church is full of fallible human beings like themselves, then they head for the kitchen door- the heat is too much! People need to go into the Christian life with a realistic view of what it is and will be like. The chances for spiritual longevity will be so much better if this is the case. Temptation will not cease when we become Christians, in fact, it may even get worse. I would imagine if I were the devil that I would not spend a great deal of my precious time on the terribly wicked, instead I would center my attentions upon those who spurned my powers. However, the evil one cannot tempt beyond our ability to resist (1 Cor. 10:13), and he will be forced to flee if he is resisted (James 4:7). Instead of despairing at temptation, the child of God ought to heed the advice of James, “Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into manifold temptations; knowing that the proving of your faith worketh patience” (James 1:2,3). In addition, a healthy view of our fellow Christians will serve to make being a Christian more feasible. Very often we hear of people young in the faith being unsettled or even discouraged to the point of giving up, either by troubles in the church or by ungodly attitudes and actions on the part of those who ought to know and do better. Paul met immorality, hostility, division, hypocrisy, heresy, and personal rejection in the church at Corinth, yet the grand apostle was able to open his epistle with the words, “I thank my God always concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor. 1:4). Paul could have been overcome by the perversity of the Corinthians and thrown up his hands in despair. But he did not. He did his best to save their souls and his own and did not lose heart. Have any of us ever worshiped with brethren as spiritually bereft as the Corinthians? Even if we have, we still have no reason to give up and quit. Perhaps to worship elsewhere, and certainly to raise a cry in opposition to iniquity, but never to quit serving Christ. It is going to get hot in a kitchen, and it is going to be tough being a Christian, but we should neither give up cooking because of the heat, nor give up serving the Lord because it is sometimes hard.

Again, this pointed little maxim has its application for those of us who preach the gospel, as well. How many of us run into a little turbulence in a congregation, face hardship, or fail in some respect or another and throw up our hands in surrender? “I’ll just quit preaching. There are plenty of other ways to make a living without putting up with such and such.” Without mentioning the mercenary sound of such talk, we might simply recollect the veteran preacher Paul’s counsel to Timothy, “Be thou sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil thy ministry” (2 Tim. 4:5). No, preaching is not a picnic, and there are certainly times when the brethren can be a far cry from angelic, but that should not keep us from making due application of this admonition to ourselves. Little confidence should be placed in us as preachers if we are always crying, complaining, quitting, going to quit, or are constantly “on the limb” from trouble in churches where we have preached. If we cannot stand the heat, then we need to get out of the kitchen.

Truth Magazine XIX: 32, pp. 508-509
June 19, 1975