Truth Magazine

By David O. Lanius, Jr.

“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised); and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works; not forsaking the assembling of ‘ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge ~of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice of sins” (Heb. 10:23-26).

As we note our text together, we can immediately see that there was concern among the writers of the New Testament about absenteeism from the worship assemblies. The inspired writer of Hebrews was trying to check this tendency, knowing that it would lead to apostasy. As there was trouble then, so there is now. Every church seems to have this same problem. Why do Christians continue to absent themselves from the assemblies of the saints? Is it really because of the excuses they offer? Here are some of the most popular excuses:

1. “I attended the morning services, wasn’t that enough?”

2. “I had company.”

3. “I overslept.”

4. “My children do not like to attend that often.” (Neither do they like to attend school that well.)

5. “I needed to work overtime at the job.” (How about working overtime for God?)

6. “I was just too tired.” (He has never missed a day on the job because he was tired.)

Actually the truth must be that, lacking a love for God and their brethren, they just do not want to come.

There are dire consequences which result when one consistently does not assemble.

1. You fail to let your light shine (Matt. 5:16).

2. You weaken the efforts being put forth by others to save souls.

3. You harm yourself in that you have not partaken of the spiritual food necessary for spiritual growth (Jn. 4:24; Acts 2:42; Heb. 5:8-9).

4. You rob yourself of being with those of like precious faith, the Father, and Son (Matt. 18:20).

5. God is grieved by your continued absenteeism. It is hard to worship Him when you fail to attend for that purpose.

6. You show to the world what is first in your life.

7. You fail to do your part, making someone else carry your load; such is shameful and sinful.

If you begin to miss services, you will become weaker and weaker each time you allow a service to pass by.

One of the greatest blessings we have in our earthly lives is the opportunity as Christians to meet together and join our minds in worship to our God Who created and sustains us. Every time we meet, whether it be on the Lord’s day, in mid-week, or during a gospel meeting we can be “built up in the most holy faith.” We can “cast all our burdens on Jesus” and “let Jesus dwell within our hearts.” We can raise our voices together in song and express deep emotions which we may never feel able to express at any other time. Our spirits will be more humble, reverential and penitent after an hour of prayer, song and study together than they could possibly be during our busy weeks without such an hour. Instead of making excuses for missing the services of the church, we should constantly thank God for every opportunity that we have to assemble with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Let us determine now not to miss a single service of the church.

Truth Magazine XIX: 28, pp. 440-441
May 22, 1975

By Billy Ashworth

Today, we hear the expression “confrontation or, negotiation” used often in the civil realm concerning our relationship with rulers of foreign countries. It is an interesting idea as far as political diplomacy is concerned. I endorse this approach in strictly material relationships in a sincere effort to ward off a holocaust that would destroy a vast portion of humanity. However, in the religious realm, the idea of “negotiation” with leaders of religious error is repugnant to anyone who loves the truth. “Negotiation” is “a conferring, discussing, or bargaining to reach agreement” (Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language, College Edition). To me, negotiation is a form of compromise, “a settlement in which each side gives up some demands or makes concessions” (Ibid.).

Compromise in religion is severely condemned in the word of God, in both Old and New Testaments. I suggest the reader refer to Ezra 4 and Neh. 4:6. In these passages, we read of the attempts at compromise by the “adversaries” of God’s people. Notice Ezra 4:2: “Then they came to Zerubbabel and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither.” Note their response (Ezra 4:3): “But Zerubbabel and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God: but we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.” The malicious reaction of the adversaries is set forth in verses four through six; the letter they composed and sent to Artaxerxes accusing the Jews to him is stated in verses eleven through sixteen. This shows the maliciousness of leaders of religious error when their attempts at compromise are spurned by children of God. Read also Neh. 4-6 for additional attempts of the adversaries of God’s people on the other side of the cross to compromise.

In the fifteenth chapter of Matthew, there seems to have been a disposition of the disciples of Christ to compromise with the Pharisees from Jerusalem. There was a mild rebuke of Jesus when they asserted (verse twelve): “Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended after they heard this saying?” (i.e. Jesus’ rebuke of the Pharisees for their hypocrisy and perversion of the law, verses 3-9). Now, notice Jesus’ answer: “Every plant which my heavenly father hath not planted shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” By “let them alone,” He meant: Don’t you apologize or compromise! This reminds me of some professed Christians today: “Just preach the gospel and let others alone! Let us just preach the Bible.” Now, whenever you hear such pleas, you can rest assured that here are people who are not converted to Christ! They do not want religious error and the perpetrators thereof exposed. It would be interesting to hear these “bleeding hearts” explain how one can preach the gospel and let others alone! One cannot even preach Christ as the Son of God and let others alone; unbelieving Jews would be offended! One cannot preach the existence of Jehovah and let others alone; the atheist would be offended. Such compromising attitudes are nauseous to lovers of truth to say nothing of being anti-scriptural!

Jesus did not let the unbelieving Jews alone (read Matt. 23). Paul did not let the false teacher, a Jew named Bar-jesus, alone (Acts 13:4-12). No, Paul “confronted” Bar-jesus (“confront: 1. to face, stand, or meet face to face. 2. to face boldly, defiantly, antagonistically. . .” Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language, College Edition). The record says that Bar-jesus the sorcerer “withstood them seeking to turn the deputy from the faith. Then Paul set his eyes on him, and said, O full of all subtilty and mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now behold the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. . .” (Acts 13:8-11). Bar-jesus was already spiritually blind, as are all false teachers. In Acts 15 there is the inspired account of Paul and Barnabus’ disputation (confrontation) with the Judaizing teachers that came from Judea teaching falsehoods. They did not “steal away” sweetly and let them alone! Neither did they attempt to deal with them “diplomatically” and “slip up on their blind side” in a vain attempt to show them the error of their way over a long period of time while their heresy would be eating away at the life blood of the saints.

The only examples I find in the Bible concerning the proper attitude toward and exposd of sin is direct confrontation. When radical surgery is needed to remove a malignancy, there is no time for procrastination, no “dilly-dallying” with false teachers either without or within the church of our Lord. Those who would compromise the truth of the gospel, who attempt to placate false teachers and their deceived followers, must be confronted by the faithful people of God. When Jude wrote to the saints in the first century, he exhorted them to “contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). My brethren, this battle cry still rings out to us who compose the body of Christ. If we do not respond and fight against every wicked scheme and doctrine of men, then just who will? “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. . .Casting down imaginations (reasonings) and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. . .” (2 Cor. 10:3, 5). Brethren, whether it is against perverters of the gospel of Christ on the outside of Christ who are denying His plan for redemption and the church or against false teachers and compromisers within who promote and defend .human institutionalism among churches of Christ or who encourage “ecumenism” by extending fellowship to religious groups who do not “walk by faith,” we must contend earnestly for the faith or no one will! Let us unsheath the sword and get on with the job.

Truth Magazine XIX: 28, pp. 439-440
May 22, 1975

By Ronald G. Mosby

“For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16). The great apostle Paul, guided by the Holy Spirit of promise and using the apostolic editorial “we,” claimed to possess the mind of Christ! How was this possible? Is it possible today for us to possess the mind of Christ? Let us study the Bible, the revealed mind of God, in answer to these and related questions.

Prophetic Announcements Fulfilled

The prophet Joel announced generally that in the last days the Spirit would be poured out upon all flesh (Joel 2:28-31). On the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Christ, the apostle Peter announced the fulfillment of that prophecy and applied it specifically to himself and the other eleven apostles (Acts 2:14-21). About three years prior to this occasion, John the Baptizer announced generally that Christ, Who was mightier than he, would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Mt. 3:11; Lk. 3:16). (NOTE: The context identifies the baptism of fire with the Judgment Day-Mt. 3:12.) Just ten days before Pentecost, Christ announced the fulfillment of John’s prediction and applied it specifically to the apostles whom He had chosen (Acts 1:1-5). Just a few weeks before this time, while in the upper room with His apostles, on the same night in which He, was betrayed, Christ promised to send the Comforter to them. The Comforter would teach them all things and remind them of all Christ had said while here upon the earth (Jn 14:16). He, the Spirit of truth, would guide the apostles into all the truth. He would not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He would hear from the Father, He would speak the same unto the apostles and glorify Christ as He spoke (Jn. 16:12-15). This was a promise of God to the apostles.

Again, in Acts 1:4, 8, Christ repeats the promise of the Father to His apostles and instructed them to wait at Jerusalem until they received it. Ten days later, on the day of Pentecost, the apostles received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and they began to speak (all the truth) as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:1-4). Ten years later, Peter referred back to this beginning at Pentecost to prove to the other apostles and other Jewish brethren that the Gentiles also were granted repentance unto life as well as the Jews (Acts 11:1, 15-18). Joel’s prophecy concerning “all flesh” had now completely been fulfilled.

We Can Know The Mind of God

Study the chart, “The Mind Of God Revealed.” Before the “Spirit searched all things, yea, the deep things of God,” no man on earth could see, hear, nor understand the things God had prepared for them that love Him (1 Cor. 2:9-10). When the Spirit came forth from the mind of God, He revealed all that God had in mind for man to do. But to whom did He reveal it? The Spirit did not reveal to the prophets and sons of men in the Old Testament the things God had prepared for you and me in the New Testament. Rather, He revealed these things to the apostles and prophets who preached the gospel of Christ (Eph. 3:1-5; 1 Pet. 1:10-12). The apostles began to speak the words revealed unto them by the Spirit Who had searched the mind of God (Acts 2:4; 1 Cor. 2:12). The apostles also wrote down in a few words what the Spirit revealed unto them (Eph. 3:1-5).

Hence, now every eye can see what is written, every ear can hear what is spoken, and every heart can understand what is spoken and what is written and can know what God has in mind for each of us today. We must each reverence the Bible, the word of God, because it truly is the Mind of God revealed to us today. It is the only revelation available for now and for all times. We must live by it and will finally be judged by it (Mt. 4:4; Jn. 12:48). When we give book, chapter and verse for what we practice and preach, we are in reality giving what God had in mind for us to do and to be. Gentle reader, can you give book, chapter, and verse for what you believe, practice and teach in religion? Think about this seriously! Eternity is too long to be wrong. Remember, if God has willed it, the Spirit ha’s revealed it, and we have it in book, chapter, and verse.

Truth Magazine XIX: 28, pp. 438-439
May 22, 1975

By Rufus R. Clifford

If you were to ask a Christian for a copy of the “creed” or “book of rules” of the church of Christ, he could only offer you a copy of the New Testament. The only written creed the church that Christ built has ever had is the New Testament. It was given by the inspiration of God and is sufficient to furnish the man of God unto all good works (2 Tim. 3:16, 17). It meets the needs of the whole world (Mk. 16:15). This is the only message we are authorized to use in the conversion of sinners (1 Cor. 9:16; Matt. 28:18-20). Jesus taught that the word of God is enduring and that by it we shall be judged (Lk. 21:33; John 12:48). The authority of Christ as expressed in the New Testament is the only safe guide for the church. It is sinful for the church to submit to any other authority. The gospel is God’s power to save (Rom. 1:16). James says it is able to save (Jas. 1:21). Paul writes that it did save the Corinthians (1 Cor. 15:1, 2). The curse of God rests upon the man who preaches another gospel or dares to add to or subtract from it (Gal. 1:8,9; Rev. 22:18,19).

In spite of the plain Bible teaching given above, we find good, religious people subscribing to human creeds. Even those who subscribe to man-made creeds will not claim for them any saving power. They are but the products of human opinion and stand as barriers to the unity of religious people. Man-made creeds are based upon two wicked assumptions: (1) The New Testament is not sufficient to meet the needs and govern the people of God. (2) This supposed insufficiency can be remedied by weak, fallible, erring men. Without such assumptions there is no excuse for the making of human creeds.

Human creeds are objectionable for a number of reasons. (1) They are not inspired of God. (2) They do not meet the needs of the whole world. (3) They are not perfect. (4) They must be revised every few years. (5) We shall not be judged by them. (6) They set aside and make void the Word of God. (7) They teach many things contrary to the New Testament. (8) They keep people divided in religion. They should, therefore, be laid aside forever or, better still, be burned and forgotten. As long as a single one of them is in force anywhere, division will exist. They are subversive to divine authority and to the peace, unity, and fellowship that should characterize those who desire to please God and go to heaven. As simple Christians we take the authority of Christ as expressed in the New Testament as our only rule of faith and practice. It is the one creed that needs no revision. We invite all people to meet with us on the New Testament in order that we may be united in work and worship.

Truth Magazine XIX: 28, p. 438
May 22, 1975