Truth Magazine

The apostle Paul put the gospel of Christ in a nutshell when he wrote, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel, which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand. By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:4). Paul affirmed to the Romans that their confession must include the fact, “. . . that God hath raised him from the dead” (Rom. 10:9).

The Power Of God To Save

The gospel of Christ is the power of God to save sinners. Paul wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation . . .” (Rom. 1:16). This gospel contains facts to be believed, commands to obey, and promises to enjoy. Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). Believing that Jesus is the Son of God and believing the gospel are the facts to be believed, repenting of past sins (Acts 2:38) and being baptized are commands to be obeyed. Salvation from past sins and eternal salvation, if faithful (Rev. 2:10), are the promises to be enjoyed. No wonder Paul could tell the Corinthians, “I declare unto you the gospel, by which also ye are saved” (1 Cor. 15:12).

The Ascension Of Christ

The great thing about Christ, his life, his death, and his resurrection is his ascension back to his Father. In fact, the coming of Christ into the world would have meant nothing more than any other man coming into the world, had he not died on the cross. Yet, the death of Christ on the cross would have meant no more than the death of any other, had God not raised him from the dead; the resurrection would not been as it now is, had Jesus not ascended to heaven to occupy his throne. It takes it all!

1. It was at his ascension that Christ was given a great position. A careful reading of Ephesians 1:19-23 will teach us that when Christ ascended, he was set at his own right hand in the heavenly places, given a name above all names, and made the head of the church.

2. At his ascension, Christ was made High Priest. You know that Christ could not have been priest if he were on the earth (Heb. 8:4; 7:14). At his ascension, he became and is now High Priest (Heb. 4:15). Thus, Christ is our mediator (1 Tim. 2:5).

3.Christ was made king of his kingdom at his ascension. Daniel said that Christ would be given “a kingdom,” when he “. . . came to the Ancient of days” (Dan. 7:13-14). Christ went to God as he ascended in a cloud (Acts 1:9-10). At this time Christ was given a kingdom over which he was to reign as “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev. 17:14).

4. All things were made full at his ascension. In writing the Ephesians, Paul penned, “He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things” (Eph. 4:10). We can now be “complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power” (Col. 2:10). As a result, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9).

By Johnie Edwards

Contrary to the thinking of many today, it takes both negative and positive preaching and teaching to get the job done! A careful reading of the Bible will indicate that God requires both negative and positive teaching.

Thou Shalt And Thou Shalt Not

From God’s first instruction to man to the end of New Testament teaching, God has put his instructions in the form of “Thou Shalt” and “Thou Shalt Not.” The first man had positive things to do: “And the Lord God took the man, and put him in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it” (Gen. 2:15). Then came the negative instructions: “But the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen. 2:17). A reading of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:1-17 will show us that God divided these commandments into two parts. Some positive things to be done, like, “Honor thy father and thy mother. . .” (Exod. 20:12); and then some things were of a negative nature. “Thou shalt not steal” (Exod. 20:15). A lot of preachers need to re-study this concept today.

God’s Instruction to Jeremiah

When God gave instructions to his prophet Jeremiah, he uttered, “See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build and to plant” (Jer. 1:10). As God called upon Jeremiah to deliver a fiery message, he divided the message into the negative and the positive. God used six terms in his message to Jeremiah. Four of these terms were of a negative nature: “root out, pluck up, destroy and throw down.” Then God used two terms to suggest the positive aspect of the message: “Build and to plant.” This is the same process we need to use in teaching the truth and dealing with error. We have far too many preachers who want to “accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative,” to borrow some words of an old song. Four to two, may not be such a bad idea in gospel preaching!

To A Young Gospel Preacher

More evidence for the need of balanced preaching can be seen in Paul’s advice to the young gospel preacher, Timothy. “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; re- prove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine” (2 Tim. 4:2). Two elements of Timothy’s preaching were of a negative sort and one was of a positive view. Two to one! So both the negative and the positive type of preaching is necessary to carry out the Lord’s orders. Preachers who are too timid to preach both negative and positive sermons ought not be preaching.

By Greg Litmer

There are few things that are as pleasant to behold as a well behaved child who is in subjection to his parents. I am not talking about a perfect child because I have never met one. I am talking about boys and girls who run and play, who have to be rebuked sometimes, who may test their parents and push the limit every now and again, normal kids who are just growing up. At the same time few things are as distasteful and unpleasant to behold as a child who is in charge of his mom and dad: mouthy, disrespectful, disobedient, insolent, and in control. This is just another way that we can “sin against the child.”

One of the vital parental responsibilities is to teach their children respect for authority. That begins in the home from the earliest days of the child. One of the Ten Commandments given by God through Moses to the children of Israel was, “Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee” (Exod. 20:12). The charge to teach this command of God, as well as all of the others, is given to the parents (Deut. 6:6-7; Eph. 6:4). The very first authority figures that a child comes in contact with are its parents. A failure to instill a proper respect for authority on that most basic of levels will result in trouble with other forms of authority later on, including a respect for the authority of God.

It is not a sign of love on the part of the parents to allow their children to speak to them in a disrespectful manner. It is not a sign of love to allow children to blatantly disobey parental commands without having to pay the consequences of such disobedience. Several passages from the book of Proverbs emphasize this fact. For instance, Proverbs 13:24, “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.” The parents who refuse to punish a child for blatant disobedience and disrespect do their child a great injustice, and are indeed guilty of “sin- ning against the child.”

Why are some adolescents, living in their parents’ home, allowed to decide if thy will come to worship services or not? I have heard all of the supposed reasons for this, but none of them holds water. (a) “I don’t want my child to end up hating religion.” Yet, these same parents make their children go to school because they know that it is best for them. (b) “My child just won’t get out of bed on Sunday morning.” I always want to ask those parents, “Were you ever in the military?” They certainly had a way to get a disrespectful, lazy soldier out of bed. (c) “Why force them to go if they don’t want to be there?” Because God has given the responsibility for the spiritual upbringing of the child to the parents. Who would you rather offend, God or your child? Who knows better what is good for them, God and parents, or a teenage child?

There must be no mistake about it. God has placed the parents in charge, not the children, and the husband is to be the head of the house! There are willful children, about that there is no doubt. But as parents we must let them know that our will is stronger. It is so distasteful to see parents manipulated by their children like puppets on a string. It is sinful to allow that to happen!

God has clearly revealed to us how he feels about indulgent parents who allow their children to run roughshod over them and neglect their responsibilities in this area. Remember Eli and his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas? In 1 Samuel 12-14, we find, “In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end. For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering forever.” Eli was punished for letting his sons misbehave and not restraining them. And let us not forget that the sons were punished too. Hophni and Phinehas died in one day as punishment from God.

A child who grows to follow the way of righteousness generally does not happen by accident. It takes work by dedicated parents who love the Lord and love their children.

Let’s close with the words of Solomon from Proverbs 23:15-25. He wrote, “My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine. Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things. Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long. For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off. Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old. Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetterh a wise child shall have joy of him. Thy father and thy mother shall be glad and she that bare thee shall rejoice.”

By Donnie V. Rader

One of the most impressive concepts in the Bible is that of walking in the fear of God. The more I study and see how that expression (“the fear of God”) is used, the more determined I am to encourage others to walk in the fear of the Lord.

Fear has to be taught (Deut. 4:10; 14:23; Ps. 34:11). It is not casually absorbed. If one fears God, he has been taught to fear. Thus, if our children are going to walk in the fear of God, it will be because we have taught them.

I find myself using that expression more and more to describe those who are truly dedicated to God. I am very selective in my use of that expression. I do not use it to describe everyone who has been baptized or attends church all of the time. Not all of those who are members where we worship are walking in the fear of God. Sometimes when we are trying to figure out why someone doesn’t live as he should and do better than he is doing, it would do us well to not make excuses and simply conclude that he doesn’t fear God!

Our objective in this study is two-fold: (1) Help us to walk in the fear of God, (2) to challenge us to deeper study on the concept of fear.

Examples Of Those Who Feared God

Some in the Bible either described themselves or were described by God as standing in fear of God. When Abraham was about to slay his son as God had instructed, he was stopped by an angel saying, “Now I know that you fear God” (Gen. 22:12). Joseph told his brothers, “Do this and live, for I fear God” (Gen. 42:18). Jonah told those aboard the ship he was on, “I fear the Lord” (Jonah 1:9). Nehemiah described the remnant that returned as “Your servants who desire to fear Your name” (Neh. 1:11). Later in the book he describes Hananiah the leader of the citadel as “a faithful man and feared God more than many” (Neh. 7:2).

This does not mean that only those whose names are associated with the term “fear” are those that feared God. The Bible is filled with examples of those who feared God, but other terms were used to describe their faithfulness.

Purpose And Summation Of Life

Solomon sought the answer to the question of the purpose of life. After finding the emptiness of wealth, pleasure, and wisdom, he concluded, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all” (Eccl. 12:13). The same writer said that we should be in the fear of God all day long (Prov. 23:17). God placed man on earth to fear him and keep his commandments. That means everything else is secondary to that. Our purpose and function in life is not to work and make a living. We work and make a living so we can live and serve God with fear.

Since the above is true, then if we fail to fear God we have failed in life. If fearing God is our purpose in life, then when we don’t fear our life has no purpose. If we don’t teach our children to fear God, then we have failed miserably as parents.

Those Who Fear God Please God

Peter said, “But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him” (Acts 10:35). The familiar promise that the Lord’s eyes are over the righteous and his ear are open to their prayers (1 Pet. 3:12) was quoted from Psalm 34:15 which is a description of the blessing that those who fear God (v. 9) receive.

What Fear Means

Some have a limited concept of the fear of God. Some may think that fear only involves being afraid of God. Others may think that sense of fear has no part in the service of God. However, the fear of God is like a coin: it has two sides. While those two sides are different, they also are inseparable. It involves:

1. Being afraid of displeasing God. When Saul and Samuel were gathering men to go to battle, they took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent messengers out, each carrying a bloody piece of meat. Their message was, “Whoever does not go out with Saul and Samuel to battle, so it shall be done to his oxen.” What reaction would you have had? I would have been afraid not to. The text says, “And the fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out with one consent” (1 Sam. 11:7). Thus, they feared God in the sense that they were afraid not to do what they were told.

The Lord says that he will look on the one who “trembles at My word” (Isa. 66:2). David said, “My flesh trembles for fear of You, And I am afraid of Your judgments” (Ps. 119:120). We ought to tremble in our boots at the thought of doing the things that displease God.

Paul said that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb. 10:31). The reason is “our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29). One who can knowingly do wrong and not be bothered at all obviously doesn’t fear God.

2. Respect and awe of God. When Jesus raised the son of the widow of Nain, fear came upon the people (Luke 7:16). There is no indication that they were afraid of anything. Rather, “They glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has risen up among us,’ and ‘God has visited His people’” (v. 16). Their fear was that of awe, homage and respect.

When Jonah said he feared God, he explained saying, “I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and dry land” (Jonah 1:9). He stood in awe and wonder of God.

Moses instructed the people to “fear this glorious and awesome name, The Lord Your God . . .” (Deut. 28:58).