Truth Magazine

By Larry Ray Hafley

Modern views of the conscience of man and the Scriptures of God are weighted in favor of conscience. The discerner and interpreter of truth is the conscience. The verdict of conscience is supreme, and if it seems to be out of harmony with the understanding of Scripture, then Scripture must be re-evaluated so as to coincide with conscience. This reverence for private conscience is another form of idolatry. If personal judgments supercede the word of God as supreme authority, the underlying roots of infidelity and moral anarchy will be enthroned under the guise of an inner, spiritual and reasonable faith. In this, each man is God and each, mind is the Bible. Under this system, the word of the Lord is a force at the mercy of the choice and caprice of the individual. Thus the spirit of conscience usurps and assumes the throne of authority. As judge he reigns and rules the congress of his own inner kingdom. He, invested with full power, decides the merits of the past and legislates and dictates the course of the future. The only court of appeal is himself.

It may be thought that the above reflects solely the idea of unbelievers, but it does not. Misunderstanding of grace and liberty in Christ causes one to unwittingly reject the authority of the Bible. Subverters and perverters of the work, worship and organization of the churches of Christ are allowed unscriptural liberties with the function of local congregations on the basis of their conscientious love and zeal. A mere conscientious love and zeal is not, however, an acceptable substitute for scriptural, conscientious love and zeal-let that not be forgotten.

Conscientious Sin

If human conscience is the hand that molds and forms the clay of divine Scripture, there could never be sincere sins of ignorance. In John 16:1-3, the Lord warned, “The time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.” Were those guilty before God who murdered the Master’s men thinking they did God service? Was one Saul of Tarsus innocent when he truly “thought with (himself) that (he) ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth?” (Acts 26:9) All whose con-, science said make “havoc of the church” were innocent if the conscience be the Supreme Court, but later Saul said of this conscientious behavior, I am “chief of sinners.” A distorted conscience. in light of the Scripture, can never alter the nature of sin or make it lawful. Conscience may call evil good, and good evil, and put darkness for light and light for darkness and put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter, but it cannot change the truth with respect to what is good, light, and sweet.

Authoritative Doctrine

The outstanding fact of the sermon on the mount was not its wooing call to conscience, nor its appeal to hearts steeped in righteous judgments, as well it might have been, but the significant feature was astonishment “at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority” (Matt. 7:28, 29). Let that seep and sink in the next time you are tempted to sentimentalize sin or excuse ‘error. “He that loveth me not, keepeth not my sayings” (Jn. 14:24). “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love” (Jn. 15: 10). “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (I Jn. 2:4).

Therefore, those who, in the name of love, liberty, conscience or unity, attempt to set aside the pattern of the Scriptures in any area of the life of a Christian or the labor of the church are guilty of iniquity or lawlessness. Their sincerity does not justify them. Their clear conscience does not soften or lessen the havoc of the church.

Truth Magazine, XVIII:34, p. 13-14
June 27, 1974

By James Sanders

The church at Ephesus had an illustrious history. The Lord Himself praised her labors, her toils and her patience. Ephesus had tried those who claimed to be apostles and had proved them liars. But something was amiss; Ephesus no longer had the flush of enthusiasm she had once enjoyed. The church at Ephesus had left her first love (Rev. 2:4). The preaching continued as it always had-the doctrine was sound and the application of the Text sure. But something had gone wrong. The church was working-even the Lord spoke of her labors and toils. Attendance, perhaps, was good-but something was missing. That something was the kindness of her youth, the love of her espousals (Jer. 2:2). Ephesus had left her first love.

But the Lord would allure her and speak comfortably unto her (Hos. 2:14). He would lead Ephesus along the way back home:

“Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent and do the first works; or else I will come quickly unto thee, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent” (Rev. 2:5).

First, He says Remember. Memory is the treasure house of the mind. It is here that precious monuments and joys are kept and preserved. Memory is the first step back home. The prodigal son remembered and so returned to his father (Luke 15:17). The first step of the way back home is to realize that something has gone wrong. As long as there is a memory which can wet the eyes with tears, there is hope for the wayward and the prodigal.

Second, He says Repent. Repentance is the most difficult step of all. Repentance is the humbling of the heart; it is the admission that the fault is ours and ours alone. The prodigal’s response was, “I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned.” Repentance demands that we face ourselves, our failures and our falls. There are many who take the first step of remembrance but never trod the path of true repentance.

Third, He says Do. The step of repentance is not meant to drive a man to despair. Rather he is to bring forth fruits meet for or worthy of repentance (Mt. 3:8). Repentance that does not compel a man to change his life is useless. Doing is the last step on the return journey.

Application

Christian reader, when was the last time you prayed earnestly? Can you remember what it was once like to sing psalms which would pluck the very strings of the heart? Would you not like to go back home again? When was the last time you really got something out of worship-when was the last time you put something in it? “All of God’s children get weary when they roam-don’t it make you want to go home@ – now?

Truth Magazine, XVIII:34, p. 12
June 24, 1974

By Terry L. Sumerlin

Solomon said, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Prov. 22:6). There have been, as most recognize, the following two views taken on this passage: (1) there are exceptions to the statement; (2) there are no exceptions to the statement. Of the two views, I accept the first. In order to establish this position, I direct your attention to two lines of reasoning.

If it is impossible for one to depart from “the way” once he is brought up in it, then: 1. How is it possible that the strange woman of Prov. 2:17 is spoken of as having departed “from the guide of her youth”? 2. How would one account for the conversion of the Jews on the day of Pentecost? They left the law under which they had been reared for a better one – the gospel. 3. The Baptist doctrine of “impossibility of apostasy” is true. If a child is reared properly, according to this theory, he is heaven bound and always in grace! 4. One is forced to conclude that it would be possible for a parent to be condemned for things which occurred after his own death. By this I mean, if a child who was faithful while his parent lived became wicked after the parent died, to be consistent with the theory, fault in rearing the child would be placed to the parent’s account after his death 5. It must be equally true that those who have not been trained up in the way they should go, can never go in that way.

If there are no exceptions to Prov. 22:6, it seems we must interpret, the following verses similarly: (1) “None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life” (Prov. 2:19). Is this the sin unto death of are there exceptions to this? Is it possible for one to regain spirituality after patronizing the strange woman? (2) “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord” (Prov. 18:22). Solomon also said that it is better to dwell on the housetop than with a contentious woman (Prov. 21:9; 25:24). Would a person say one who had found a contentious wife had found a good thing? (3) “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly” (Prov. 18:24). Have you not known people who were not particularly friendly who had friends? I have! (4) “He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread” (Prov. 28:19). There are those tilling land all over the world that are starving.

The point which I am trying to establish is this: Truth is not violated when there is an exception to a proverb. A proverb is such that it allows exceptions – for it is merely setting forth a general truth. This seems to be the idea in the passage before us as well as in the ones from which I have illustrated. Yet, while I believe my position on the passage relating to training a child is correct, let me hasten to say that such does nothing to change the parents’ responsibility to “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4).

Truth Magazine, XVIII:34, p. 12
June 27, 1974

By Bill Moseley

“And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: And there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him” (Gen. 12:6-7).

The foregoing passage records one reason why Abraham has been called the “father of the faithful.” We see that the Lord had made a promise to Abraham, both in this passage, and in verses 1-3 of this same chapter. Upon receiving these promises, Abraham immediately “builded an altar unto the Lord.” This expresses Abraham’s confidence that the Lord would do exactly as He had promised. An altar was necessary to worship God in Abraham’s day. We are not to worship God with a physical altar with its animal sacrifices today, but the principles which governed the worship of Abraham should regulate our worship to God even now.

It is interesting to note that his altar was built entirely to honor God. It was not constructed for self-glorification. Any works that he did, were works of God (Romans 4:14). In contrast to this, we may note the rearing of a structure in Genesis 11, namely, the tower of Babel. This tower was built so the builders could make a name for themselves (Gen. 11:4). It was not to glorify God, and for this reason their work was brought to naught, and they were scattered abroad over the face of the earth. There are too many builders like this around today. Even among our brethren, we find those trying “to make a name.” They do this at the expense of magnifying God’s name. They want elaborate and ornate buildings to compete with the sects. They are not satisfied with a modest, yet satisfactory meeting place without “all the trimmings.” These things tend to magnify the builders, and entirely too much stress is placed on the material and physical. Thus, any work undertaken is to be for God’s glory, and not to exalt the builder. Such was the purpose of Abraham’s altar.

The altar of Abraham expressed his desire to acknowledge the divine guidance of his past life. He appreciated and found great joy under God’s guiding hand. He gladly obeyed the Lord’s commands. It has been said “where Abraham had his tent, there God had His altar.” In how many congregations today is the “altar” in need of repair? In how many homes does it need to be rebuilt? In how many . homes has it never even been erected? The means whereby we may serve the Lord acceptably ought to be the first concern of every congregation, every family and every Christian. Do we really appreciate the Lord’s influence in our lives as Abraham did? God has revealed himself to us through His word. We need to diligently, constantly and prayerfully study it. We can show our gratitude to God in this way.

Abraham’s altar expressed dependence upon God. It was used to offer sacrifices upon. Abraham believed in atonement. Too many folks today evidently have no confidence in our atonement. We read in Gen. 15:9, that Abraham’s offering was designated by God, and was complied with by Abraham. We read in Genesis 22:1-13 the supreme sacrifice in the life of Abraham. He depended upon God to the extent that his only son of promise was about to be slain. Yet he never wavered. He knew he was nearer to God by his sacrifices. By our sacrifice, Christ on Calvary, we can some closer to God. In fact, Christ is the only way in which God can be approached (John 14:6; 1 Tim. 2:5). His atoning blood cleanses us (I John 1:7). Let us depend upon this atonement that was sacrificed on the altar of’the cross, just as. Abraham had confidence in his sacrifices.

Abraham’s altar expressed his readiness to consecrate himself entirely to God. An altar that failed to express this would be mockery and blasphemy. To show consecration to God’s cause does not require a great outward show of reverence. God is not flattered by such hypocritical acts. Such was the attitude of some Pharisees in Jesus’ day (Matt. 6:1-7). He demands a spiritual service – one that shows inner, complete and absolute consecration and total commitment. Too many people want to “consecrate” themselves to God based upon conditions which they themselves institute. In order for our devotion to be acceptable, it must be unconditional and absolute.

Finally we see that Abraham’s altar expressed his faith in the fulfillment of God’s promises. Why would he sacrifice to God and worship Him if he had no confidence in God’s ability to carry out His predictions? The Lord had promised to make of him a great nation. He had been promised a son in his old age. He had been the recipient of the land promise. Abraham was willing to leave the future part of these promises to God. The same Lord that made these great promises to Abraham, has made promises to us. He has promised a better land than that which Abraham’s posterity received. We have the promise of eternal life (I John 2:25). Do we have Abraham’s confidence in God that this promise will be carried out? If so, what are we doing to show our faith in that promise? Abraham did something. Do our actions indicate absolute faith that God is able to deliver as promised?

In this great man of God, we find a good example of what our worship ought to mean and what it should express. Friend, if your “altar” is broken down, build it up. If you are lacking one, construct one. All that is needed is obedience to God’s will, and then “worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).

Truth Magazine, XVIII:34, pp. 11-12
June 27, 1974