Truth Magazine

By Jeffery Kingry

“There shall be false teachers among you . . . and many shall follow their pernicious ways: by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: Whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not” (2 Pet. 2: 1-3).

It is a fact many would like to ignore or “pooh-pooh” away, but Peter assured us that there are those among us who think of their brethren as baggage to be moved about and manipulated at will. Though the intent may not be verbalized, or even realized, when we talk of “saving the brotherhood,” “reaching the brotherhood,” “moving the brotherhood” we unintentionally give substance to Peter’s warnings. Not that teaching truth, or intending to influence large masses of brethren is evil in itself, but often the intent is. We have a tendency as individuals to look at the black or the white, and not notice that we might be gray. Jesus sharply rebuked men at times not for sitting at meat, greeting friends in the market, wearing phylacteries, making public prayer, or building sepulchures, but for the spirit that accompanied such actions (Matt. 23). A right action accompanied with a wrong motive is just as damning as a wrong action (1 Cor. 13:1-3).

Too often we look at one “greedy for gain” as a black figure, easily recognized, but hardly realizable. After all, how many brethren do you know who are caricatures of Dicken’s Scrooge? We see the “false teacher” as a black quantity, and fail to realize that one can be a passive false teacher by failing to teach the truth that is needed, or by giving encouragement to that which is not approved of God (Eph. 5:11; 2 Jno. 11).

“Covetousness,” “greed for gain,” “evil ambitions” are all proper definitions of the Greek word pleonexia, translated by Barclay as meaning literally “The desire to possess more.” This word, translated “covetousness” in the KJV, gives us the cause for false teaching. Covetousness is not just a strong burning desire for material wealth, but any driving influence to possess something that a Christian has no right to. Jesus said, “Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: But whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be great among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom /or many” (Matt. 20:25-28). Ungodly ambition for honor, prestige, and power among brethren is repugnant to the law of Christ. We are all one in Him, partakers of his flesh, his blood, his bones. No part of his body has precedence over another. Indeed, those parts that are humblest, and have the most common function are given the greatest honor by the rest of the body. So it should be among the saints: ‘For I have given you an example. that ye should do as I have done unto you. Verily. verily I say unto you. The servant is not greater than his Lord. neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him” (Jno. 13:15, 16).

We, as brethren, need to cease looking upon God’s people as a mass – a brotherhood – to manipulate, motivate, and make merchandise of. Look upon them as a people to provoke unto love and good works – to esteem highly for the Kingdom’s sake – to reprove, rebuke, and exhort – yes; but as children of God, Priests and Kings, and brethren of Jesus in the family of God. To use the church as a private audience for our own carnal needs is wrong. To use the church as a captive and ready source of income for our private schemes is abhorrent. One has but to look in the mailbox daily at the constant stream of appeals by the “brotherhood” institutions to see that some only view God’s people as a mass to use. What have we ever gotten from such that we did not pay for – and pay dearly – in broken churches. homes, and friendships?

The scriptures tell us the method by which those petty and selfish men would take advantage of brethren: “With feigned words.” The elect are enticed away from the simplicity which is in Christ by very skillfully prepared arguments. We have nothing to fear from a lie that announces itself to be a fraud. It is the beast hidden beneath the calm, wooly exterior of a lamb that is a threat. The deceiver cunningly disguises the lie to look like truth. The motivation is gain, the method is deception by skillful argumentation.

In contending for the faith we must guard that we do not permit charisma or skill to substitute for the sword of the Spirit. A debater once told me that he was able to argue for error and make it believable. There are those that do that very thing, the only difference being that they believe their lies to be truth. Paul made it a point in converting the Corinthians not to use “excellency of speech or of wisdom” (2:1). His action was motivated by the desire “that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (2:5). Therefore he preached “Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling” (2:3). His methods drove away the Jew who wanted a sign from heaven, and offended the Greek who wanted worldly wisdom, but “unto them who are called, whether Jew or Greek, (it was) the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:22-24).

Peter further tells us what the effect would be of such false teaching: “and many shall follow their pernicious ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.” When men are encouraged to do evil by the silence of their fellows, eventually they no longer feel any guilt or reason to hide their shame. “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil” (Eccl. 8:11). We see the result of no-teaching, in the dress of our women – provoking lust in their movements and deeds – some having given themselves over to all uncleanness. We see no-teaching, in a church divided and corrupted by the rebellious rejection of the eternal purpose of God. We see brethren clinging to matters of no consequence while neglecting the important issues of life. The effect of false teaching is that it encourages men to be lost; it cares nothing for the judgment of men or of God, but is totally self centered.

Such teaching, and its fruits, not only destroy those who do such, but drags down what is good into its own level of ineffectuality. The false teachers of today ‘do not see they are despised by the world. They do not transform the people;. they are transformed by the people. They do not raise the moral level of the world; they descend to society’s own level and congratulate themselves that they have scored a victory because the world is smilingly accepting their surrender! When the world sees squabbles, selfishness, worldliness, and indifference to truth among brethren, it says, “If this is Christianity, I don’t want it!” In a conversation with an Islamic elder in Washington D.C. this writer was told, “What do we gain from embracing your Christianity? I see your young women come into .our mosque, defiling it by their lewd dress. Your men stub their cigarettes out in our courtyards, and tell their filthy jokes by our doors. If I become a Christian, do I go up, or do I go down?”

The ultimate end of false teaching is destruction: “Whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” The law has already been given: “That prophet . . . shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God . . . to thrust you out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in” (Deut. 13:5). God’s will has not changed except that; “vengeance belongeth to me, I will recompense saith the Lord.” No man leads others towards damnation who will escape damnation himself.

Yes, brethren, there are false teachers, and they are among us. By charisma and skillful oratory they manipulate .people to gain their own ends. The result of their teaching is an ineffectual and sin hardened church. Their sure damnation awaits the final judgment of God where none shall escape. “Therefore watch, and remember that . . . I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears” (Acts 20:31).

Truth Magazine, XVIII:32, p. 6-7
June 13, 1974

By Cecil Willis

We want to discuss the most remarkable book the world has ever known. One of the claims which the Bible makes for Itself -is that It can’ never be destroyed. The abundance of copies of the Scriptures now available is abundant proof that It has made good Its claim. In many passages the indestructibility of the Scriptures is pronounced. In 1 Pet. 1:24, 25 we read: “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of grass, The grass withereth, and the flower falleth: But the word of the Lord abideth forever.” It will never cease to be. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” (Matt. 24:35). When the heavens shall have passed away with a great noise, the elements melted with fervent heat, the earth and the works therein burned up, the Bible, the word of the Lord, will yet remain. Isaiah said, “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand forever.” (Isa. 40:8). The Scriptures teach that the word of the Lord must remain until time is no more, and even through the judgment, for by the word of God we shall be judged. Jesus said “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” (Jno. 12:48). Once more as John tells of the judgment scene, he says, “And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works” (Rev. 20:12). The Scriptures teach that from the time that the word of the Lord was put in written form, until the judgment, they shall never be destroyed.

An Indestructible Kingdom

The Bible again asserts this same truth in a slightly different manner. It asserts that the kingdom of God shall never be destroyed. As the prophet Daniel predicted the building of the Messiah’s kingdom, he said it would endure forever. “And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever” (Dan. 2:44). After Daniel had said the kingdom to be built could never be destroyed, Paul said that the kingdom which was built will endure forever. “And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that have been made, that those things which are not shaken may remain. Wherefore, receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have grace, whereby we may offer service well-pleasing to God with reverence and awe: for our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:27-29). But what are the implications of these -statements that the kingdom can never be destroyed? Simply that the word of God can never be destroyed. As Jesus gave a parable concerning the kingdom of- God, explaining it He said, “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.” (Luke 8:11). So long as the kingdom remains, the seed of the kingdom which is the word of God, must remain. But the kingdom will last forever, so the word of God must last forever. If It lasts forever, It is indestructible. So long as the Bible remains, the kingdom has not been destroyed. It may be suppressed for a while, it may not be apparent, but as long- as God’s word remains, the kingdom has not been destroyed. As soon as the seed of the kingdom is sown, men and women can become Christians, and Christians make up the kingdom. One cannot cause wheat to cease to exist merely by pulling up all the wheat plants he can find. If he leaves just one seed of wheat, in which is the germ of life, he has not destroyed wheat. This single seed can be planted, a plant will come forth, bear its fruit, and wheat remains. So it is with the word of God. One can fight the church, kill its members, but God has said that His word cannot be destroyed. And until one can figure out how to destroy the word of God, which he can never do, the kingdom cannot be destroyed. Because as the seed of the kingdom, the word of God, is sown into the hearts of men and women, it will bear fruit; they will become Christians and the kingdom will remain. It cannot be destroyed!

The Ancient Book

The Bible is a very ancient book. Its antiquity is a wonder. It is a marvel that the Bible has remained until the present time. I am quite sure It would not have, had it not been that God had purposed that It should never be destroyed. Relatively few books survive the decade in which they are printed. Very, very few survive for a century. Their make-up is such that the elements tend to destroy them. Age and water rot them, insects eat them, careless handling destroys them, ink lades, covers pull loose. But the Book of God remains.

The last book of the New Testament, Revelation, was written about 1880 years ago. Portions of the Bible, of course, are much older. The first five books of the Old Testament, were written by Moses about 1500 B.C., making them nearly 3500 years old. The Book of Job is written even earlier, probably at least 2000 B.C. The Bible probably is the oldest antique you have, even though you be a collector of ancient and very rare objects. Go to your library, choose out your oldest volume, and compare its age with that of the Bible. God has seen to it that His Word has not perished from the earth, because He has willed that It should abide forever.

The antiquity of the Bible would be a marvel had men throughout the ages cherished It; and have taken the very best of care to preserve It. But such has not always been the case. The enemies of Christianity have realized that the kingdom of God could not exist without the seed of the kingdom. Therefore they have concentrated their efforts against Christianity in the direction of destroying the Scriptures.

Even in New Testament times, we find those who violently sought to overthrow the Cause of Christ. We find many of the disciples dying a martyr’s death because of their faith. Early in the history of Christianity, Clement of Alexandria wrote, “Many martyrs are daily burned, crucified, and beheaded before our eyes.” For many years Christianity was outlawed by the Roman government. From the time of Trajan (reigned 98-117) until Constantine (c. 300), virtually every one of the Roman emperors was opposed to Christianity. It is true that not all of them actively tried to suppress it, but few of them encouraged Christianity in any way. Many of their efforts were directed toward destroying the Bible. Diocletian (284-316) was. the ruler immediately preceding Constantine. Of him, Eusbius, the historian says, “royal edicts were published everywhere, commanding that the churches be leveled to the gound and the Scriptures destroyed by fire.” (Church History, Book VIII, Ch. 1). Diocletian went on to say that if one had a copy of the Scriptures and did not surrender it to be burned, if it were discovered,. he would be killed. Furthermore, if any other should know of one who had a copy of the Scriptures, and did not report it, he also would be killed. During this time many, many copies of the Bible were burned, copies laboriously written in longhand. Of this period the historian, Newman, says “Multitudes…hastened to deny the faith and to surrender their copies of the Scriptures; many more bore the most horrible tortures and ‘refused with their latest breath to surrender the Scriptures or in any way to compromise themselves.” (Newman, Church History, p. 169) After this edict had been in force for two years, Diocletian boasted, “I have completely exterminated the Christian writings from the face of the earth!” (Rimmer, Seven Wonders of the Wonderful Word, p. 15). But had he completely destroyed it?

History tells us that the next ruler, Constantine, professed to have become a Christian. He requested that copies of the Scriptures be made for all the churches. But alas! Diocletian had completely obliterated the word of God. After Constantine offered a substantial reward for a copy of the Scriptures, within 25 hours 50 copies of the Bible were brought to him! The Bible has had many enemies. Even those’ that professed on some occasions to be Its friends under other circumstances turned enemy to It. During the middle ages, for example, the Roman Catholics burned thousands of copies of the Bible. But in spite of it, the Bible lives on.

Voltaire, the noted French infidel. who died in 1778. made his attempt to destroy the Bible. He boldly made the prediction that within one hundred years the Bible and Christianity would have been swept from existence into oblivion. But Voltaire’s efforts and his bold prophecy failed as miserably as did those of his unbelieving predecessors. In fact, within 100 years, the very printing press upon which Voltaire had printed his infidel literature, was being used to print copies of the Bible. And afterward, the very house in which the boasting Voltaire had lived, was literally stacked with Bibles prepared by the Geneva Bible Soceity. Voltaire and all his cohorts had miserably failed.

A few years ago H.L.Hastings in a book entitled Will the Old Book Stand? said: “The Bible is a book which has been refuted, demolished, overthrown, and exploded more times than any other book you ever heard of . . . . They overthrew the Bible a century ago, in Voltaire’s time entirely demolished the whole thing. In less than a hundred years, said Voltaire, it will have been swept from existence, and will have passed into history …But the Word of God ‘liveth and abideth forever'” (p. 5). The failures of these unbelievers, and failures they must inevitably be for they are but mere men fighting against the cause of almighty God, reminds me of a short poem written by William Blake:

“Mock on, mock on, Voltaire Rosseau!

Mock on, mock on, ’tis all in vain;

You blow the dust against the wind,

And; the wind blows it back again.”

Man cannot destroy the Bible. “We might as well put our shoulder to the burning wheel of the sun, and try to stop it on its flaming course, as attempt to stop the circulation of the Bible” (Collett, All About the Bible, p. 63). “Men have died on the gallows for reading it, and have been burned at the stake for owning it. Tortures too fiendish to describe have been visited upon delicate women and tender children for looking on its pages. Yet in spite of the strongest forces that Hell could unleash and in the face of the animosity of tyrants and despots, there are more Bibles in the earth today than there are copies of any other book ever written by the hand of man!” (Rimmer, Op. Cit. p. 15).

Each year literary men throughout the world are expending their most strenuous efforts to produce what men will call a “Best Seller.” But the “best seller” of all times is the Bible. Each year the Bible outsells all other books. Its critics have railed and ranted, and then died to be soon forgotten. But the Word of the Lord has lived on. It will continue to be the world’s best seller. So long as there are men and women who are willing to let the blessed words of the Bible guide their lives, the Bible cannot be destroyed. And even if all shall turn aside from It, God will yet preserve It. For He has said it will last till heaven and earth shall be no more, and that all of us shall meet It in the day of judgment. We must read it with understanding now, obey Its every commandment, live by It, die by It, and we can thereby live forever with God through It’s teachings.

Truth Magazine, XVIII:32, p. 3-5
June 13, 1974

By Luther Blackmon

I listened the other night to the president’s “State of the Union Message.” As a citizen I am understandably concerned about the state of the Union. But I am more concerned about the state of the church. Earthly governments come and go. No matter how. long it may stand, this .nation of ours must finally yield to the inexorable demands of time and human imperfections. During World War II, I heard a British sailor say, when asked for his opinion on the outcome of the war, “there will always be an England.” But he was mistaken. The great empire on which “the sun never sets,” along with the United States, the richest and most powerful single nation on earth, must finally share the destiny of such nations as ancient Egypt, Babylon, Assyria and Rome. They will pass into oblivion and become nothing more than names in history. But the church is here to stay.

A Kingdom Which Cannot Be Moved

From such passages as 1 Cor. 15:52 and 1 Thess. 4:15 we know that there will be Christians living on the earth when the Lord comes. The writer of the Hebrew letter says we have received a kingdom “which can not be moved” (Heb. 12:28). Whatever benefits earthly governments maybe able to bestow, whether lucrative positions or pauper’s pensions, they are necessarily temporal and confined to this world. My mother was receiving an old age assistance check each month when it became my sad duty to inform the proper authorities that she had passed from this life. No more checks came. She had passed beyond the reach of any earthly government to either help or harm. But the “kingdom which cannot be moved” knows no such boundary as death. “Whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.” (Rom. 14:8)

In view of these well known facts, it would seem that members of the church would be more interested in prayer than in politics; more concerned about truth than taxes. But such is not always the case. A sizeable crowd of church members I have known are more concerned about liberalism in the government than they are about liberalism in the church. They will fight about their politics, but they couldn’t care less about the error and apostasy that threatens the church. They can get as mean as an acre of snakes with a fellow who disagrees with their political philosophy, but with teachers of error in the Lord’s church, they are as gentle as an Autumn breeze.

We need to be concerned about the church in every place, from the largest churches in the largest cities to the tiny struggling group in the far7flung reaches of civilization. Our first consideration should be, of course, to the congregation of. which we are a part. And this concern should be positive as well as negative. We don’t build and strengthen churches by merely fighting error. Truth has a positive side. You don’t grow a garden by merely keeping down the weeds. The seed must be planted and the growth cultivated. The Word of God is the seed of the kingdom. Let us see that it is planted and nurtured, and God will’ give the harvest.

(Feb. 7, 1965)

Truth Magazine, XVIII:32, p. 2
June 13, 1974

By Larry Ray Hafley

In The World Evangelist, December, 1973, William Goodpasture wrote an article entitled, “Benevolence-A Modern Day Stepchild.” In this treatise Brother Goodpasture sought to show (1) that “benevolence is one of the neglected areas” and (2) that “until we can restore a proper benevolent attitude we cannot be truly the New Testament church.” In the course of his remarks, Goodpasture told of the establishing of “institutional homes,” and then he said, “A few brethren raised up and preached with great vigor that they had found fault in the method of financing such institutions.”

It would be hard to find a statement that reveals less understanding of the issues involved in the “institutional homes” controversy. Brother Goodpasture’s utterance is a typical one. It well illustrates the ignorance that permeates many regarding the “institutional homes” contention. But let us see what the issue was, is, and always will be in this particular matter.

The Issue

“This discussion does not concern means and methods or `how’ the work is to be done. The real issue concerns organizations. Which organization, the church or a human society, is to provide and oversee the care of the needy?” (Simpson-Britnell Debate, p. 79). “The question is, Brother Woods, do these verses authorize you or me or the churches of the Lord Jesus Christ to set up human organizations through which it is to be done? Do the churches have a right to build and maintain human organizations through which this work is to be done, through which this obligation is to be met? It is not whether there is an obligation, Brother Woods. That is not it. Do churches have a right to build and maintain human organizations through which to meet those obligations? That is the issue, Brother Woods. You knew that, didn’t you? Now, that is the issue; and so we are going to hold you to the issue.” (Woods-Porter Debate, p. 21). “The third statement in our proposition is, `. . . to build and maintain . . . .’ We mean by this, of course, to organize, establish, bring into existence and perpetuate, sustain their order and activity. This would include financing but would not be limited to that. Supplying the means of its existence is only a part of building and maintaining a thing.

“The fourth statement of our proposition is >benevolent organizations for the care of the needy.’ It becomes obvious from this wording of our proposition that there is involved in this discussion benevolent organizations other than, separate and apart from, the churches of Christ, but built by them for the work of caring for the needy.

“We are not discussing the matter of churches of Christ caring, for the needy, but their right to build other benevolent organizations to care for the needy. It is also obvious that we are not primarily discussing to what extent churches of Christ might use existing agencies aside form these benevolent organizations involved, or whether or not they can; but do churches of Christ have the scriptural right to build organizations through which to do their work of benevolence@ (Cogdill-Woods Debate, 16).

Just Suppose

Just suppose I were to write and refer to the building of the Missionary Society. Then, suppose I spoke of opposition to it in this way: AA fwe brethren raised up and preached with great vigor that they had found fault in the method of financing such institutions.@ What if I were to characterize David Lipscomb=s fight against the Missionary Society as finding fault in the method of financing? What a pitiable, if not inexcusable, ignorance it would manifest. Yet, that is exactly and precisely what Brother Goodpasture has done in the realm of benevolence.

Truth cannot be promulgated nor reiterated too often. Brother Goodpasture=s remark is proof of that. So, the need is every urgent and constant to preach the word in season and out of season with all longsuffering and teaching. Do not forget that fact the next time you are tempted to repeat some seemingly simple principle of divine truth. If truth is not repeated, error will be.

Truth Magazine, XVIII:31, p. 13-14
June 6, 1974