Truth Magazine

By O.C. Birdwell

You name it and probably it is sponsored by some church. The Apline Hills church of Christ in Mobile, Alabama published a “Monthly Report” from two men (Marvin F. Bryant and Robert Shank) whom they apparently sponsor as ministers to the ministers. They spend their time talking to denominational preachers about coming over to “us.” They arrange church sponsored luncheons, feed, preachers, and try to get them to preach for the “Church of Christ.”

This type action denominationalizes the church, making it appear to be only a part, although maybe a better part, of the overall body of Christ. Our religious friends have, through the years, affirmed that we are a denomination as are they. Now these liberal brethren, as well as some who may claim not to be so liberal, seem to admit it. That you understand why I say this, I present the following quotations from Robert Shank in a recent “Monthly Report” printed and circulated by the Mobile church.

“One of the important events of May for me was the privilege I had of lecturing at Southern Baptist Seminary, Louisville, on the question of apostasy. I spoke an hour before a large class of graduate students. One of the students asked about the significance of baptism and I had opportunity to share some things with them about the place and meaning of baptism in Christian experience.”

Baptism in Christian experience? He sounds like a Baptist to me! This statement by Shank reminds me of a story I heard about some Jesuit priests who, during the early days of our country, went to convert the Indians. They told about Jesus but had no converts. They then presented the Christ as a great Indian chief with many scalps by his wigwam. Multitudes of Indians flocked to the banner. This prompted an observant bystander to remark, “It seems that rather than the Jesuits converting the Indians to Christianity, the Indians have converted the Jesuits to paganism!” Likewise, from the language Shank uses about baptism, I conclude the Baptists had no problem accepting what he said on the subject.

But consider what he further says about the Baptist Seminary. “I believe the school is committed to an objective approach to the scriptures and sincerely concerned for the authority of the Bible and for a biblically oriented theology. Let us not assume that only in churches of Christ are men found who are committed to the authority of the Bible in matters of faith, for there are many such men in various denominations.”

Lest the reader make a mistake and think the above is my statement, I remind you again that it is from Robert Shank, preacher sponsored by the Alpine Hills church of Christ in Mobile. He says the Seminary is for “a biblically oriented theology” and many “are committed to the authority of the Bible in matters of faith.” Friend, if this is true there is nothing wrong with the Southern Baptist Seminary! Is what the Bible says on the establishment of the church, the name we are to wear, baptism unto remission of sins, the Lord’s Supper, worship to God, and church organization and work not related to matters of faith? Truth on these and many other Bible subjects is not taught by denominationalists, including the Baptist Seminary. Yet, Brother Shank says they are committed to the authority of the Bible in matters of faith. He believes, therefore, that baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and other things mentioned are not matters of faith.

Brother Shank goes on to say, “Let us thank God for all such men, and let us humbly seek the good of all, seeking always to grow in our own understanding of the faith once delivered to the saints and to encourage other men to do the same.” Grow in our understanding and encourage others to grow in their understanding. Is this what he says? I believe it is. And denominationalists have been saying this for years. The Bible says, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18). “By that same rule let us walk” (Phil. 3:16), and when we thus walk we will “speak the same thing” (1 Cor. 1:10).

I caution brethren to be on guard against any man, whether he be preacher, editor, or something else, who will be silent on any New Testament truth in order to court the favor of evangelical or liberal seminarians. They usually have something to promote other than the simple gospel and man’s acceptance of it. Such men, whether they be so called liberals or conservatives, are not worthy of support.

Truth Magazine, XVIII:1, p. 13
November 1, 1973

By Mike Willis

Since the American Standard Version went out of print several years ago, some who have used that translation to study and preach from have experienced some difficulty in finding a copy of it bound well enough to stand the wear of daily usage. Consequently, much appreciation should have come when Logos International published the American Standard Version in a study Bible comparable to Dickson’s Analytical Bible in the King James Version.

This edition of the American Standard Version is an outstanding job of printing, as the price reflects, which is bound in genuine leather, has gold edges and a ribbon marker. No copy of any translation of the Bible to my knowledge is superior to this one in that respect.

The Logos Study Bible has an excellent concordance and detailed cross references. (The cross references are much more detailed than in the old edition of the American Standard Version published by Thomas Nelson and Sons or the New American Standard Bible published by Creation House.) In addition to the concordance and cross reference, this publication also has a topical analysis of the Bible passages relative to most Bible subjects which is well indexed. This section of the Logos Study Bible is similar to Nave’s Topical Bible except that it only lists the verses pertinent to any given subject and does not quote them.

A critical apparatus is appended to each page to list the variant readings and textual basis behind each reading. Obviously, this publication was intended to be used by serious Bible students.

In addition to twelve topographical maps, the Logos Study Bible also includes a brief introduction to each book which discusses authorship, subject material, destination, and purpose of each book. All of these helps would be useful to any Bible student.

I would like to be able to unequivocally recommend this publication of the American Standard Version but I cannot conscientiously do so because of the 120 page commentary on the Holy Spirit included in the Study Bible in which the authors make every argument which I have ever heard to defend the Pentecostal (Trinitarian) position on the Holy Spirit. (Perhaps this will remind us that the helps, published in most every Bible, are uninspired.)

The commentary is so subtle that it would easily deceive the person who is not prepared to discuss the subjects of Holy Spirit baptism, the cessation of miraculous spiritual gifts, tongue-speaking, the manner in which the Holy Spirit leads an individual and most other distinctive Pentecostal doctrines. Here is an example to illustrate just how subtle the commentary is. The comments on 2 Cor. 12 about Paul’s “messenger of Satan” or “thorn in the flesh” attempt to prove that it was a false teacher who followed Paul from town to town. After citing what he apparently thought was sufficient evidence to prove that, the author said, “If Paul’s thorn in the flesh was the continual aggravation caused by a hostile person and not a sickness, then one cannot claim support from this passage that there are some illnesses which God may refuse to heal.”

Arguments on tongue-speaking are presented, modern experiences of it are reported, and instructions are given about practicing it in this 120 page commentary on the Holy Spirit.

For this reason alone, I cannot recommend the Logos Study Bible. If you are able to handle the Pentecostal position very adequately, you might be able to use this publication profitably. But to the young, inexperienced Bible student, the commentary on the Holy Spirit might constitute a serious threat to his faith. He could easily be tossed about by the winds of that false doctrine. I would much rather recommend the New American Standard Bible to such an individual.

Truth Magazine, XVIII:1, p. 12
November 1, 1973

By Jimmy Tuten, Jr.

A few months ago a series of articles began, entitled: “Teaching Successfully.” Eight articles in the series appeared in Truth Magazine. The response to these articles has been good and we are ready to continue writing under this general theme. The frequency of this ‘material will be determined by the writer’s schedule. Hopefully this will become a regular column.

Restatement of Goals

Recognizing that few teachers have formal training in the area of Bible Class teaching, it is essential that teachers strive to master to some degree the skills of effective teaching. Mastering the art of teaching processes, lesson planning, and the direction of students in the Bible class room affords great personal enjoyment to the teacher. The goal of these articles is to direct brethren by way of instruction in matters that will assist them in the impartation of knowledge relating to the Bible.

Advice and Help

As in the past, future articles will not approach the theme in textbook type of presentation. This writer desires to merely offer advice and help in the essentials of Bible class teaching. Speaking as one Bible class teacher to another, heart-to-heart discussions are always best. No claim is made to originality. We are merely restating in convenient form (sometimes using the writer’s privilege of over-statement) a few fundamental truths which have been restated many times in various publications. My only excuse is that with the exception of an occasional article appearing here and there, there has been no presentation of material briefly enough and simply enough for the needs of the masses of brethren. Available works are either too expensive, too technical, or too much over the heads of brethren. Whatever be the faults of these series, I can positively guarantee that every problem discussed is real, every principle dealt with has daily application and every suggestion offered will be one that has been found to work in practice.

Important Position

The Bible places the teacher on a high pedestal. It says, “they that be wise (teachers) shall shine as the brightest of the firmament” (Dan. 12:3). Teachers must improve their positions. They must become more efficient in the presentation of matters relating to Christ, the Bible, the church and general Biblical background information. We are losing too many brethren to Satan!

Millions in our nation under seventeen years of age are not receiving any religious instruction at all. Two out of every three children in America are not enrolled in a Bible Class of any kind. About every fourteen seconds a crime is committed. Within each forty second period someone commits a murder. Think :of the thousands across America who profess membership in the New Testament church who are not receiving Bible class instruction. Thousands of others are attending classes, but enjoying it less. Collectively speaking, teachers hold the destiny of thousands in their grasp. Teachers must learn better methods of imparting Bible knowledge. This can be done in spite of limited helps and so many odds against the Bible class teacher.

Conclusion

No effort will be made to deal with all of the methods of teaching nor to present our material exhaustively. We desire only to help brethren have -a more important concept of his wonderful task. May each of us strive to be better communicators of God’s Word. “Do your best to win approval in God’s sight, as a worker who is not ashamed of his work, one who correctly teaches the message of God’s truth” (2 Tim. 2:15, Good News For Modern Man).

Truth Magazine, XVIII:1, p. 11
November 1, 1973

By Jeffery Kingry

Have you ever stopped in your rushed life to think of the vast vault of time that lies awaiting judgment, or of the lives that have filled that immensity? It is not easy for man in his hour-by-hour existence to comprehend the enormity of history, or to acknowledge the souls that drew breath generations before we were born. There have been men whose eyes beheld the Tower of Babel, the Pyramids rising from the sand, yea, even gazed upon the face of our Lord Jesus. Men have lived, loved, hated, felt pleasure and pain. They all met death and are now awaiting the judgment toward which we are all hurtling. Time, such a plodding thing for the present, is such a swift irretrievable vapour when it is past.

“The days of our years are three-score and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away” (Psa. 90:10). Our lives are lived, and what we have done, seen, or felt all the books of the world could not hold. And yet millions upon millions have felt the same cool of each new morning, and thought that it was theirs alone. One lifetime is but a heart-beat, a blink, a glance. “Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in generation after generation. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God … for a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday, when it is past, and as a watch in the night … thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass that groweth up . . .” (1,2,5,6).

Yet who patterns his life? Who actually redeems the time? Too many lights are turned on for scant seconds and eternally put out. We are born, grow in the supreme ignorance of youth, labor, grow old, and too late gaze back upon the years and mourn “for all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spent our years as a tale that is told” (v. 9).

David, whose body is one with the earth, died yearning for the day when man would see Jesus. “Return, O Lord, how long? And let it repent thee concerning thy servants. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us and the years wherein we have seen evil. Let thy work appear unto thy servants,, and thy glory unto their children” (13-16). He died, never seeing that day. The time finally came when all was fulfilled. Men saw the Word in the flesh. The time of His appearance came and went. God had promised and in the fullness of time, when the’ time had come, God ‘fulfilled his promise.

God now speaks to us, saying again when the fullness of time is come that the “heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise … the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with a fervent heat, and the earth also and all the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the corning of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat” (2 Pet. 3:7-12).

Truth Magazine, XVIII:1, p. 10-11
November 1, 1973