Truth Magazine

By Cecil Willis

The New Testament abounds in warnings given to both individual Christians and to churches. Many dangers and pitfalls may beset us. “Beware” is a word frequently used in the New Testament. In this article, and in another to follow, I would like to sound a word of warning to generous hearted Christians and to churches who are prone to being “suckered into” helping or supporting unworthy individuals, or causes.

The apostle Paul warned against men corrupted in mind and bereft of the truth,” who suppose that “godliness is a way of gain” (1 Tim. 6:5). There are hosts of people who traipse over this land who maintain their existence by preying upon generous hearted brethren or churches. They are simply “dead beats,” worthless, lazy, good-for-nothings, who eke out a shameful existence by pyramiding lie upon lie in order to beguile honest brethren and to prey upon the sympathies of generous hearted sows.

Some brethren become wonderfully excited when they hear us teach that churches are obligated for the charitable maintenance only of “believers … disciples,” “brethren,” or “saints” (See Acts 2:44, 45; Acts 4:32-35; Acts 6:1-6; Acts If: 27-30; I Cor. 16:1-4; Rom. 15:25-32; 2 Cor. 9: 1, etc.). If there are some others for whom the congregation has benevolent responsibility, I would be glad to have someone to call it to my attention and to cite the Bible passage, which so obligates the congregation. Not only are churches limited by the scriptures in benevolent responsibilities to those just mentioned, but also congregations are even instructed not to assist certain among the saints.

Those Not In Need

For instance, neither the congregation nor the individual has any benevolent responsibility toward those who are not in need. You will notice in Acts 2:44,45 that distribution was made “according as any man had need.” Paul declared that Christians should be gainfully employed in order that they “may have whereof to give to him that hath need” (Eph. 4:28). You may think that this truth is so obvious it need not even be called to our attention.

However, such is not the case. I once had a lady approach me who wanted me to help her get into a “Church Old Folks Home” so that the churches of Christ would maintain her, though she freely admitted that she was not a member of the Lord’s church, had never (so far as I know) attended a single service of a church of Christ, and that she had $30,000 in cash! But she had heard that some churches of Christ supported some Old Folks Homes, and she wanted to get into one of them. The congregation has no benevolent responsibility to a non-Christian, and especially to one who has $30,000 cash!

The name of this lady will not be divulged! Suffice it to say that she lived in Indianapolis, Indiana and was a member of the Methodist church. I state emphatically that her name will not be divulged, because there are several of the so-called “Church of Christ Old Folks Homes” that would be glad to “take her in,” providing she either turn her money over to them, or will it to them, and providing that she is not in very good health, and it therefore does not appear that she will live very long.

The Old Folks Home in Houston, Texas, which is sponsored by the Central Church of Christ, requires that any person who enters be prepared either to pay a monthly fee for board and medical expense, or that someone else be secured beforehand to guarantee the monthly payment of this fee, unless their admission requirements recently have been changed. The Madison, Tennessee church announced some time ago that they were going to build some condominium apartments. This is an arrangement by which each couple purchases from the church the apartment, but the buyers must also agree to will the apartment back to the church. And one must be at least 60 years old to get in. I do not see how they possibly could lose on a “deal” like that! Such shenanigans as these are why it is necessary to say that the congregation has no benevolent duty toward those who are not in need.

Those Who Will Not Work

Neither does any Christian, nor any congregation, has any benevolent responsibility toward those who will not work. Paul is emphatic on this point: “If any will not work, neither let him eat” (2 Thess. 3: 10). Nearly all of the $15 “church bums” fall into this category! If you doubt my word, the next time one comes along with this pitiful “tale,” offer him a job instead of a handout, and see what response you get. These “professional beggars” nearly all tell the same woeful tales. Either they were just passing through town and their car broke down, and their children are hungry; or they have a job in a distant state, and if they only could get the money to get there; or else a relative has died and they are on the way to the funeral; or they use another little patent tale or two. In nearly every instance, all they need is $15, and they quickly volunteer to send the money back just as soon as they arrive at their destination. I have never even afterward heard from one of them; certainly none has returned any money as he volunteered to do.

Some brethren are entirely too free with the church’s money. We have the same responsibility not to help the lazy and unworthy as we have to help the needy saint. A lot of brethren would rather dole out $15 of the church’s money than to look one of these bums in the eye, and to tell him “No!” In twenty-five years of preaching, I cannot remember a single instance where the evidence showed a single one of these $15 bums to have told the truth, and for later evidence to vindicate that he was indeed a case worthy of our benevolent concern. Think that over. My guess is that nearly every preacher or elder in the land could truthfully make the same or a similar statement.

Let me propose, if you have not already adopted such a procedure, that you begin not giving out any money until you have verified the genuineness of the need, and the truthfulness of the one beseeching your help. What am I suggesting? I propose that you invest a couple of dollars in a telephone call to the congregation where this person claims to be a member. In the first place, any faithful church would prefer to help its own, if they are in need. In those instances in which I have called preachers or churches cited to me as “references,” I have not yet had a one of them to advise me to give the beggar any money. When I called a Louisiana church where a certain dead-beat was supposed to be a member, I was told: “Don’t give that bum one red cent. He won’t work I We got him job after job. He quickly lost each one of them. Thinking perhaps he had some kind of personality problem, we bought him a set of tools so that he could work for himself. He just flat won’t work.” You know how much I gave him? Not one red cent!

My own experience has been that the request for a name and a telephone number of someone who knows him usually highly “insults” the beggar, and he goes off in a huff, before you even have time to call the telephone number he gave you, if he waits long enough to give you a number. A woman passing through Marion a few months ago, and who wanted me to bring her $15 to the bus station, somehow could not remember the name and address of a solitary preacher who knew her, though she claimed to have been a member of the church for thirty years. Though my wife was with me, this woman was highly insulted when I asked her to step outside of the bus station, or into an office offered to us by the bus station, that we might discuss her “need.” Suffice it to say, I also did not give her one red cent.

Probably someone is ready to say, “That’s the way with those Antis. They just won’t help anybody.” Let me just say this in reply to that: I do not intend to give money to anybody whom the Lord specifically told me not to help. And that includes the lazy dead-beat who thinks either society or the church owes him a living.

In another instance, I called a Memphiss, Tennessee liberal preacher to “check-out” the story being told me by one of “their members.” The preacher said, “Would I like to get my hands on that fellow! I borrowed $600 to try to help out that fellow, and he gambled up half of it the first night and left town. Now I am paying off that $600 note in monthly installments.” In our city, the fellow ended up dealing repeatedly in stolen cars, under the guise that he knew a fellow who would like to buy it, “if you will only let me keep it a week or so in order that I might show it to him.”

A few months ago, one which represented himself to me as being a Nigerian gospel preacher wrote me a long letter telling me what a dreadful condition the widows and orphans left from the Nigerian civil war were in. He gave me the exact number of widows and orphans in each of the ten churches with which he had close contact. He wanted me to publish the report immediately in Truth Magazine. I almost fell for that one. But before publishing the report, I wrote Brother Wayne Payne, who then was working in Nigeria. Brother Payne replied immediately that he knew the fellow well who write me, and that he was a deliberate liar, and furthermore, that not a one of the ten churches he mentioned even existed! Yet I know of $600 his letter brought in, and no telling how much more he received from too generous hearted brethren.

Within the last six months I have had numerous inquiries about a certain Nigerian brother (Charles Onogwimoniya, alias Custom Esedekpahe) who apparently has written every brother and every church whose address he could get. He has even used more than one name in his pleading letters. I immediately sent him a $10 or $15 personal check when I received his first letter, as I imagine a host of other brethren did. I got “suckered” in that time. Upon inquiry from Brother Leslie Diestelkamp, I learned that this brother indeed was a brother, but that he is now somewhat demented, and should not be supported as a gospel preacher. Brother Diestelkamp at that time did recommend that small amounts might legitimately be sent to him because he was a needy saint. However, even that recommendation was withdrawn when it was discovered he was writing to people all over this nation, and under more than one name. A statement of warning to brethren regarding this brother was published in Truth Magazine just a few months ago. Yet I continue to receive chastising letters, containing many scripture references, from him because I have disregarded his further and frequent appeals.

Conclusion

What I am recommending is this: Attend promptly to every legitimate and scriptural need. But do not send sums of money to anyone anywhere, just because someone wrote you asking for it, unless you know the plea to be legitimate and the cause worthy. A host of deadbeats in this country are living off of gullible brethren, and some in foreign lands are trying to play the same game. Investigate before you send your money to help those who are scripturally your responsibility, as you have ability and opportunity. But by maintaining these professional beggars, you merely contribute to their further delinquency, and thus become a party to it. In an article to follow, I want to sound some similar warnings in the realm of evangelism.

 

TRUTH MAGAZINE XVII: 28, pp. 3-6
May 17, 1973

By Mason Harris

In previous articles we have mentioned that there are certain laws of life we need to understand if we expect to live a rich and rewarding life. Many of these are well known laws like the laws of gravity and cause and effect. When we work in harmony with these laws, they become tools in our hands for a richer, fuller life. When we work against them, they become as weapons to defeat our cause. A man becomes rich or poor, happy or sad, a success or failure, depending on how effectively lie uses these laws.

0ne of the laws of life we need to understand is the law of reproduction, or sowing and reaping. It is sometimes called the law of cause and effect. The apostle Paul expressed it in these words: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall lie also reap” (Gal. 6:7).

What a change could be brought about in this world if the people understood this law and used it to achieve the things in life they desire! What a difference it would make if we would always live in harmony with the laws of life, instead of trying to beat the system. Man is often frustrated by the desire to have his cake and eat it too, – or to enjoy the pleasure of one thing but to receive the reward of another. For example, many would like to sow to the flesh and reap of the spirit. But the law of sowing and reaping says this cannot be done.

To disregard this law is as foolish as to plant turnip seeds and confidently expect a crop of watermelons. Things do not just happen, as some suppose. But rather they come to pass as the result of action. This is the law of cause and effect.

A real problem in today’s world is that too many are busy taping band-aids on the effects of our problems instead of performing major surgery on the causes. The Lord spoke of this problem in this way: “Woe unto you, scribes, and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.” (Mt. 23:25-26) To eliminate undesirable effects, we must remove the cause.

If you are not pleased with what you are getting out of life, take a look at what you are putting into life. Sir Isaac Newton is reported to have said, “Every action is followed by an equal reaction.” This is just-another way of stating the same truth spoken by Paul, “Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.” Whatever we send out returns in kind to bless us, or to punish us. We get out of life what we put into it.

TRUTH MAGAZINE XVII: 28, p. 2
May 17, 1973

By Mason Harris

There are certain laws of life (law of gravity, cause & effect, etc.) we need to understand if we expect to live a rich and rewarding life. These laws are documented by the whole course of man’s history. When we work in harmony with these laws, they become tools in our hands for a richer, fuller life. When we work against them, they become as weapons to defeat our cause. A person becomes rich or poor, happy or sad, a success or a failure, depending on how effectively he uses these laws.

One of these is the law of time. It is written in Ecclesiastes 3: 1; “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”

Our society is characterized by restlessness. We are always on the move. There seems to be too little time for us to do the things we want to do. And each day our frustrations become greater. Often it seems that we are on an endless treadmill going nowhere. The sand is pouring through the hourglass of our life and yet there is so much left to do! The conflict within us mounts! We pop a pill into our mouth and gulp a drink to calm ourselves for the tomorrows which will be even more hectic than today!

A son waits anxiously for his father to return home from work-he expects his father to play catch with him. Daddy is late, but the little lad waits patiently. Finally, daddy arrives but he does not have time to play-he must hurry and eat, dress, and rush off to a meeting somewhere to discuss what can be done on the local scene-to curb juvenile delinquency. A daughter waits in vain for an opportunity to have a quiet, relaxed talk with her mother because with all the work, visiting, and entertaining, there just isn’t time.

Some would blame the lack of time for all their shortcomings. Yet, every day each of us receives 24 hours of time. Somebody says we need to organize our time. This sounds good, but the truth is time is already organized. There are 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, and 24 hours in a day.

What we need to do is synchronize our activities to blend with the time that is already organized. The wise man said there is a time for everything; there is a time to work and a time to play; a time to plant and a time to harvest. There is summer and there is winter. The wise farmer makes use of this Jaw of time and plants, cultivates, and harvests while the seasons permit in order that he may face the winter with sufficient provisions. May we be as wise in regard to preparation for Eternity!

A prophet of long ago said, “Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” (1 Kings 20:39-40) Notice once again the servant’s excuse for failing in his responsibility: “As thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” How descriptive this is of so many of us!

Parents have the responsibility of bringing up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. But think of how many parents have become “busy here and there” with no proper planning on the use of their time and then discovered their children were grown and gone from home without the training they needed. Christians have the responsibility of teaching others. How many of us have intended to talk with a certain person about their soul, but put it off because we were busy here and there, and then one day learned of their death?

This is true in the lives of so many. We become busy here and there, but without any real planning and without any real accomplishments. One thing should be obvious to most of us, and that is: While there is time for us to do the things we need to do, there is usually not enough time for us to do all the things we would like to do. This means we are ‘faced with a decision as to how we will use our allotted time.

In the continuation of our life we awake each day with twenty-four hours of unmanufactured tissue of our life. This is ours to spend, second by second, hour by hour, day by day, year by year, as we alone choose. It is ours to spend wisely or foolishly, in daydreams or in productivity, in hate or in love, in fear or in happiness, in selfishness or in contribution. But while it is our right to choose how it will be used, it is not our privilege to alter the penalty for time wasted or ill spent. For out of this time given to us each day we must make provision for this life and the life that is to come.

Instead of letting the hours of our life be spent in idleness, excessive devotion to business, vanity, and such like, let us decide what ought to have the priority in the use of our time. Then as we see each new day approaching, let us make plans as to how it will be used-putting first things first. Without such planning, we, too, may become “busy here and there” and neglect the important things in life.

TRUTH MAGAZINE XVII: 27, pp. 12-13
May 10, 1973

By Paul K. Williams

The Great Commission contains the marching orders for the church of Christ. It is Christ’s New Testament in brief, and the letters of the apostles spell out the details. I often use the three accounts of the Great Commission Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-47) to teach people what they need to do to be saved. But the Great Commission was given primarily to teach Christians what they must do.

There are five commands to the apostles recorded by Matthew and Mark. They are: (1) Preach the gospel. (2) To every nation. (3) To every creature. (4) Baptize the believers. (5) reach the disciples to observe all things commanded by Jesus. These commands spell out the primary duties of the apostles and of all those who would follow the apostles. And these are the commands by which we should measure the success or failure of the church.

When I see a congregation with two hundred members, a nice building, a faithful preacher, and a growing attendance, I generally judge it to be a good church. When we see such a church in a community, we feel the town is well served. But such is not necessarily the case. I fear that too often churches which seem to be “good” churches are failing woefully when measured by how they are carrying out Christ’s marching orders.

Preacher, elders and teachers should be judging their performance strictly by how successful they are in leading the congregation to carry out these commands. A church can seem successful while failing in every one of these five areas. Judge not by the size of the building, or the numbers attending, or the amount of the contribution. Judge not by the reputation of the preacher or of the elders. Judge solely by whether the gospel is being preached to every nation, to every creature, in such a way as to cause believers to be baptized, and by whether those baptized are being taught to observe all things commanded by Jesus.

TRUTH MAGAZINE XVII: 27, pp. 12-13
May 10, 1973