Truth Magazine

By Dennis L. Shaver

The attitude of some individuals, concerning religious matters, is just as we have suggested in the title. We are speaking not only of our denominational friends, but most especially of our own brothers and sisters in Christ. Those that are supposed to have brotherly love one for another, yet profess the above attitude when discussing the word of God.

It has been said that “one should never argue politics or religion.” In one way this statement is true. Arguments rarely are of benefit to any. However, discussions in which both sides keep an open mind can be of great benefit. We need not to prove our point, but rather, what does the Bible say. But, whenever one sees the beginning of a disagreement, one can see the barriers being thrown around the disputants. Then each one yells: “What! Me Wrong?”

If one disagrees with us concerning the gospel of Christ, we need to understand with who the disagreement is. We seem to always take it as a personal insult to our knowledge, and therefore great arguments follow. After all, we have to defend our reputation, dont we? When we understand with whom they are disagreeing, then we can understand that one does not defend his reputation. Samuel thought the people of Israel had rejected him, but God told him they had rejected Him (I Sam. 7:8). And, if they refuse to accept the truth, we need be sorry for them as the words of Christ shall judge (Jno. 12:48).

Too often we manifest the attitude that we are right and everyone else is wrong. The attitude of some is: “Ive already made up my mind, dont confuse me with the facts.” Then we have those who consider themselves infallible. “How could he ever think that I would be wrong on that point?” “Hes got some nerve, disagreeing with me.” Thus they, have the feeling that anything they say must be right, and how could anyone think they are wrong. The New Testament gives a good example of just this kind of attitude. In Acts 26:9 Paul states “I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.” Then in I Tim. 1:13 Paul says; “. . . but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly and in unbelief.” People today who feel they are always right, are just like the apostle Paul before he obeyed the gospel, ignorant and unbelieving. We are told in Jno. 8:32, “And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”

If we know the truth, have knowledge as we should, then we should know better than to believe our opinions are always right. The only time we can be sure we are right is when we agree with the word of God. The prophet Jeremiah stated in Jer. 10: 23, “0 Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his own steps.” In Prov. 12: 15 we read, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.” Prov. 14: 12, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death.” Let us be careful that our attitude does not send our soul to the eternal torments of – hell! Rom. 3:4, “God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar …” If we are not in agreement with the word of God, let us admit mistake and let the word of God always he accepted as true, and the opinions of men false.

TRUTH MAGAZINE, XVI: 30, p. 13
June 1, 1972

By Ronny Milliner

“. . . then the people did bide themselves in eaves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits” (I Sam. 13:6). In this verse the Israelites seem to be playing hide and seek with the approaching Philistine army. The children of Israel must have had the attitude that if the Philistines could not see them, then they would not have to fight.

By comparison, many of the brethren appear to be playing hide and seek with the rest of the world. There are those in this world who are seeking salvation. Yet many of us are hiding behind some sort of excuse and are not going out to meet them with the gospel. Some Christians bide behind other members. This type sits back and let the elders, preachers, or some of the other saints seek the lost. Then others will say that they do not know how to do personal evangelism. They tell of their shyness and of their fear of talking to people about religion.

In the latest figures I could find, there are about 142,500,000 people fifteen years old and older in the United States. (I do not mean to imply that the exact age of accountability is at the age of fifteen years.) There are estimated to be about 2,500,000 members of the Church of Christ in the United States. What would happen to the 140,000,000 if the Lord should come now? Also consider the unfaithful members included in the 2,500,000.

Brethren, we all have been left with the responsibility of declaring Gods plan of salvation to the lost. In Matthew 10: 27 Christ told His twelve disciples to proclaim what they bad heard from the rooftops. When was the last time you declared your faith from a “rooftop”? Paul was not ashamed of his faith in the gospel, but declared it boldly everywhere he went (Rom. 1: 16; Eph. 6:20). He urged people to be as he was (Acts 26:29; Gal. 4:12). We should not sit back and wait for the lost to come to us, but go out to find them. In the parable of the sower the one who sowed the seed had to go out to the ground. It would have been ridiculous for him to have sat back and waited for the ground to have come to him.

If we are going to play hide and seek, then we bad better make sure we are on the seeking side instead of the hiding side. We need to remember that we have competition in this seeking. While we should be seeking to save the world, the devil is “seeking whom he may devour” (I Pet. 5:8). The way the figures look, our opponent is winning by great odds. We had better stop hiding behind our excuses as the Israelites were hiding in caves, thickets, rocks, high places, and pits and get to seeking to save souls instead. “Youre it!”

TRUTH MAGAZINE, XVI: 30, pp. 12-13
June 1, 1972

By Larry Ray Hafley

Acceptable obedience in the sight of the Lord is not the mere mechanical performance of certain duties. God is interested in the heart that prompts the service; whereas man assumes that doing “what God says” is all that is important. The failure to see obedience as the Lord conceives it leads to vain and void sacrifice. Obedience is more than doing; it involves and includes more than physical activity.

In Israel

When God brought His people from beneath the power of Pharoah and the sting of the taskmasters whip, He did not immediately command specific, external duty. “Just do this and this, and it will repay me for having delivered you from Egypt.” This was not Gods way, and through Jeremiah He warned and reminded His people that it was not. “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh. For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you” (Jer. 7:21-23).

Isaiah wrote of a “sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters” (Isa. 1: 4-6). Like Sodom, they hid not their sin, rather they were proud of it; they declared it (Isa. 3:9)! Yet in all the muck and mire of wickedness, they ceased not to offer a “multitude” of sacrifices, therefore, God reproved them thusly:

“Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth; they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood” (Isa. 1:10-15).

Saul learned this lesson from Samuel and Amalek. He did not “utterly destroy” Amalek as God directed, but spared some “to sacrifice unto~the Lord” (I Sam. 15). From the lips of Samuel, there echoed the fundamental principle of acceptable service unto God. “Hath the Lord as greatdelight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (I Sam. 15:22). In like fashion, the Psalmist said, “For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, 0 God, thou wilt not despise” (Psa. 51:16, 17).

In Jesus Day

The Pharisees of Jesus day were meticulous moralists who scrupulously paid tithes and observed minute, detailed traditions. As far as the eye could detect, they were righteous unto men. But our Lord knew their hearts and openly revealed and rebuked their hypocrisy and iniquity. The difference between their profession and their actual condition is the difference between mans views of acceptable obedience as opposed to Gods. The divergent concept is enunciated by our Lord in Luke 16:15, “Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: For that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.”

Summary

God did not need the bulls and goats of sacrifice. The point and purpose of animal offerings was not to supply Gods lack, “For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine and the fullness thereof” (Psa. 50:10-12). Likewise, God does not need our contribution, our dimes and dollars. Fort Knox and the world are His! We are the needy ones. We need to learn obedience, to offer our hearts on the altar of crucified flesh. When we are awakened, quickened, and challenged in this respect, our spirits will be justified, our activities sanctified, and our God glorified.

TRUTH MAGAZINE, XVI: 30, pp. 7-8
June 1, 1972

By Billy W. Moore

Almost from the beginning of family life there have been family troubles. Trouble is defined as: “To agitate; disturb. To agitate mentally or spiritually; worry. To afflict physically; ail. To put to inconvenience.” (Webster)

The Occasion for the First Family Trouble. Unto Adam and Eve were born two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain grew up to become a tiller of the ground, while Abel became a keeper of the sheep. Each of them “brought … an offering to the Lord.” (Gen. 4:3,4) They would not have known to bring an offering if they had not been taught to do so. Perhaps Adam and Eve had made many offerings, thus the boys would have observed such as they grew up. Your children will never know how to give unto God an offering of praise, of talent, or of money if they are not taught. In our materialistic society the first thing most people think about when they make more money is getting more “stuff and things” for self. (Cf. Luke 12:16-19)

Cain and Abel brought an offering because God commanded it. While the command is not recorded in the Genesis account, we know such was made. “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.” (Heb. 11:4) Since “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10: 17), it is necessarily inferred that God told Abel what to offer. Knowing that God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34), we also necessarily infer that God told Cain what to offer.

God had no respect to Cain and to his offering because he did not offer what God commanded.

Being a tiller of the ground, Cain brought an offering of the ground. Thus, he substituted what he thought would be alright for that which God commanded. Cain did not do well (Genesis 4:7). There are still some who contend that it does not matter what you do in religion, just so you are honest and sincere. There is nothing in the text which infers that Cain was not honest and sincere in his offering. He just did not offer what God commanded. He did make an offering, which is more than some people do. In fact some church members do not make much of an offering. They do not give bountifully, but sparingly. After all we have to look out for ourselves, they say (Read 2 Cor. 9:6-7). Remember, “God is not mocked.” (Gal. 6:7). Cain did worship God, which is better than some do. Some members of the church choose to tend to their business, gather their harvest, or pursue pleasure rather than worship God. Cain was not all bad, but out stripped many of today’s citizens.

Jude wrote of some who “have gone in the way of Cain.” (Jude 11) The way of Cain is the way of the transgressor. (Cf. 2 John 9-11) It is the way of vain worship. (Cf. Matt. 15:9) It is the way of rebelling against God. He evidently did not like what God commanded, or found it inconvenient to obey, so he rebelled against God and His way, and substituted his own way. Thus, the way of Cain is the way of substitution. God says, “Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain.” The way of Cain is the way of woe.

The Trouble Itself. Cain’s reaction upon learning that God did not respect his offering, i.e. that his worship was not acceptable: “Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.” (Gen. 4:5) His anger was against his brother, though Abel had done nothing wrong. How often when people learn that their service to God is not in keeping with God’s way, they will become angry with those who are following the right way, rather than correcting their own lives. Thus, they make the matter worse.

Cain’s countenance fell. The word countenance comes from a Latin word “continere,” meaning to hold together, repress, contain. The idea being that the expression of his face showed disapproval and anger. God said, “If thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.” Cain did not control his anger, but let it get the upper hand. “And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.” (Gen. 4:8)

Why would he kill his brother? “Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.” G John 3:12) This is envy! Envy “is the feeling of displeasure produced by witnessing or hearing of the advantage or prosperity of others.” (W. E. Vine) God has charged Christians, “Be ye angry and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” (Eph. 4:26)

Cain’s works were evil because they were not what God commanded; Abel’s were righteous because they were what God commanded. Yes, it does make a difference what we do in serving God. What about the works of some men today who are acclaiming service to God? Consider: burning incense, making of images, instrumental music in worship, church sponsored recreation, etc. These are done by honest sincere people who are claiming to be serving God.

The First Family Trouble Developed Over Religion. Cain should have repented when he learned that his offering was not acceptable. How difficult it is to work repentance. Some just will not admit, “I am wrong, I have sinned.” Cain should have rejoiced that his brother was acceptable unto God. But some men can never rejoice in the goodness of others.

Many other families have had trouble over religion. I suspect it shall always be so in this world. The Lord once said, “A man’s foes shall be they of his own household.” (Matt. 10:36) Some in a family will believe and obey the truth, while others will not. Sometimes those who do not obey the truth will come to hate those who do.

The Consequences of the First Family Trouble. First, an innocent man died. This is frequently the case, the innocent are made to suffer in family trouble. Children suffer when their father and mother have trouble. A mother is hurt when her child is in trouble. Second, Cain was “cursed from the earth” (Gen. 4: 1112). The earth would not yield her strength for him. Third, Cain was to become a fugitive and a vagabond. He begged for mercy. The Lord placed a mark upon him, and decreed that whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken sevenfold. (Gen. 4:13-15) Fourth, Adam and Eve suffered greatly as a result of this family trouble.

How To Avoid Family Trouble. While I make no claim to being an expert in family troubles, and certainly do not seek to involve myself in the trouble of other families, yet through years of Bible study, twenty years of gospel preaching, and observing trouble in many families, I can offer some suggestions as to how to avoid family trouble. These suggestions are merely Bible principles. For what they are worth:

1. Do not hold anger and jealousy in your heart. “An angry man stireth up strife.” (Prov. 29:22) “He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly.” (Prov. 14:17)

2. Husbands love your wives as your own bodies. (Eph. 5:28-29) There will be no lack of trust, no jealousy, where this is obeyed. This will prevent criticism of your wife before others, which often leads to family trouble.

3. Wives see that ye reverence your husbands (Eph. 5:31) and submit unto your own husbands. (Eph. 5:23) A contentious woman is sure to cause family trouble. (Prov. 21:9, 19)

4. Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath. (Eph. 6:4) “The forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.” (Prov. 30:33)

5. Children obey your parents. (Eph. 6:1) Disobedient children are a cause of much family trouble. The rod and reproof give wisdom; but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. (Prov. 29:15) A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her that bare him. (Prov. 17:25)

6. Practice the golden rule. Do unto others as ye would have them do unto you. “A soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger.” (Prov. 15: 1) Wouldn’t you rather have others speak to you with a soft answer instead of grievous words? Sharp words spoken in haste cause much family trouble. Be kind, courteous, and thankful, as you would have others be unto you.

7. Do, not try to run the lives of others. Trying to manage your children’s home could cause serious family trouble. Trying to tell someone how to raise their children also causes trouble. (Usually those who know the most about how to raise children have had no first hand experience.)

8. Try to implant in the mind of each member of the family the importance of doing the will of God. If everyone in your family believes in God and wants to please him, there is less chance of serious family trouble ever developing.

If family trouble does arise, do not blame the Lord for it. The Lord has a balm for every wound, a blessing for all who seek it. If you have been the cause of family trouble, repent of your sins and make things right with your family and right with God. There is enough sin and sorrow in this life without having to live with it in your own family. God help us to be close as families, and to live close to Him.

TRUTH MAGAZINE, XVI: 29, pp. 8-10
May 25, 1972