Truth Magazine

By Rick Christian

The Bible, God’s book, is emphatic in instructing us to study. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). There must be a constant hungering and thirsting (Matt. 5:6) after the perfect law of liberty (Jas. 1:25) that we may grow spiritually (2 Pet. 3:18). The motive for such diligent effort is the salvation of our souls (“Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls” — Jas. 1:21), and recognition that in the final day I will be judged by Jesus’ words (“He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” — John 12:48).

What a noble example we find in the Bereans who “. . . searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). They respected the word of God enough to spend time in the open word. Oh for such reverence and respect today such as prompted the people of Ezra’s day to stand up when the book of God was opened in their presence in Nehemiah 8:5. This kind of action recognizes the word as to its origin, from God, and who we are in relationship to it. David said in Psalm 136:23, speaking of God, “Who remembered us in our low estate. . . .” That’s why he could say in Psalm. 56:4, “In God I will praise his word, In God I have put my trust.”

Sadly, not everyone handles aright the word of truth. By this there are found hindrances in their study. Some, for example, may read but don’t study. They may very well have read the Bible from cover to cover several times. But, to ask them about what they read, they don’t know. Why? They didn’t study. Some get the Bible and read but they don’t ever intend on understanding anything they read. Jesus said in John 8:32, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Jesus said you can know what the truth is! Paul said in Ephesians 3:3, 4, “How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ).” The apostle Paul said we could understand. Thus, God expects us to understand his word! “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17). There may be others who read the Bible but with the wrong attitude. Let’s examine some essential attitudes to proper Bible Study: Honesty, Sincerity, Submissiveness, Application To Self, and Open mindedness.

Honesty

In the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23, the sower went forth and sowed seed and that seed, the word of God, fell on four different soils (hearts). Of the four soils (hearts) only one received that word properly. This was the heart which was good and honest (Matt. 13:23). This heart has a love for the truth and does not take pleasure in unrighteousness (2 Thess. 2:9-12). It is honest in that it is fair and truthful. In our study of the Bible, God’s book, we must be fair and honest in our examination of Scripture. As we allow God to speak to us through his word we take a good and honest look at ourselves in respect to our relationship to God. With a poor and broken spirit (Matt. 5:3) and contrite heart (Isa. 66:2), we meekly (Matt. 5:5) submit ourselves to do the will of God. Honesty in study is not reading the Bible to prove a preconceived doctrine. Honesty is studying to find the doctrine of God and a willingness to submit to it. A good illustration of this is what James wrote in James 1:23-25, “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” Is an individual really being honest with himself as to his physical appearance if he looked in the mirror and saw a big glob of barbecue sauce on his face and didn’t wipe it off, but walked away from the mirror acting like his ap- pearance was fine because it had been on there for days? What should he do? Wipe the sauce off! The same is true in spiritual things! If we are honest in our study, when we behold a stain of sin which we have possibly been practicing for years, honesty is not finding an excuse to leave it there but doing what God commands to clean our life up.

Application To Self

Did you ever study the Bible, or listen to a sermon and hear a passage of Scripture or series of Scriptures which applied specifically to you but you didn’t make the application to yourself but thought, “Boy, I sure am glad so-in-so is here because they really needed that!”? Friend, it is possible they did need that, but did I need that too? If we are honest in our study we will first apply it to self. Paul wrote Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:16, “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” In 2 Corinthians 13, Paul reminds the brethren that all the time they were spending in examining Paul as to whether or not he was a genuine, bonafide apostle or not they had forgotten someone, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.” Friend, it wasn’t until the prophet Nathan told David, “Thou art the man” in 2 Samuel 12:7 that David got the point that he was the one Nathan was making reference to in the short parable he taught to convince David of his sin he had committed with Bathsheba. David surely thought this story would not apply to him and even pronounced sentence upon the other! David’s anger that was kindled against “the man” (v. 5) was now changed as he took a good and honest look at himself. “And David said unto Nathan I have sinned against the Lord.” 

Sincerity

 

Sincerity in study is most important. Sincerity is an interesting word. When Jesus stated in the sermon on the mount, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God,” the word pure comes from the same root word from which we get our word sincerity and it means without wax. It has the idea of a sculptor who is shaping out a rock and makes a mistake and sticks wax in to gloss the thing over. You see, the idea from the spiritual standpoint is, its sincerity, without wax, there’s not a flaw in it, it’s real, it’s not something glossed over. 

Sincerity in study involves putting that which is studied to action. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Friend, if we sincerely love the Lord, then we will keep what he says to be true. The epitome of insincerity is hypocrisy. This individual only pretends to love God and his brethren for when opportunity arises, the behavior is such which violates the previous so-called pure activity. Remember, sincerity is without wax. If we love the truth we will practice it purely. Isn’t it interesting what the good and honest heart of Matthew 13 which received the word of God properly did? “. . . Which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty”(v.23). If I am sincere in my study I will actively exercise God’s commands to bear fruit of what I have read and understood. I will be holy in my manner of life. I will be kind in my speech, always having it seasoned with salt not gossiping nor slandering another’s good name. I will be reverent in worship. I will not play like I’m a Christian but I will be truly committed to the Lord, remembering and applying what I’ve studied. Remember, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in he name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Col. 3:17). I am reminded of what Joshua bid the people of God during his day in his farewell address in Joshua 24:14, “Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.”

Open Mindedness

The final point I would like for us to consider is the importance of being open minded. I heard a preacher say one time that we don’t need to be so open minded that our brains fall out. I emphatically agree. There is a limit to our open mindedness, for we must be lovers of truth and haters of every wicked way. But there is a need for open mindedness in study of the Bible. The apostle Paul spoke of matters of indifference in Romans 14 and he stated that each must be persuaded in his own mind (v. 5). In these matters, we move by faith and not by doubt (v. 23). As I study on these matters of indifference or opinion, I need to certainly have conviction, moving by faith, but I must exercise open mindedness in my study recognizing that it was solely a matter of opinion. Suppose I was not open minded. I might bind my opinion on another thus causing that brother to stumble or fall which is a specific violation of Romans 14:21. I have witnessed brethren being so dogmatic in their convictions on various matters of indifference that they weren’t open minded enough to receive those who differed with their matter of judgment. Paul says in Romans 14:3, “Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.” When studying matters of indifference we should be open minded enough to consider our conviction in light of the Scriptures as well as our brothers in light of the Scriptures that we may receive one another consistent with what Romans 14 teaches.

Those who submit to the Lord must be poor in spirit as already stated in this article. Thus, they cannot be arrogant. Many a close minded people exemplify this kind of attitude. They will not open their minds up to see the truth even in matters of doctrine. Jesus spoke of those in his day who had ears dull of hearing and eyes they have closed (Matt.

13:15). They were not open minded to the truth but were set in their Jewish ways. When we close our hearts to the truth, we shut ourselves off from every opportunity of absorbing lessons which will course our path to heaven and open our hearts up to prejudice and stereotyping.

I close with the words of Jesus in John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

By Joe R. Price

The Bible is not the product of man, but of God. Skeptics have ridiculed it, modernists have assailed it, the worldly-minded have reviled it, and false teachers have twisted it. Still, it stands as the Book of Books, God’s library of truth and refuge of hope for a lost world. “Let Your mercies come also to me, O Lord —Your salvation according to Your word” (Ps. 119:41). The Bible lights our way of escape from the darkness of sin and death (Ps. 119:105). God in his mercy has revealed his mind and will to mankind. We hold forth the Bible as the only source of communication from God to man.

The Bible Is Revelation From God

A revelation uncovers or unveils something. In our study, that which has been revealed is the mind of God. Without divine revelation man would be left to wonder, guess, and speculate about God’s will. One person’s conclusions would be as good as another, and every conclusion would be unreliable. But, God has not left man to grope in uncertainty and doubt. God wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:3-4). He has made known his mind through the procedure we call revelation. “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God expect the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God” (1 Cor. 2:10-12). Simply put, divine revelation is how God communicated his mind to his prophets, who then taught it to others (Eph. 3:3-5). The Bible is the revelation of God’s dealings with man and of God’s precepts for man. Both the Old and New Testaments have been revealed by God. While God used various ways and means to reveal himself during Old Testament times, he has now spoken to us in his Son Jesus (who is “The Word,” Heb. 1:1-2; John 1:1-3, 14-17). The gospel which the apostles of Jesus Christ preached was made known to them by revelation, not by human genius, cunning or craft (Gal. 1:11-12; 2 Pet. 1:16).

The Bible Is Inspired By God

The process by which God’s revelation was reliably communicated is called inspiration. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). The Holy Scriptures have been “God-breathed” (vv. 15, 16). Commenting on the meaning of the Greek word theopneustos (translated “inspiration of God”), B.B. Warfield said it “has, however, nothing to say of inspiring or of inspiration: it speaks only of a ‘spiring’ or ‘spiration.’ What it says of Scripture is, not that it is ‘breathed into by God’ or is the product of the Divine “inbreathing” into its human authors, but that it is breathed out by God, ‘God-breathed,’ the product of the creative breath of God.” (I.S.B.E., III:1474). He defined inspiration as the “supernatural influence exerted on the sacred writers by the Spirit of God, by virtue of which their writings are given Divine trustworthiness” (Ibid., 1473). Inspiration, then, is the miraculous means by which God has accurately published his word to the world.

The Bible Is Verbally Inspired

Many believe Bible inspiration amounts to God giving artistic latitude to the writers of the Bible — allowing them free rein to express in their own words the ideas God gave them. However, the Bible teaching on inspiration is very different. The Bible boldly declares that God gave men the very words he wanted them to write. This is called plenary inspiration (full, complete, extending to every part).

1. The Old Testament contains the statement “thus saith the Lord” or its equivalent over 2,000 times. The very words of the Old Testament are attributed to God! One who believes the Bible accepts its verbal inspiration.

2. Men spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit: “. . . knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:20-21). Neither prophecy nor its fulfillment was produced by human wisdom, power or manipulation. The prophets of God spoke the word of God as the Spirit of God gave them utterance. 

3. God put His words into the mouths of His prophets. “I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him” (Deut. 18:18). While this prophecy was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the principle of verbal inspiration it established is seen in the Old Testament prophets (Acts 3:22). David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, said “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue” (2 Sam. 23:2). God put his words in the mouth of Jeremiah (Jer.

1:9). Zechariah observed the process of revelation used by God when he wrote, “Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets” (Zech. 7:12). God sent his words to Israel by His Spirit through the prophets.

4. Verbal inspiration is declared by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:13. “These things (God’s revelation to the apostles by the Holy Spirit — vv. 10-12, jrp) we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” The Holy Spirit guided the apostles of Christ into all truth by giving them the very words they were to use when preaching it (cf. John 16:13-15). The Spirit “moved” or drove these holy men of God to speak (and write) the very words of God (2 Pet. 1:21).

5. What was first spoken by God’s prophets was then written down for the perpetual use of man. Inspired words which were put into written form (Scripture) were regarded with equal force as when God’s prophet spoke them. Whether God’s word has been conveyed in oral or written form, the message is the same and its authority equally binding (cf. 1 Cor. 14:37; 2 Thess. 2:15). The written word of God, just like the oral word of God, is verbally inspired.

To illustrate how inspired Scripture was produced, let us turn our attention to Jeremiah. God put his words into Jeremiah’s mouth and he spoke all that God commanded him (Jer. 1:9, 17). The words Jeremiah spoke were the words of God (cf. Jer. 2:1-2). Not only did God put his words into Jeremiah’s mouth, he later commanded Jeremiah to write those words in a book (Jer. 36:1-2). Jeremiah’s scribe, Baruch, wrote all the words of the Lord which Jeremiah spoke to him (36:4, 17-18). A roll of a book was produced from which “the words of the Lord” were read (36:8). The “words of Jeremiah” (36:10) were regarded as equivalent with the “words of the Lord” (36:11). The Scripture which was produced, the book of Jeremiah, originated with God and its transmission was by the power of God. The inspired word of God was first spoken by Jeremiah and then put into written form (Jer. 36:17-18). Both were verbally inspired.

Conclusion

The Bible has come to us by a process of revelation and inspiration (cf. Luke 24:44-45; Acts 8:28; 1 Tim. 5:18; 2

Pet. 3:16). The word of God has been revealed to men by the power of the Holy Spirit. These men first spoke God’s word and then put it into written form for all the world to read, learn, believe, and obey (Rom. 1:5, 16-17; 16:24-25; Eph. 3:3-5; 2 Tim. 2:15).When God’s word was written it was to be circulated from place to place (1 Thess. 5:27; Col. 4:16). God’s word is living, active and incorruptible (Heb. 4:12; 1 Pet. 1:22-25). It will accomplish God’s will in men’s lives (Isa. 55:10-11). God wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. His truth is still available today. We call it, “The Bible.”

By Jim McDonald

“And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: and Jesus also was bidden, and his disciples, to the marriage”( John 2:1f). Inasmuch as God himself saw the need that man has for a mate and filled that need with the creation of Eve, it was altogether fitting that Jesus should attend such a ceremony. We have both attended and performed wedding ceremonies here in the States and have witnessed a great number of Philippine weddings. The first Filipino wedding I saw was in Ilocos Norte. A couple had been living together for several years; they had conceived and borne several children, but they had never been married legally. They came in contact with the gospel. Brethren knew of their marital status and would not baptize them until first they legalized their union. So, surrounded by well-wishers, future brethren, and their children, they were joined together as husband and wife and then carried to the south China Sea and were baptized. I often am asked about the faithfulness of the many who are baptized there. I cannot attest of all, but this couple has remained faithful during the past four and one-half years since their wedding day. A year or so ago there was a “mass wedding” at the same place. Five couples (I think) living in the same condition, legalized their union before brethren would immerse them. I suspect that not all brethren in the Philippines have that sort of conviction these Ilocos brethren have, but they ought to.

Planning for weddings may bring problems for both families of the engaged couple. This is true not only here in the States but there in the Islands as well. Some problems have a common denominator: finances. Wherever there is a wedding someone has to “foot the bill.” Here in the States it is normally the parents of the bride who bear the cost of such, but in the Philippines, it is the parents of the groom.

Superstitions abound about weddings, here and there. Recently a brother wrote to tell of a problem he had. His daughter planned a September wedding this year. Later his son determined he would also marry this year. So what is

the problem with that? Only that the future daughter-in- law’s parents are Catholic and they believe the prevalent superstition that if a brother and sister both marry within the same year, something bad will happen to one or the other of their families. The problem was solved when an “authority on the superstition” said that if the brother and sister should marry in the same ceremony, there would be no problem. A hurried September wedding was planned for the son and his fiancee.

Do we smile at such? It isn’t only in the Philippines that superstitions exist about marriages. When I was about to perform my first wedding ceremony (45 years ago), we were arranging a place for where the wedding party would stand since it was to be a “home wedding.”  The bride’s mother was horrified at our selection because it meant that the wooden slats in the floor ran “the wrong way.” According to the superstition, if the couple should stand on different slats so that “cracks” were between them, they would have friction all their married life. To insure harmony and peace, they must both stand on the same slat! We changed the position for the wedding party. Today the couple is still together. He is an elder in the Lord’s church and they have fine grown children, all Christians. One could never find a more loving, happy couple, but I don’t think standing on the same slat in the floor had anything to do with that!

At one time every married couple here in the States had a couple of witnesses of their wedding who also signed their licenses. In the Philippines all attending the ceremony are invited to sign the licenses as witnesses. Philippine tradition is that the first witnesses are designated as “compadres” or “kumpadres” which means “co-parents.” The bridal couple views them with great respect and regards them as a part of their family. In the eventuality of discord between the couple, it is the duty of the compadres to help them mend their ways.

On our last trip to the Philippines, brother Marrs and I arrived at the place we were scheduled to speak and found a wedding in progress. At such social occasions as wed- dings (and funerals) brethren use these as opportunities to preach the word, and so we did! Both brother Marrs and I preached that day to a house full of both brethren and guests; and sitting in front of the whole audience for the whole preaching service was the newly wed bride and groom, still dressed in all their wedding finery! Addenda: Eight (I think) souls responded to the invitation and were baptized into Christ.

Support Needed

The following letter came from Virgil B. Villanueva, Eastside church of Christ, 9802 Lambayang, Sultan Kudarat, Republic of the Philippines upon his having heard of the death of Cecil Willis.

“The news about Cecil’s death is very much shocking. Truly we have lost a valiant and fearless soldier of the cross. To the Filipino brethren, we have lost a real friend and brother with big, big heart. Oh his love and deep concern for the Philippine work is far beyond measure; he always stood ready to give a helping hand many times going out of himself, stretching out his head to find a way how he could extend help. My family and I are one among those numerous brethren who were benefited by such a generosity of a brother who looked not only for his own but that of others also (Phil. 2:4; 1 Cor. 10:24, 33). He will be long remembered among us, though dead he will continue to speak. The many congregations that were started, church buildings that were erected, will stand high and tall to remind us of Cecil. He is there waving his hands to every preacher who goes out to preach.

“Brother Jim, I now surely lost Cecil’s support. The last letter I got from him was dated May 3, with the enclosed support for that month. To date, I have not yet received any word from his son-in-law about his death. Wally Little wrote me about it. . . . if you know of any church or individual who is interested in having a part in sharing financially in the most noble work the world ever had of reaching and saving the lost for Christ please, endorse me for support. I’ve lost $100 a month, supposed to be $50 starting this month as per the last letter of Cecil to me.”

Brother Vilanueva had been supported by Cecil’s generosity and love for many years. Virgil has had his own share of woes. His son was mortally wounded and efforts to save his life brought great and burdensome bills to Virgil. Several helped Virgil to bear this burden, including, I believe, Cecil. Cecil cannot continue his monthly support of this one whom he felt worthy. Is there some brother or church that will pick up what Cecil can no longer do that the work Virgil is doing might go on in the civil strife-torn region in which he lives?

By Steve Willis

This is from a review of a review of their new publication: The Mystery of Salvation. The book has not been available to the reviewers at the time of writing, but this is based on interviews and reports from England:

“On the 11th day of January, Anno Domini MCMX- CVI, the Doctrine Commission of the Church of England published a 220-page report, The Mystery of Salvation. There the theologians of the ‘middle way’ declare there is indeed a Hell. But it’s not a place of suffering, physical or otherwise. It is ‘total non-being.’

“‘Total non-being,’ marvels a skeptical [sic] Peter Kreeft, a philosopher at Boston College and author of A Handbook on Christian Apologetics. ‘Hell exists, but if you’re there, you don’t. They endorse the existence of what isn’t, the being of non-being. How very inclusive.

“Two weeks after its publication, The Mystery of Salvation is still non-existent at the Anglican Church of Canada’s headquarters in Toronto. But according to media reports from London, the document treats the bare-bones existence of hell as a logical necessity. ‘No one can be compulsorily installed in heaven,’ it is quoted as saying. ‘The possibility remains for each human being of a final rejection of God’” (Alberta Report, “Hell hath no fury — at all” [Jan 29, 1996], 32).

Some of this doctrine seems similar to the Jehovah’s Witness teaching on hell, and not a lot different than that presented by Edward Fudge in his book The Fire that Consumes. Fudge is mentioned and answered in a book, Repent or Perish (With a Special Reference to the Conservative Attack on Hell) by John H Gerstner. (Note: Gerstner to holds the Calvinist doctrine that children are born in guilt and in sin and he denies baptismal regeneration.)