Truth Magazine

By J.S. Smith

Premillennialism is a system of religious belief wherein the kingdom of Christ does not now exist, but will be established as an earthly nation in the future. Jesus will sit on the literal throne of David in the city of Jerusalem and physically rule the world.

Premillennialism is built on one highly untenable principle: that when Jesus was incarnated, he intended to establish that earthly kingdom, but the Jews would not let him. Premillennialists ironically argue that the Jews were anticipating an earthly kingdom and Jesus came to establish an earthly kingdom and so the Jews pre-vented him. That doesn’t even make for good nonsense. If Jesus were establishing the kind of kingdom they wanted, why would they stop him?

Premillennialists will concede that the prophecy of Daniel 2:36-44 pointed to a kingdom being instituted in the first century A.D., but submit that the fulfillment was postponed until such a time as the Jews could be converted en masse to Christ and allow him to take his throne. But for prophecy to be accurate, it cannot be postponed. I predicted in 1992 that the Atlanta Braves were a team of destiny and would win the World Series. Am I therefore accurate because my prediction was merely postponed until October 1995? Of course not; the uncooperative Toronto Blue Jays proved me wrong.

The point is simple and unavoidable: Either the kingdom was established as prophesied or the prophets were false, Jesus was a failure and God is impotent. The postponement theory is an apology for God’s supposed downfall.

Look more closely at Daniel 2 and see if it allows for a postponement. Daniel said that four great empires would rule the world until God’s kingdom was set up. He identified the first as that of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, to whom he spoke. Tracing Daniel’s prophecy from that point, the next empire was the Medo-Persian(539 B.C.), less splendid and unified, but larger and more enduring. The third nation to follow was the Greek of Alexander the Great (330 B.C.). Then came Daniel’s fourth empire, the Roman, stronger, brutal and unrefined. “And in the days of the these kings the God of heaven will set up his kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever” (Dan. 2:44).

There is no way around the conclusion that God’s kingdom would be established in the days of the Roman empire, the period in which Jesus lived. Either Daniel’s prophecy was fulfilled in that era or it failed. We have shown that postponement of its fulfillment is tantamount to failure.

But did Jesus fail to set up God’s kingdom? Or did he set up a kingdom of different quality than the Jews anticipated?

Soon after baptizing Jesus, John the immerser was executed for the lusty whim of Herod. To this, the Lord “began to preach and to say, `Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matt. 4:17). It is undeniable that as Jesus began his ministry, he was under the impression that his messianic mission would succeed. He taught his early disciples to pray in Matthew 6:10 that the kingdom would come and instructed them in its gospel (Matt. 9:35).

In Matthew 10, he gave the twelve apostles supernatural powers and sent them into Judea to preach that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The Lord still thought its establishment was imminent.

Time and the Lord’s journeys brought him to Caesarea Philippi where he asked his disciples whom they thought he was. Peter confessed him as the Messiah, the one who was prophesied to institute the kingdom of God, and to him (and the other apostles, Matt. 18:18) was given the keys of the kingdom (Matt. 16:18-19). If the kingdom was not established in Peter’s lifetime, he carried those keys in his heart without ever using them. What a futile and pointless day was spent then in Caesarea Philippi!

But a short time later came the coup de grace. Matthew 16:21: “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”

Please understand it: from the very time that Jesus promised the keys of the kingdom to Peter, he began to sketch his impending crucifixion for them. If he were ever planning to establish an earthly kingdom with himself on its throne, death was sure to cramp those plans. Could it just be that this death would send him to a figurative throne over a spiritual kingdom?

Peter, fresh with the keys in his pocket, rebukes the Lord’s prophecy, thinking that death would prevent him from using those keys. Jesus, however, returns the rebuke, accusing Peter of being engrossed in the things of men, rather than God (Matt. 16:23). The Jewish/Premillennialist pre-occupation with putting Jesus on an earthly throne is labeled as self-serving and ungodly.

You can try to two-step around that promise all day long, but either Jesus knew what he was talking about or he is less than we think. The last of those early disciples would have died by A.D. 125 at the latest. If the kingdom did not come in their lifetimes, your Lord is a failure and only a dishonorable Premillennialist could continue to trust in him.

Of course, all Jesus predicted did happen. He entered the city of his demise upon a donkey to the sneers of the gentry and the cheers of the commoners. He was tried by the vindictive Jewish and Roman authorities and put to death on the cross. For the Jew, the fulfillment of the kingdom prophecy seemed to be postponed until the real Messiah came along. For the Premillennialist, the kingdom was postponed until the crown prince Jesus thinks it safe to emerge from his exile.

But, Peter, taking the keys of the kingdom out of his pocket and opening the door, teaches us better. “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ” (Acts 2:29-31). Reread the italicized words and keep looking for the kingdom. Christ sits on his throne, ruling a kingdom that transcends the lines of human treaties and boundaries. His kingdom is worldwide, claiming citizens in every corner of the globe, of every race, Jew or Gentile (Acts 10:34). “He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Tim. 6:15).

His church, promised in the same context as the kingdom in Matthew 16, is no afterthought, the feeble grasp at power of a failed revolutionary. His church is that kingdom of prophecy, established in the midst of the fourth empire since Babylon, a kingdom “which shall never be destroyed” (Dan. 2:44), and “which the gates of Hades will not prevail against” (Matt. 16:18), and “which cannot be shaken” (Heb. 12:28). Citizens are constantly being conveyed into her (Col. 1:13), and she will be delivered back to God, not born, when the Lord returns (1 Cor. 15:24).

Don’t count Jesus as a failed crown prince in Jewish-imposed exile. Revere him as the true King he is and attain citizenship in the empire of the saved. For if Jesus failed the first time, what makes you think he can succeed the next?

Guardian of Truth XLI: 20 p. 8-9
October 16, 1997

By Jarrod Jacobs

We live in an age when people do not think they are responsible for their actions anymore. When someone is an alcoholic, they say that the person has a “disease” of some sort. Some very eager doctors are trying to find a “gay gene” in the systems of certain people. Many are in favor of distributing birth control to high school children, the purpose being to protect children from the consequences of their actions.

We have a great and terrible problem in this country with people refusing to take responsibility for their actions, and we need to put a stop to it. God said, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezek. 18:20). When we read words like this, we need to realize that each individual is responsible for his actions, no matter how great or stupid they may be.

Notice please that the drinking that was going on was in the same category as “lasciviousness,” “lusts,” and “abominable idolatries.” For one to drink alcoholic drinks was to “run” with “excess of riot”! Does this sound like God was sanctioning these things? Does it sound like God considers a person’s lack of control “a disease”? Friends, these things are a sin in the sight of God, and we must not be partakers of people’s evil deeds (2 John 11).

This mind set is nothing new. In the garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, God asks them what they have done. Notice the answers that are given. Adam says, “The woman whom thou gayest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat” (Gen. 3:12). When God looked to Eve, she said, “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat” (Gen. 3:13). Very simply, they were refusing to take responsibility for their actions !

Drinking Alcoholic Drinks

When we see someone who is drinking intoxicating drinks, we need to remember the words of Solomon when he said, “Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder” (Prov. 23:29-32). We need to remember what Peter said in 1 Peter 4:2-4.

That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine (passed out drunk, wino), revellings (wild drinking parties, drunken debauchery), banquetings (social drinking occasions, lit. “a drinking”), and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you.

Homosexuality

In thinking about homosexuality, let us simply read what God has said over the years concerning this “lifestyle choice.” “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with woman-kind: it is abomination” (Lev. 18:22). Also, “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them” (Lev. 20:13). Does this sound like God approved of these peoples’ “lifestyle choice”? Please notice some New Testament passages that shed light on this subject. “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And like-wise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet” (Rom. 1:26-27). When he said it was “that which is against nature,” we know that you could search for the rest of your life and not find the elusive “gay gene” in a man or woman’s body!

No friends, God did not make anyone this way! Let us look on. Paul also said that this type of behavior was such that a person will not enter heaven if he is doing it (1 Cor. 6:9-10). He also said these things belong in the realm of the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21). This is not to say that a person who was a homosexual could not be saved. Clearly, the Corinthians had some that were homosexuals, but had since changed, obeyed the word of God, and were saved (1 Cor. 6:11). However, what we find today is a group of people who do not want to live up to their responsibilities, nor accept the consequences of their ungodly living. They claim that people who teach the truth are homophobes, or bigots who do not love them. What they need to realize is that the people who love them are the ones warning them of the wrath to come on them if they do not change!

The Distribution of Birth Control to

High School Students

In the case of distributing of birth control methods to unmarried teenagers, we see the very epitome of what we are talking about. Someone would say, “These teenagers are too young to be a daddy or mother.” This is true. The way for them to keep from being a parent before they have a chance to grow up is to instill our children with the values given in the Bible. The Hebrew writer said, “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge” (Heb. 13:4). Young people and old people need to realize that without marriage, they belong in the realm of whoremongers and adulterers when they decide they are going to fulfill their sexual desire regardless of what God has said. God in the very beginning sanctioned that the husband and wife were to be “one flesh.” No one else (Gen. 2:24)! When people decide that they are going to live ungodly, they need to realize that there are consequences that they will have to endure!

One Who Dies in Their Sins

Let me also say that if one dies in his sins, it is his own fault. In an age where the Bible is available in book form, computer disk, tapes, etc., and in a country with the freedom that we enjoy to openly read and study God’s word, there is no excuse for one not knowing about God’s word! It is high time that we accepted our responsibilities and learn that God has a plan for us, and if we refuse to listen, it is our own fault. Paul said, “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” (2 Thess. 1:7-9). Sadly, ignorance is no excuse for not obeying God’s will. Further, we read in Acts 17:30-31, “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.”

What are you going to do? Will you accept your responsibilities? Will you stop looking to your mother and father and blaming them for your problems? Will you stop blaming the environment in which you live for the problems you must face?

Jesus said, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24). Here Jesus gives six references to the individual to obey him. With these words, it is not your parents’ fault that you are not a Christian. It is not your parents’ fault that you have sinned and fallen short in the past (Rom. 3:23). It is not your living conditions that keep you from obeying God. It is up to you. Accept your responsibilities and obey God by believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, by repenting of your sins, by confessing your faith, and by being baptized (John 8:24; Acts 17:30; Matt. 10:32; Mark 16:16). Accept your personal responsibilities and live faithfully for God to the very end (1 Cor. 15:58; Rev. 2:10).

Guardian of Truth XLI: 20 p. 20-21
October 16, 1997

By Lewis Willis

Modern people have a lot of problems, too many to even mention in the areas of morals, economics, and politics. As serious as these problems are, they are given undue emphasis. Does that sound strange? The emphasis is misplaced because people have a greater problem than all of these combined.

The greater problem is spiritual in nature. It concerns the eternal destiny of our souls. Will we be saved? Or, will we be damned to an eternity in hell? This problem is as old as the ages. This is true because of sin. All of us have sinned (Rom. 3:23), and we must, therefore, be concerned with the consequence of our transgressions. It is, after all, sin which causes damnation. Salvation from sin will enable us to go to heaven. Thus, the question is: “Have I been saved from my sins?”

One of the points we have made in churches of Christ is that if people will do today what people did under the direction of the apostles, the result will be the same. When first century sinners heard the preaching of the gospel, they obeyed it and were saved from their sins. If we do the same today, why would the result not be the same? A rather obvious conclusion, would you not say?

Thus, I thought it might be advantageous to look at an example of conversion found in the New Testament. We will discuss the problem, the solution, and the blessings which followed. Many want to be saved like the thief, meaning they want to do nothing to be saved. He lived under another law, so his example is invalid for those of us living under the gospel. Hence, we will look at an example of salvation for people subject to the gospel. We will consider the salvation of the Corinthians.

The Problem

Their problem was sin. Paul explicitly describes the nature of their transgressions: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10). It is evident, when looking at this record of their sins, that they were not any different than modern people. People today have committed the same sins which they committed. So, our problem with sin is the same as theirs. If the problem has not changed, why would we change the solution to it?

The Solution

After telling these people of their sins, Paul added: “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:11). Something happened to these people which washed, sanctified, and justified them. What was it? One needs only look a few chapters beyond, to the 15th chapter, to discover how these sinners were washed, sanctified, and justified. When we find out what happened with them, we will know what is required of us.

Paul said, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain” (1 Cor. 15:1-2). He had preached the gospel. They had received it. By it he said they were saved, if they keep in memory what he preached. Would the same result attend a duplication of this action today? If the same gospel is preached, and received, will we be saved? Certainly!

But what did he preach when he preached the gospel? Let’s have Paul tell us: “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time” (1 Cor. 15:3-8).

Paul preached the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ to these sinners. Jesus died for all men (Rom. 5:8-9; Heb. 2:9). After his death, he was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea (Matt. 27:57-60). Three days later Jesus was raised from the dead (Matt. 28:1-8). Men die and are buried every day. But in the case of Jesus, he was raised from the dead! This validated the gospel. It is effective to save us from our sins and give us hope because of the resurrection (1 Pet. 1:3; 3:21). The resurrection is fact, and Paul cited the evidence of the eyewitnesses who saw him after God had raised him from the dead (Eph. 1:19-20). Because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, the Corinthians were saved by the gospel. Why will not that same gospel save us?

How The Blessing Came

Paul was the man who took the gospel to them. So we need only look at the record when he went there preaching the gospel to determine what, if anything, they did to be saved. Luke tells us of Paul’s arrival in Corinth (Acts 18:1). He worked there with Aquila and Priscilla as a tentmaker. But he also did something else. “And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ” (Acts 18:4-5). In other words, he preached the gospel to them.

Many opposed him, but he went to the house of Justus who lived next door to the synagogue. “And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized” (Acts 18:8). Today sinners must do the same things these Corinthians did. We must hear the gospel about the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, believe it, and then be baptized. When we do that, we will be washed, sanctified, and justified like the Corinthians. Will you be saved like the Corinthians?

Guardian of Truth XLI: 20 p. 17-18
October 16, 1997

By Dick Blackford

Most of my work as a gospel preacher has been with new congregations or small struggling ones in an effort to help them get back on their feet. I have only worked with two congregations that were self-supporting. All but one of those smaller works became self-supporting.

The pioneer spirit is the spirit of optimism. It takes that on the part of the preacher as well as the members, to be successful. It also takes a stick to-it-iveness and a determination not to let anything or anybody discourage you. It is the will not to let minor set-backs cause you to give up and quit.

In the early history of this country it was the pioneer spirit that made the difference in what this country was to become. A pioneer is one who goes before, preparing the way for others often with great difficulty, but with optimism, determination, and faith that it will be worth the struggle. The earlier settlers of this nation would cut trees and brush (the hard way) and make a path through the woods be-cause they believed there was something better on the other side. It was because of the pioneer spirit that this nation became great, blessed, and the most prosperous nation on earth. This happened, not without opposition, but with great sacrifice and great danger from man and beast.

An optimist is one who believes that good ultimately prevails over evil. It is the tendency to take the most hopeful or cheerful view of matters or to expect the best outcome. It is the practice of looking on the bright side of things. Most of the great accomplishments made in Bible history were because of the pioneer spirit of optimism and courage. Consider some examples:

The Spies Sent to Spy Out

The Land of Canaan

Hardly anyone remembers the names of the ten pessimists who said it couldn’t be done. Their names are given but I dare say that nobody reading this could name even one (Shammua, Shaphat, Igal, Palti, Gaddiel, Gaddi, Ammiel, Sethur, Nahbi, Geuel). Nearly everyone remembers the names of the optimists  Joshua and Caleb. The pessimists let every negative factor become an obstacle in the way of conquering the land. Here were the obstacles: (1) the people are strong, (2) the cities are walled and very great, (3) the Amalekites, Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Canaanites all dwelt in strategic areas, (4) the land eats the inhabitants, (5) all the people are men of great stature  giants, (6) We are like grasshoppers.

Their pessimism was contagious (Num. 14:1-10). The outcome was that the ten pessimists died by a plague and the Israelites that murmured were not allowed to enter the promised land and were told they would die in the wilderness (Num. 14:33-35; Rom. 15:4).

In the end, the optimists were right and all the obstacles of the pessimists were defeated. Joshua and Caleb, the two optimists, were the only ones of the original Israelites who entered the land. They were pioneers who blazed the trail. If you have read the account you know it wasn’t easy, but believing God would bless them they went for-ward with determination to the land that flowed with milk and honey be-cause they kept God in their plans and in their hearts and they put him first.

Rebuilding of the Walls of

Jerusalem under Nehemiah

The city and the people were in great distress: The city had been burned. Nevertheless, Nehemiah told the people of a God who had been good to him and he encouraged the people to rebuild the walls. His opportunism was contagious and the people said, “Let us rise up and build” (Neh. 2:18).

But Satan is not going to let children of God have their way without a fight. There was opposition, just as there is to any worthy endeavor. Sanballet, Tobiah and Geshem tried to discourage them. “They laughed us to scorn and despised us” (Neh. 2:19). They were mocked (4:1). Tobiah said, “Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone walls” (4:3). The enemies conspired to fight against those building the walls (4:8). The people had to be armed and ready to fight at the same time they were continuing the work  a tool in one hand and a weapon in the other. These were dangerous, difficult times. There was a plot and a trap set for Nehemiah (6:2). But, be-cause they remembered God, and because of the optimism of Nehemiah and the people, they finished the work ahead of time. If they had listened to the detractors it would never have been accomplished.

When David Fought Goliath

To look at and listen to Goliath was an intimidating experience to the Israelites. He was approximately 9′ 9″ tall. He wore a brass helmet and a coat of mail that would be extremely heavy for the average man but would have been the greatest protection of that day. Clarke’s Commentary comments: “Taking the proportions of things unknown to those known, the armor of Goliath is supposed to have weighed no less than 272 pounds, 13 ounces. Goliath was totally covered with armor, except for his forehead and eyes.” He had bronze armor on his legs and a brass shield between his shoulders. His iron spear weighed 20 pounds and a soldier bearing a shield went before him. Goliath’s faith in his gods to protect him was apparently not very strong. After much taunting and blasphemy from Goliath and his at-tempts to intimidate David and even discouragement from Saul (1 Sam. 17:10, 11, 23, 24, 26), David delivered a bold response in defense of the God of Israel (17:34-58).

To have the kind of faith exhibited by David you have to believe the Lord can and will bless those who sincerely serve him and that he will give the victory. You have to be an optimist. While all Israel, including David’s brothers, were saying Goliath is so big we can never kill him, David was saying Goliath is so big I can’t miss. If David had listened to the pessimists, the people of God would have been defeated and gone down in shame and disgrace. It would have given another occasion to the enemies to blaspheme. In all of Israel at that time, there was only one optimist. Think about that. What if he hadn’t been there and demonstrated faith in God?

The Apostle Paul

If anyone had reason or justification for pessimism, surely it was Paul (2 Cor. 11:23-32). How could he be so optimistic, considering his terrible experiences and knowing the comforts he could have continued to enjoy among the leaders of the Jews?

Paul was a trailblazer’s trailblazer. He traveled the inhabited world at that time and took the gospel to places where men had never heard it before. Many did not want to hear it and some who heard did not want to hear it again. Everywhere he went was like cutting a new path through the wilderness. He often went alone, or at the most, a few friends accompanied him. Not all remained loyal (2 Tim. 4:9-16). So how could he have such a positive outlook? He had the pioneer spirit  the spirit of optimism that with God’s help, everything would eventually turn out for the best (Phil. 4:4,13; Rom. 8:28,31; 2 Tim. 4: 16). What if Paul had not had such great faith and optimism toward the Lord’s work?

Jesus Was an Optimist and

Had the Pioneer Spirit

Jesus’ attitude expressed through his teachings is a contradiction of the dismal, pessimistic, forlorn, defeated spirit so often expressed in the name of Christianity. Were he here in per-son today, Christ would have little in common with many who bear his name.

From within and without the church there are those prophets of doom who have pronounced the death of the church universally and locally, and have (to their satisfaction) conducted its final rites. So much did our Lord believe in the cause of his kingdom that he gave several parables that express his optimism concerning the kingdom. They were based on:

The Phenomenal Growth of the

Kingdom (Matt. 13:31, 32)

It had a humble beginning  “the least of all seeds.” Often Jesus talked about small and unnoticed things, even comparing his kingdom to a grain of mustard seed. Smallness and humble beginnings never meant weakness or insignificance to Christ. We should re-call that his was a humble beginning, and so was the beginning of his kingdom.

It survived many trials, “When it is grown.” There was no question in Christ’s mind that it would survive and that it would grow, despite its trials. None of the trials of the early church could keep the kingdom from marching on. And as it marched, it marched not with the force of the sword but with the power of God. Imagine believing that a movement that did not depend on carnal force or carnal weapons could overtake the mighty Roman Empire with all its armaments and armies! What an optimist! Remember the image in Daniel’s dream (Dan. 2:38-45)? The stone that broke the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. That stone was the church.

It reached unbelievable proportions, “it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree.” From eleven followers of Christ at beginning of his ministry who had very little in common with each other, that small beginning reached the whole world and today our coins and calendars are numbered from his birth.

The Permeating Influence of the Kingdom

(Matt. 13:33)

Jesus’ optimism was not based on a flamboyant, explosive display of power or Madison Avenue techniques, but rather on the quiet, unpretentious yet relentless and undeniable influence it would have on millions of lives and countless civilizations through untold ages yet to come. It begins from within. The parable of the leaven does not speak of the visible increase of the kingdom (like the mustard seed parable). It speaks of the invisible inward change. Christ has placed the Christian as a bit of leaven hidden in his own part of the world. Small and insignificant as the Christian may think he is, he must never underestimate his potential. It is from those few Christians and their influence that congregations are started and over time, grow and flourish.

The Infinite Worth of the Kingdom (Matt. 13:44-46)

Jesus was an optimist not only because of the phenomenal growth and the permeating influence of the church, but also because of its infinite worth, of which many are unaware. How many had walked over the treasure hidden in the field without the least idea of its presence or worth? How many had given the pearl of great price only a passing glance, never detecting its real worth?

Conclusion

It is with the faith that God’s way is going to be victorious that brethren all over the country and all over the world continue to sow the seed, plant, and build. The key in each of the cases we have mentioned is that those who were successful trusted God. Pessimism is a form of unbelief. Israel was often punished for this, as in the case of the ten pessimistic spies who didn’t believe it could be done.

I know it takes money for any group to function. Say what you will about that. But it is the blood, sweat and tears that go into a congregation that gives each member that stick-to-it-iveness and that loyalty that when a congregation is struggling he doesn’t kick it when it is down or abandon it for something easier, some greener pasture where the hard work has already been done.

Through the years I have gathered quotations about pessimism and optimism. Among them are these:

“A pessimist is a guy who crosses his fingers when he says, `Good Morning. ‘

“When the pessimist thinks he’s taking a chance, the optimist feels he is grasping a great opportunity.”

“The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; the optimist, the opportunity in every difficulty.”

“For some reason, a pessimist always complains of the noise when opportunity knocks.”

“If it were not for the optimist, the pessimist would never know how happy he isn’t.”

“A pessimist can hardly wait for the future so he can look back with regret.”

At the Rocky Point Road congregation we are engaged in a pioneer effort. Whether we succeed depends on the faith of the members in God and his will that congregations be established and their optimism toward the Lord’s work at this place. We have met with opposition and detractors. As I look at what happened to the ten spies, I see that the Lord takes a dim view toward pessimists. Will we be like the two or the ten?

Guardian of Truth XLI: 20 p. 10-12
October 16, 1997