Truth Magazine

By H.A. (Buster) Dobbs

Some are confused over whether Mark 9:38-41 instructs the disciple of Jesus to accept as saved those who teach things contrary to sound doctrine, especially concerning the plan of redemption. The passage reads:

John said unto him, “Teacher, we saw one casting out demons in thy name; and we forbade him, because he followed not us.” But Jesus said, “Forbid him not: for there is no man who shall do a mighty work in my name, and be able quickly to speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is for us. For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink, because ye are Christ’s, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward” (ASV).

A popular writer commented:

Remember when the apostles wanted Jesus to condemn another minister who didn’t belong to their group? It’s the story of Mark 9. John and the other disciples had seen another fellow doing some incredible things  casting out demons, changing lives. And what’s more, the man was giving credit to God. He was doing it in the name of Christ. He just wasn’t a part of the apostles’ team.

Everything about him was so right: Right results, right head. But wrong group. John wants to know if he did the right thing in telling the man to stop. John’s not cocky, he’s confused. So are many of our people today.

The writer then boasted about how much he had learned from a Presbyterian, a Catholic, a Nazarene, a Pentecostal, and a Baptist. He described people in these denominational groups as sincere in heart and giving God the glory. He concluded that anyone who is doing good works, in the name of Jesus, is acceptable to God while remaining in his sectarian affiliation. The test of fellowship suggested is, “First, look at the fruit. Is it good? Is it healthy? If the person is bearing fruit, be grateful! A good tree can-not produce bad fruit, so be thankful that God is at work in groups other than yours.” He announced that “a much more tempered John would reduce it to this: `Whosoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God has God living in him’ (1 John 4:15).

The unavoidable conclusion from this line of reasoning is that the only condition of eternal salvation is to confess Jesus as the Son of God. If that is true, then every professing Christian religious group is secure and there is no need for churches of Christ to exist. The charitable thing is to sell our property, give the money to the poor, and join the nearest denomination.

If the conclusion is false and the souls of those who do not precisely obey the commands of God are in jeopardy, then we have an obligation, before God, to expound unto them the way of God more accurately. The concern is not to prove “us” to be right and all others to be wrong, but for the safety of priceless souls. It is not done for boasting and seeking dominion over others. It is a matter of keeping our trust as good stewards and caring enough for the alien sinner to help him understand what he needs to do to have the everlasting benediction of God. It springs from a sincere desire to have all men to obey him who is the “author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him.” A love for truth and lost souls compels us to warn that when Jesus comes in judgment he will take vengeance on them that obey not the gospel. (2 Thess. 1:7-8).

We must keep in mind that there is one faith (Eph. 4:5). Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Paul told Timothy to “charge some that they teach no other doctrine” (1 Tim. 1:3). Paul warned:

If any man teacheth a different doctrine, and consenteth not to sound words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; he is puffed up, knowing nothing, but doting about questionings and disputes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, wranglings of men corrupted in mind and bereft of the truth, supposing that godliness is a way of gain (1 Tim. 6:3-5, ASV).

The New Testament is emphatic in telling us to stick hard by the exact teaching of Jesus and the apostles. The first church in Jerusalem “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship.” We, too, must hold firmly to the teaching of the New Testament that we may be in fellowship with all who “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7). Saints are to “speak the same thing . . . perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

The inferred suggestion is that the one casting out demons was teaching a different doctrine from Jesus and the apostles. When this is presented in a way that suggests it is parallel to Catholics, Presbyterians, Nazarenes, Pentecostals, and churches of Christ not being in the same group and not agreeing in their teaching, it affirms that the person John saw was teaching a different doctrine from Jesus and the apostles. Otherwise, the two situations are not similar.

If two groups, each teaching the truth of revelation, condemn each other out of jealousy, that might be parallel and it would be wrong. If one group is teaching truth and a different group is teaching error, the situation is not analogous to Mark 9:38-41.

The one John saw was acting, according to the text, in the name of Jesus.

This means he was doing miracles with the authority and by the approval of Jesus. It is inconceivable that he was teaching something that contradicted what Jesus taught. His teaching had Jesus’ endorsement. The teaching of denominational bodies is different from the teaching of the New Testament and does not have divine approval.

Miracles of the first century were to confirm what God spoke through his Son (Heb. 2:1-4). If the one who was casting out demons was teaching something other than what Jesus taught, we have God confirming contradictory ideas. This is unacceptably confusing and therefore impugns the nature of God. Jesus said, “There is no man who shall do a mighty work in my name, and be able quickly to speak evil of me” (Mark 9:39, ASV).

There were others, besides the apostles, whom the Lord sent to urge the Jews to repent. The seventy, for instance, were among that number (Luke 10:1). Jesus doubtless empowered the seventy to cast out demons. Jesus gave the apostles power over demons when he sent them out on a similar mission (Matt.10:5-8). The seventy preached the same message as the twelve  not a different plan or purpose. This man could have been one of the seventy.

Jesus declared, “He that is not against us is for us” (Mark 9:40). If this means that everyone who is not actively op-posing Jesus has communion with him, there is a new basis for fellowship. The people who ignore Jesus are not necessarily against him, but are they in fellowship with him? Clearly, Jesus is saying this man is not against us because he does miracles in my name and is teaching the truth. On another occasion Jesus said, “He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth (Matt. 12:30, ASV). The two verses do not gainsay each other and therefore this explanation must be correct.

The question remains whether God is a stickler for the details of his law. A quick reminder of Nadab, Abihu, Uzzah, Ananias, Sapphira, Peter at Galatia, and the man who picked up sticks on the Sabbath is enough to prove that God will allow no tampering with his statutes, no matter how slight the thing may seem to us.

God’s Word is immutable simply because it is God’s Word. No one of sound mind would be content to go to the final judgment having ignored a jot or tittle of the commandments of the Lord. The only safe course is to do precisely and exactly what God tells us to do in exactly and precisely the way God tells us to do it. Anything else is folly.

Reprinted with permission from the Knight Arnold News, 4400 Knight Arnold Rd., Memphis, Tennessee 38118-2948.

Guardian of Truth XLI: 18 p. 
September 18, 1997

By Kenneth Sils

The book of Romans in the New Testament is one of the most informative books in the Bible. Paul told them that he was ready to preach the gospel of Christ to them for it was the power of God to salvation for all people, whether they be Jew or Greek, slave or free, and male or female. This theme resonates throughout the book as Paul encourages all of them to see themselves as the people of God, united in the body of Christ, saved by the grace of God through obedient faith. Towards the end of the letter, Paul lists a series of salutations. The object of our study today is the expression found in Romans 16:16 when he told the Romans, “. . . The churches of Christ salute you.” Allow me to make three important observations concerning the term “churches of Christ” that is found in this passage.

The first observation from this God-given name is the section “of Christ.” When one says church “of Christ,” one is showing who the owner is of that which is called the church. Jesus Christ is the owner and possessor of the church. In Matthew 16, Jesus asked his disciples whom they thought he was. The answer Simon gave was correct. He said in Matthew 16:16, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” In response to his confession of faith, Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, “… on this rock, I will build my church.” The church belongs to Jesus and Jesus alone. The headship of the church was never left to Peter, Paul, or any other man on this earth. In Colossians 1:18, we learn that Jesus “is the head of the body, the church.” The church of the Bible is truly the church “of Christ.”

A second observation from the inspired phrase, “the churches of Christ salute you” points out the truth that the word “church” could never refer to any arrangement of man-made buildings. It’s impossible for a stone or brick building to salute anything! In the New Testament, the word church means “called out” or “those who are called out.” Acts 5:11 states, “So great fear came upon all the church.”

Only people have the ability to fear and those who were the “called out” of Christ expressed in unison reverential fear due to the awesome power they witnessed through the hands of the apostles. No physical building (cathedral, synagogue, sanctuary, meeting house) was ever referred to as “the church” in the New Testament. To do such today shows a gross ignorance of God’s way taught in Holy Scripture.

A third observation we should learn from the God-breathed phrase, “the churches of Christ salute you” refers to God’s use of the plural for the word “church.” The term “churches” simply meant “the called out” in reference to a variety of locations around the world. This is a phrase of common sense. Paul was currently instructing the “church of Christ” which was meeting in the city of Rome. There were the “called out” in Jerusalem, Ephesus, Antioch and the list could go on and on. Consider the seven “churches” of Asia which had letters sent to each one in the book of Revelation. It is vital to understand that the only distinction between these churches is in respect to their location. They were not denominations with differing doctrines, organizations, and allegiances. Their doctrine was the same for all as Paul commanded as he was sending Timothy to them in 1 Corinthians 4:17, “… who will remind you of my ways in Christ as I teach everywhere in every church.” The same doctrine that Timothy must preach to Corinth would be preached before every church of Christ he spoke to, regardless of their location.

The Caroline Street Church of Christ proposes to be a group just like you read about in the New Testament. We give our total allegiance to Christ and his inspired message just as the churches of Christ did in the fust century. Our mission is to teach the gospel of Christ for the salvation of your soul. If your interested in being a part of a church who loves the Lord and his inspired message, let’s study together. 1827 Caroline St., South Bend, Indiana 46613

Guardian of Truth XLI: 18 p. 20
September 18, 1997

By Steve Willis

The Victoria Child Sexual Abuse Society (VCSAS) issued a warning which prompted the entire article. VCSAS Director Peggy Mahony said, “With a small group of children, the behaviors are becoming more severe and more hurtful. It ranges from four- to six-year olds using coercion on younger children to have oral sex, to 11-year olds, raping seven-year olds.”

She says sexually abusing children fall into two groups:

The first group may have been `over-sexually stimulated’ by watching their parents have sex or peeking at their pornographic videos, or sometimes merely by the increasingly overt sexuality of commonplace TV fare like soap operas. `Even some of the daytime programming is stimulating for kids,’ Ms. Mahoney cautions. Children who subsequently act out the behaviors they have seen often have not been otherwise molested, which hitherto has been regarded as the chief predisposing factor for sexually abusive youth.

“The second group of young abusers  usually boys  are predatory and tend to commit much more serious assaults, like rape, on other children. Even in this group, only about 60% have been molested. However, Ms. Mahoney says, `the vast majority come from violent homes.”

The article continues: “That some agencies report an increase in child-perpetrated sexual abuse does not surprise family advocates. Like other indices of social breakdown, the phenomenon reflects an underlying moral decline, they argue. `It’s a consequence of the lack of mores and taboos,’ comments Laurie Greschke, the western vice-president of REAL Women of Canada. ‘It goes hand in hand with the availability of pornography and the strength and deviancy of it. You can now get more than thirty kinds of pornography magazines at any corner store.’

“The increased sexualization of young people and the unconcern of many parents, reflects society’s diminished respect for the sanctity of life, adds Mrs. Greschke. ‘Children are not viewed as special and precious gifts, so it doesn’t matter what we do them,’ she says. The modem evolutionary conception of existence, which posits that human beings are not created by God but rather developed without purpose, breeds such attitudes. `People are of no value and can be treated that way. There’s been a weakening of basic moral values.”‘

Further, mentioning a book some may be interested in finding:

“Maggie Gallagher, an American social commentator and author of the book, The Enemies of Ems, assigns much of the blame to family breakdown. While she says there is a shortage of `solid research’ specifically targeted at child sexual abusers, `there is considerable evidence that children who are not growing up with both biological parents are at greater risk of being abused.’ Ms. Gallagher reports that one Canadian study found that a child’s chances of being sexually abused were 40 times as great when a parent was absent. `There may be many different causes,’ she allows, `but it’s certainly plausible that the number of children not living with their parents are at much higher risk, both of being abused and of abusing others’ (Alberta Report, 23, article by Tom McFeely).

Guardian of Truth XLI: 18 p. 19
September 18, 1997

By Steve Rudd

“Daddy, if the teenage Satan worshipers or the Goths or Druids were to pick a leader, they would choose you .. . they like you!” said Talitha Rudd.

“It’s Your Festival”  June 28-July 1 Greetings! The fair was four days from noon to 11 P.M. each night. Here are some of the highlights!

In total, we had an estimated 1500 take the eight question Bible quiz. We enrolled six children from four different families into the VBS. Got about five good leads for Bible study.

Stories

“Daddy, if the teenage Satan worshipers or the Goths or Druids were to pick a leader, they would choose you .. . they like you!” said Talitha Rudd.

We had several good talks with these teenagers who have bad taste in clothing and makeup. They tend to wear all black with chains and “African type” face painting, and bright dyed hair sometimes with many one-foot high spikes. They are quite scary to look at. However, I have observed that these rebellious teens are actually quite open to talk about God. They usually come into the booth in small groups.

Can I Come Dressed in Black?

I invited one group of Goths to church and the 16-year old girl asked if she could come as she was dressed. I said, “As long as you have nothing vulgar, swear words, etc. on the clothing and not topless, and if you felt you could not learn about God dressed any other way, come as you are! God is concerned about the inside more then the outside.”

Beware of God!

Another incident where a teen Goth girl had on a T-shirt that said on the front, “Beware of God.” I commented that I liked that shirt because if you do evil, God will get you …so yes, beware of God. He is alive and watching you always.

“I Believe in the Devil!”

Another time, a Druid came up to my wife, Loreen, and said in a slow, deep scary voice, “I believe in the Devil.” My wife quipped back with a smile, “So do I.” The young boy of 17 looked stunned and didn’t know what to say.

We Love Pain and Suffering!

Yet another time a very rough group of four self-proclaimed Satan worshipers came to the booth, two 16-yearold couples. They started telling me how Satan is good to them, how he purifies them, and praising the devil for various things he has done for them. I replied that the Devil wants nothing but bad, pain, and suffering for them and that they were mistaken. They replied that pain was good. At this point three of them pulled off their arm stockings and showed me multiple scars on the inside of their lower arm. They told me that pain was good, that they liked pain and suffering etc. I looked at them and said, “So I guess you don’t like sex!” They replied, “Well that’s different.” I went on to say that the very friendship, kinship, and love they showed to each other within their own group the Devil would love to destroy, that the Devil wanted them to be fighting, alone and afraid, even dead. This group I have seen down town before and they will remember me next time we talk.

Confused 13-Year-Old Goth-lesbian

A 13-year old girl dressed as a Goth, came into the booth with three of her friends. She asked me what I thought of lesbianism. She said that she knew that it was genetic and she wasn’t sure if she was lesbian. She was loud, open, and highly vocal. I told her that homosexuality was acquired by learning, not genetics, and that you choose to be lesbian. She said, “Do you really think that I would choose to be homo and thereby reap heaps of ridicule and persecution?” I replied, “Have you not considered that by the way you dress in all black with chains that you have chosen to heap ridicule and persecution? As you can see, our choices in these matter are what counts.” She agreed that she suffered every day from people mocking her about her Goth dress style. After I told her that I really didn’t think she was lesbian, my kids took over and together a group of about four discussed all kinds of things for about 45 minutes.

“Of Flag and Flyer Burning”

One evening a group of about five Goths came into the booth. We, as usual, handed each of them a flyer about our building location etc. A tall “Goth” of about 18, stepped just outside our booth onto the grass and set the 8.5 x 11 page on fire. It created quite a bit of light and attention. He dropped it to the ground, and with a lot watching started stomping on it to put it out. (These kids love attracting attention.) My two children, Daniel (14) and Talitha (13), looked on in frightful horror wondering what was going to happen next. He walked out into the park about 20 feet away to join another group of Goths. I waited about 30 seconds then walked out to the group. I spoke with him for about five minutes. Gave him another copy of the same flyer he burned, and he walked away intently reading the flyer. My kids had kept a close eye on their daddy, for fear as to what might happen. When I walked back to the booth, they both pounced on me in amazement pleading and begging in absolute amazement, wanting to know what I had said to change this burner in to a reader! I told them that it was not anything I had said, but just that I had shown them I care for them. As I handed him the flyer, I showed him my phone number and told him he could call me day or night and I would drive down and see him. It was at this point that my daughter Talitha commented spontaneously, “Daddy, if the teenage Satan worshipers or the Goths or Druids were to pick a leader, they would choose you .. . they like you!”

Jehovah’s Witnesses Well Trained

by the Organization

I can almost always pick out the Jehovah’s Witnesses when they come to the booth. Being highly superstitious and quite pompous, they come into the booth and look atthe questions from a slight distance but will not actually push the buttons to see if the answer is correct (for fear of demon possession or something). Three Jehovah’s Witness ladies came into the booth and after peering at the first two questions with a smug “checking out the competition” grin, I asked them what church they attended. When they said Jehovah’s Witnesses the one woman said, “I think I recognize you.” I answered, yes it was probably when I knocked on your door to see if you were interested in learning about Jesus. A discussion began about how Jehovah’s Witnesses are organization bound, hold the Watchtower to be inspired and really don’t follow the Bible. I told her that most Jehovah’s Witnesses were former Catholics because there was little to change except where world headquarters re-sides (Brooklyn from Rome) and the adoption of Arianism. As I talked to her she clutched my flyer in her hand at waist level. Without batting an eye or moving, she slowly and loudly ripped my flyer that I had placed in her hand in two. It was done almost as an unconscious reflex. I paused, then remarked, “The organization sure has you well trained to rip up apostate materials.” She was quite embarrassed and after I offered to restore the flyer, she took a second one then walked away. I am sure that she was going to use it to further demonstrate this ritual of disposing of apostate materials further to her two understudies.

Prove to Me There Is a God!

Daniel, my 14-year-old son, engaged in a 2 1/2 hour Bible study on the grass ten feet in front of the booth. The two other boys were about 15 and 16 years old. They were attacking the Bible and God and wanted Daniel to prove God and the Bible. I could see that at times, they were whipping him good, but I remarked to Loreen that Daniel will learn more about the Bible in these two hours than five years of my sermons! In the end, Daniel felt that he prevailed.

The Blind Can See, The Deaf Can Hear!

Daniel and Talitha spent about two hours teaching the Bible to a French man who couldn’t speak English. They took them through each question then answered several of his questions. They also spent about ten minutes taking three deaf-mutes through the booth and answering question with sign language. The school they attended in K-5 taught signing to all the kids.

“The Not in the Devil’s Tale”

There were two questions that opened up a lot of discussions:

Ephesians 3:4 says “When you read you can understand.”

This means that: You must have a priest or a pastor explain the Bible to you.

You must have the Holy Spirit to know God’s will. Reading the Bible daily is a good way to learn the Bible.

Which of the following is a quote from the Bible?

“You see that a man is saved by faith only.”

“Baptism now saves you.”

“Pray the sinners prayer and thou shalt be saved.”

We were able to emphasize that the Bible can be under-stood by simply reading it with the Ephesians 3:4 passage. Calvinists and Pentecostals alike always got it wrong! The quote from the Bible question was superb. We would say: “James 2:24 actually says not by faith only.” We removed “not,” so it is wrong. Baptism now saves you is a direct quote of 1 Peter 3:21 and the concept of “praying the sinners prayer” isn’t even found in the Bible but is a man-made doctrine. We would ask, “Did you know that of all the con-version examples in the Bible, not one of them was ever told to pray …. If the person defended the “Billy Graham” gospel, we would point out that the official creed of their church did the same thing that the devil did in the garden  added the word “not.” (We called this the not in the devil’s Tale = you shall surely not die.) Baptists re-move the word “not” in James 2:24 and add it in 1 Peter 3:21. If the person seemed inclined, we would offer them our “discover it yourself’ baptism study.

Lights Out!

Each night we had to literally ask people to leave be-cause he had to shut down for the night and turn the lights out and get home to bed by about midnight. The fields were white for harvest!

We have three more fairs this summer! Our next one will focus on “Who is Jesus?” Bible Quiz. We need help especially on VBS week. A fair, July 18-20 and VBS on July 22-24.

Guardian of Truth XLI: 18 p. 14-16
September 18, 1997