Truth Magazine

By Jeremy Sweets

Even at the mention of the biblical character Abraham, the attribute of faith clearly comes to mind. His life embodied the very essence of faithfulness and obedience to the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we are to walk by faith, not by sight.” Abraham’s life exemplifies the meaning of Paul’s charge to the Corinthians. In fact, Hebrews 11 lists Abraham among those men whose faith shines forth as a guiding light.

Hebrews 11:8 says, “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.” Likewise, Abraham made a great sacrifice by giving up his homeland to follow God. Though he had no idea where he was going, he knew whom he was following. Without questioning God’s commandments, Abraham accepted God’s decisions simply because God commanded him to do so. Complete faith requires obedience to the supreme authority, not grudgingly or with an attitude that questions the competence of God. As humans, we find it easy to follow God when our circumstances are not burdensome, but, when Christianity demands us to sacrifice that which we hold dear, our resolve can diminish. Will we leave our homeland and follow God wherever he leads us? Will we be as Abraham and look ahead to a hopeful expectancy to see our God?

“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac.” What an extreme amount of faith this must have taken! In a sense, Abraham’s love for Jehovah even parallels God’s own gracious love for the entire world. Just as God offered up his only son, so, too, did Abraham. Abraham was completely submissive to God. Though Abraham loved his only son, he loved God more. Today as Christians, we have an extremely hard time imitating Abraham’s attitude. Jesus states in Matthew 10:37, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.” When our faith comes down to a choice between God and those closest to us, we too often pick our family and friends. Even if we do not denounce God, we lack the total commitment he requires.

As Christians, we must always let our lights shine that we may glorify our Father who is heaven. Our conduct and speech should reflect our Father. Sometimes in our daily lives we forget that Jesus Christ truly is our Lord and Savior. Our friends and family are slighted from God’s word simply because we fear rejection and a possible end to our friendship. Apparently, we love them so much that we would allow them to follow the pathway that leads to a burning and torturous hell rather than cause any personal discomfort. After all, we are looking out for their best interests not ours. The next time we see our friends out in the world, we should consider whether we have fulfilled our duty of professing Christ. Will we be as Abraham and walk by faith, or will we crumble at the first test of our Christianity? Among the most interesting and admirable traits that Abraham possessed was his perspective on life. He looked to his Creator rather than himself for answers. He had far-sighted vision because he knew that God kept his promises. Our greatest blessing is the love of God. Whatever misfortune may befall us in life, we can take full assurance and comfort knowing that, “neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Our focus should be placed in our future promises. Like Abraham, we should be, “looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” Abraham knew that his sacrifices were necessary. He had seen the instability of this world of heartache and sorrow in his own life. On the other hand, God has built a city that will last forever. Because of Abraham’s faith and resulting outlook on life, he willingly obeyed God even in the face of adversity. Consequently, God greatly blessed Abraham and his family. come by chance. Abraham received favor in God’s sight because God promises to stay faithful to his obedient servants. God fulfilled every blessing guaranteed to Abraham. Our greatest comfort is in the knowledge that God remains immutable. He is the same now and forever. In Malachi 3:6, God said, “For I, the Lord, do not change.” Thus we believe wholeheartedly, “the promise which he himself made to us: eternal life” (1 John 2:25). To receive this promise, we must free ourselves from sin and enslave ourselves to the service of God to receive our sanctification and ultimately a home in heaven (Heb. 7:25): a home built by God, a house not made with hands. Heaven contains the most extreme bliss imaginable. We shall with a joyful heart escape the tears, death, mourning, crying, and pain that plague us in this life (Rev. 21:4). Most importantly, we will have a chance to join our greatest friend  a friend who has always cared about us, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Guardian of Truth XLI: 7 p. 13-14
April 3, 1997

By Eric Norford

Editor’s Note: Several months ago, we ran a special issue edited by Marc Gibson, entitled “Bring the Books.” This article was accidentally left out of that series.

The preacher’s library is not complete unless it has the book about J.D. Tant: Texas Preacher. It is important that young preachers not lose sight of those preachers who taught God’s Word in the ruff and rugged America of the late 19th and early 20th Century.

J.D. Tant entered this world during the Civil War in 1861. When he was fourteen years old he joined the Methodist Church. He began preaching the Methodist doctrine at the age of nineteen. However, a year later his life changed when he heard the preaching of the true gospel by a preacher named W.H.D. Carrington. Young Tant obeyed the gospel on August 14, 1881 and began preaching on August 21, 1881.

J.D. Tant began preaching in East Texas. He often did physical work when he wasn’t preaching. He worked on farms, he was a hired hand at times, and he even worked in a music school. Regardless of where it was, he worked hard. Late at night when everyone was asleep, J.D. Tant would stay up reading his Bible or another book. If there was a preaching appointment Tant would ride to it. He sometimes traveled all night and often on a horse to get to the church where he would preach. There were times when he had to swim across a river to get to a preaching appointment. Preaching the word of God meant a lot to brother Tant and he worked hard at preaching it. The results were thousands of people brought to the Lord.

His greatest single work may have been debating. He began debating denominational preachers in 1886. From that time in his early years, J.D. Tant would often hold two or three debates a month depending on his schedule. He thought that debating was a good tool to use to get people to see error and change their lives. Many times after his debates he would stay and preach for the church there and the results could be seen from the debate by the conversions that took place. Contrast that with today’s attitude among brethren that we shouldn’t waste our time debating denominationalism and our liberal brethren.

J.D. Tant lived during a time when two major issues con-fronted the church The society issue and instrumental music issue. The society issue was the same as the missionary society issue, in fact it was growing in popularity during brother Tant’s day. The Instrumental Music Issue was also gaining popularity. Both these inventions were contrary to the Scriptures. It was these two issues that were causing division in the churches of Christ in Texas in the 1890s. By the late 1890s the rate of division among Texas churches was accelerating. J.D. Tant wrote at the time that brethren should not be standing on the defensive side any longer, but to take the offensive and “invade the churches.” Brother Tant was thick in the fight. He was one of the Texas preachers who tried valiantly to save churches from digressing from the truth into error. However, when the division came, about one in five churches was estimated to be saved from digression. When he went to Tennessee in 1898 to hold gospel meetings for various churches, he met many gospel preachers like David Lipscomb and T.W. Brents. The churches there were not dividing over the issues that Texas churches were. Brother Tant seemed relieved to know that there were brethren still willing to stand up for the truth and defend it. If he could see how things have changed in Tennessee in the late 1990s, he would be saddened.

J.D. Tant wrote articles for two brotherhood papers  The Gospel Advocate and Firm Foundation (when both stood doctrinally sound on the right side of the issues). He was field editor for the Gospel Advocate from 1894-1898. It was one of his articles in the Gospel Advocate that he addressed the young preachers of his day. He wrote, “To those boy preachers I would say: Much experiences and observation have taught me that it will be hard for you to succeed by preaching only once or twice a week at some stated places. Go out and preach all the time; stay at a place as long as you can do good; preach at least six times a week for the first four or five years; preach in the highways and school houses and among private families; do not wait till Sunday for a big crowd. If you can get as many as Philip had, preach the word, and rest assured God will give the increase” (Gospel Advocate, 15 April 1897).

It was also during his early writing years and his later years that he usually ended his writings with a phrase we often hear today, “Brethren, don’t forget, we are drifting!” If brother Tant could see many concoctions that exist today in the Lord’s church, he would no doubt say that “we have drifted and sunk!” However, his phrase expressed his feelings at the time when the brethren were studying and debating the Society and Instrumental Music Issues. Many were following the false teaching at the time or were leaning in that direction. This caused the division to occur in the Lord’s church.

Brother Tant had the ability to tell people they were wrong straightforward. It seems he often spoke what he thought was appropriate to say. This got him in trouble once with his future mother-in-law when he addressed a letter entitled “Old Lady Yater.” He noted one time about a congregation in Golden Lake, Arkansas that they had thirty in number. He said “ten of them were Christians in faith and practice; the others impressed me as being Christians in faith, but very little practice.” He said once of a church in Tennessee that they had indifference, backbiting, envy, hatred, and covetousness existing among the members. He said he found the devil to have the upper hand with some of those members. Brother Tant spoke what brethren needed to hear always. He said he always spoke the truth to all in the spirit of Christ.

While living in Tennessee the problems that Texas churches had faced thirty years earlier were beginning to creep in. For example in January 1910, the West Tennessee brethren called a meeting to convene at the church in Henderson, Tennessee. They called on elders and preachers to attend in order to evangelize the western part of the state. J.D. Tant went merely as a visitor and did not speak at the meeting. David Lipscomb was very apprehensive about this meeting. He wrote that nothing good comes from these meetings and that brethren should individually and collectively stand on the solid ground. The plan that came of this meeting was Henderson would send out a preacher to West Tennessee and various churches send money to them to support this work. This was the old plan that brother Tant confronted in Texas called “receiving, managing, and disbursing church.” We know it today as the “Sponsoring Church Arrangement.” Both us-ages of the terms are unscriptural works.

In the mid-1910s, another problem began to arise with more frequency  the Pastor system. Some had the idea to hire a young preacher to come in, build up the church, and preside over it. Apparently brethren believed at the time that if a young man received a degree from a “Bible College” then the church should hire him. Brother Tant opposed this invention of men. Unfortunately, some brethren today have the same ideas that brethren had in those days. The West Virginia School of Preaching is about 35 miles from my house and is supported by many liberal churches of Christ in the area. They are doing a work that the church alone can do.

Brother Tant opposed the Bible Colleges. He believed schools could teach the Bible. However, he did not believe that they should take the place of the church and its work to teach the Bible. He did not believe that the church could support the college with its own funds. He feared that the colleges might lead churches astray from the truth. He did not believe that the church could support any human institution. This principle applied to orphan homes. Yet it seemed that he contradicted himself on this issue. The Board of Directors of Tennessee Orphan Home employed Tant to travel over the country telling brethren about this Home and to solicit support for it. The orphan home was taking the place of benevolence just as the Missionary Society had taken over in the realm of evangelism. Why would he compromise on this issue? Yater Tant wrote, “To understand his thinking on this, it is needful to keep in mind his own emotional feeling for the poor, the distressed, the unfortunate of the earth.” Brother G.C. Brewer thought there was inconsistency between Tant’s teaching and his practice. In the later years when the orphan home issue came to light more fully, it seems that brother Brewer’s criticism is justified, although brother Tant probably never fully realized the impact orphan homes would have on the church.

Tant spent the last years of his life in Texas. He passed from this life June 1, 1941. Brother Tant had the distinction of becoming a legend in his own time. He loved the Lord and loved to teach the gospel., a trait that all preachers, including young preachers, should have. He was arguably “under paid” for his work, but he continued preaching the word. What a lesson this is for us. As a preacher, I don’t preach for the money, I preach to reach lost souls and to build up my brethren; however, there is nothing wrong in a preacher receiving adequate support from the local church and brethren.

J.D. Tant didn’t speak long sermons, in fact he rarely went over 35 minutes. He said what he needed to say and then sat down. A wonderful lesson for us, we should say what is needed and then sit down. The results of his preaching the Word of God only could be seen in the thousands of conversions that took place by that preaching. God had granted the increase.

I would encourage any young preacher just starting to get the book J.D. Tant  Texas Preacher by Fanning Yater Tant, read it, learn from it, and see how preachers like brother Tant endured during prosperous and sorrowful times between the brethren and how he kept on preaching the Word of God. Then when we pass from this life maybe we can say like Paul, “I have fought the good fight . . . “

Guardian of Truth XLI: 7 p. 5-6
April 3, 1997

By Ronald A. Stringer

The whole world was evil. There were no morals in the hearts of anyone. Everyone who lived on earth lived for the pleasures of the world, except one man. One man lived in fear of God and was “perfect in his generations” (Gen. 6:9, NM). This man was Noah. Noah was the only person in the entire world that obeyed God and lived righteously. He showed much faith in all that he did. In fact, Noah showed so much faith to God that he was one of the outstanding individuals mentioned in Hebrews 11. Noah showed his faith because he was righteous to God while everyone else was unrighteous, he built the ark exactly how God said, and he kept his whole family faithful to God. According to the Scriptures, the world was, “corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence” (Gen. 6:11, NKJ).

Despite this, Noah stayed strong in his faith to the Lord. He realized that God would take care of him as long as he believed. Noah’s world is not unlike our own. Bad language, promiscuity, immodest apparel, drug abuse, and many other acts of sinfulness lurk in every corner of our world as well. In today’s society, most people live for the pleasures of the world instead of the treasures of heaven. Many people claim to love God and claim to be in Christ, but in reality, there are only a few people in the world who do try to live right and do obey the gospel. There is a ray of light in the world today called Christianity.

Although there is more than one person living right, some Christians today are still afraid to stand up for Christ. They are weak in the faith and act like babes in Christ. It is hard to imagine Christians being too scared to stand up for Christ in their lives when Noah stood up to the whole world for God by himself. Imagine one lone person trying to teach the whole world what is right and what is wrong. This is exactly what Noah did. All Christians need to have enough faith in God to do what God says and teach others what God says just like Noah did so many years ago.

Noah had to defend himself to the world in a very unusual way. God commanded Noah to build an ark that would protect him and his household from the great flood that he would bring upon the earth. God commanded Noah to build the ark a certain size, use a certain type of wood, and put certain contents inside the ark. The world probably thought Noah was a lunatic because he built this ark. Though people treated him badly and persecuted him for his trust in God, he kept the faith and obeyed God despite what his contemporaries said.

Today, the world persecutes Christians for what they do, what they believe in, and how they act. The world views Christians as a strange group of people who are commonly known as “Jesus freaks” and do not believe in having fun. Because of this, too many Christians today are too embarrassed to do the will of God. Some Christians want to “Tit in” with the world and what they do for pleasure. Noah surely did not seem to care whether he “fit in.” He obeyed God through good times and bad times. He did exactly what God told him to do. Christians today need to learn to be strong enough to do what God says no matter what the world thinks of them. People ought to be concerned with getting to heaven instead of this world’s opinions.

Noah did not have a Bible, but he did have God himself to give him step-by-step instructions on how to build the ark. He followed the directions exactly even though other people thought he was strange for doing it. Everyone needs to follow the example of Noah and follow the teachings of God. Christians can take the Bible, read it, and do exactly what God says to do.

Not only did Noah have to put up with the persecution of the world, build one of the largest boats ever built, and round up all the animals for the ark  he also had a family to raise. Noah had the job of keeping his family away from worldly customs and pleasures and keeping them active in the service of God. To win over his family from the world, he had to have the faith in God that God would help him and his family overcome the temptation of the world and the deceitfulness of the Devil. Noah had to have enough faith to convince his family to live right in the sight of God.

Families today often have a hard time raising their children in the love and admonition of the Lord. Some Christian parents believe that they are powerless to prevent their children from doing worldly things. Christians need to learn that God will help them every step of the way in every aspect of their life, including raising their families. Noah could never have kept his family away from the pleasures of the world without God, and Christians today should not expect to be able to either. Noah had a strong faith that made him trust in God to help him. Therefore, his family stayed by his side and worshiped God. Christians today need to have a strong enough faith to trust in God to help them with their families, just like Noah did.

Noah was a great man of faith who, “moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness ” (Heb. 11:7, NKJ). All Christians should live by his example and try to serve God in the same manner he served God. All Christians today should possess the same faith he possessed and displayed when he built the ark exactly as God said, and how he raised his family to be just as God-fearing as he. If Christians have this type of faith, then they will live with God eternally in paradise.

Guardian of Truth XLI: 7 p. 12-13
April 3, 1997

By C.R. Wheeler

Hebrews 11:22  “By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus …”

The Hebrew writer mentions Joseph because he trusted God to cause the exodus of his people from the land of Egypt to posses the land that he had promised to his great-grandfather Abraham. Joseph’s confidence was a great manifestation of his faith. However, this was only one incident from Joseph’s life. His life was the epitome of a life of faith.

Joseph entered the Old Testament narrative as a seventeen-year-old boy who angered his brothers when he gave an unfavorable report of their work. Joseph was the youngest of eleven brothers (Gen. 37:3). They came to despise him after he had two dreams that portrayed his reigning over them. They conspired to kill him, but Reuben, seeing an opportunity to curry favor with his father by rescuing Joseph, insisted that they merely abandon him in an empty cistern. In the end, Judah’s plan to sell him to a caravan of traders on their way to Egypt prevailed.

To conceal their treachery, they soaked Joseph’s cloak in goat’s blood and returned it to Jacob pretending not to know to whom it belonged. When Jacob saw the cloak, he immediately recognized it as Joseph’s. “And he said, Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son” (Gen. 37:35). Ten of his sons had lied to Jacob. He believed the lie. He could not have been any more distraught if Joseph were actually dead. A lie believed is a powerful thing.

In Egypt, Potiphar, an Egyptian officer who answered directly to Pharaoh, purchased Joseph. Potiphar quickly realized that the Lord was with Joseph because, “the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand” (Gen. 39:3). To capitalize on Joseph’s favor with the Almighty, he appointed him to be his personal servant and the overseer of his household (Gen. 39:4).

Christians must realize that Abraham’s blessings did not Though a slave, Joseph came to enjoy relative ease in the house of Potiphar. His master had put him in charge of the other slaves and made him responsible for the day-to-day administration of the house. Joseph would have been content to live out his life as a servant. However, something happened that changed the course of history, not only for him, but for the entire nation of Israel. Genesis 39:7 records that one day while Joseph was about his duties, Potiphar’s wife ordered him to have sexual intercourse with her. He refused, but she was persistent. She grew even bolder and continued to tempt him “day by day” (Gen. 39:10). Finally, one day she took hold of his garment to force him to lie with her, and Joseph fled from her leaving his garment in her hands. When Potiphar came home, she accused Joseph of rape. Enraged, Potiphar cast the innocent Joseph into prison.

Joseph had every reason to commit fornication. His own family had rejected him because he believed the visions that God sent him. From that, he could have easily concluded that God had forsaken him. He was, by now, at the height of his sexual prime. He was living far from home where his parents could never discover what he had done. Henotheism, the doctrine of a god in each place, was common through out the ancient world. He could have reasoned that he was far enough away from home to escape Jehovah’s watchful eye. Jonah’s attempt to escape from God in a boat is a good example of that mentality (Jonah 1:3). Furthermore, he knew that Potiphar’s wife would cause him trouble if he did not obey her. Nevertheless, Joseph stood his ground.

He refused to commit adultery for two reasons. First, he appreciated the trust that Potiphar had in him. Potiphar had made him the chief servant and enjoyed relative ease. He could not betray his earthly lord. Second, Joseph understood that to commit adultery would be an abomination in God’s sight. (Gen. 39:8-9) He could not betray his heavenly Lord. From where did this devotion come? Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Joseph must have learned godliness from his parents. His answer is a tribute to Jacob’s teaching.

Pausing here to examine the authorship of the text is important. Joseph’s story begins in chapter 37, but chapter 38 tells an unrelated narrative. Chapter 39 picks up where chapter 37 leaves off. Liberal scholars, who contend that Moses was not the author of the Pentateuch, claim that this is a “textual insertion.”

However, scrutiny reveals that this is not so. Chapter 37 shows the separation of Joseph from his brothers. Chapter 38 tells the story of Judah and his three sons in Canaan. (Two of his sons were so wicked that the Lord killed them. Judah, him-self, had sex with a woman whom he believed to be a temple prostitute but who was really his daughter-in-law. Indeed, Genesis 38 does not record a sparkling moment in Jewish history.) Chapter 39 tells the story of Joseph and his life in Egypt.

Moses wrote Genesis 38 to show the contrast between Judah and Joseph. On the one hand, Moses portrays Judah living in his native land. He is free, wealthy, and married. In Genesis 39, Moses describes Joseph living alone with neither mate nor friend in exile. He is a slave tempted by a powerful woman. Yet Joseph displays faithful virtuous living while Judah commits sin. The message of the two chapters is clear. Wealth and surroundings do not determine righteousness. It is possible for us to sin even when we are among others of like holy faith. It is also possible for us to remain faithful in the face of overwhelming odds. Faithful living is a worthwhile endeavor even when it involves great personal loss. These are particularly appropriate lessons for Moses to give to his people at this time.

Though Potiphar cast Joseph into prison, he remained faithful. The Lord blessed him by giving him favor in the sight of the jailer. While in prison, he interpreted dreams for Pharaoh’s butler and baker. His interpretation came to pass. So when Pharaoh told the butler about his dream, the butler remembered Joseph and recommended that he tell the dream to him. Because Joseph understood Pharaoh’s dream, Pharaoh made Joseph his second in command. Joseph’s wise counsel enabled both the Egyptians and his own people to survive a horrible drought.

There is a sense in which Joseph’s story parallels the life of faithful men in every age  including our own. Joseph’s story is about prospering in exile. He wrestled with the conflict between assimilation into the immoral, cultural norms of the society around him and the ostracism that comes from standing apart as a servant of God.

This is the very same struggle that you and I face every day as we struggle to survive and prosper in a world that is not our own. There is a sense in which all spiritually minded Christians are living in exile because we are living far away from our home in heaven. Rightfully do we sing, “This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through, my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.” Jesus said that we are in the world but not of the world (John 17:15-16). We have to balance our energies between being successful in this life and being prepared for the next.

Unlike most, Joseph found the balance between being in and being of the world. His faith in God was strong and he was able to forget his troubles and be fruitful in God’s service and the service of his fellow men. Hence he named his firstborn Manasseh (causing to forget) and his second-born Ephraim (I shall be doubly fruitful).

May God bless you and give you the courage to stand for what is right in the face of persecution and the faith to forget your troubles and live for God each day. May you have the strength of Joseph.

Guardian of Truth XLI: 7 p. 14-15
April 3, 1997