Truth Magazine

By Johnie Edwards

There are a lot of phrases in the Word of God which have been misunderstood and abused by many over the years. It is the purpose of this special issue to look at a number of them in the hope that all of us will be motivated to study more to increase our understanding.

The Bible commands us to “study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). Studying the Bible is an individual responsibility but is essential if we are to rightly divide truth. The apostle Paul urged young Timothy, “Ti11I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine” (1 Tim. 4:13).

True, there are many things in the Word of God which are difficult to understand just as Peter wrote, “As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things: in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Pet. 3:16). One of the dangers of misunderstanding Bible phrases is the very thing Peter warned Christians of in his day: “Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, be-ware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness” (2 Pet. 3:17).

The Ephesians were admonished: “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17). In order not to be ignorant of God’s will, we must heed Holy Spirit instruction that, “…when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ. Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit” (Eph. 3:4-5).

Please take the time to read, study, and file the articles on the following pages which will help in understanding a number of misunderstood Bible phrases.

Guardian of Truth XLI: 4 p. 1
February 20, 1997

By Dan McKibben

Let me begin by thanking Johnie Edwards for inviting me to have a part in this special issue of Guardian of Truth. I hope our study will be a benefit and help in understanding a misunderstood Bible phrase. Our task will be to discuss Romans 11:25, “Until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”

How the Text is Misunderstood

Romans 11:25-26 has been greatly abused (along with many other pas-sages) by premillennial folks, in their web of misunderstanding. They have the idea that these verses teach some sort of national conversion of the Jewish people, and the restoration of the Jews to Palestine when Jesus comes again. At his second advent Jesus will finally cleanse Israel. (How so? I don’t know? The gospel somehow couldn’t get the job done before his advent!)

No, Paul has clearly shown, that by faith in Christ, is the only way the Jews (or Gentiles for that matter) can be saved. Romans 11:23, “And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again” (cf. Rom.1:16-17). Peter said, “But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they” (Acts 15:11). Yes, the Jews are saved the same way the Gentiles are saved. Not in mass, or nationally; but individually, person by person, those who believe and obey the gospel!

Various Viewpoints

In researching this verse, brethren have set forth various viewpoints as a way of explanation. For the sake of brevity and because of limitations of space, you could check the various commentaries, workbooks, and other works to see what has been said by others.

My Conclusions on the Phrase

Paul in Romans 11 is dealing with the thesis of the rejection of the Jews. “I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the tribe of Benjamin . . . Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace” (vv. 1, 5). No, God has not cast away the true Jew, the one who has believed in Jesus Christ. Paul is “exhibit A” that such an idea is wrong. Yes, most of the Jews had rejected Jesus in unbelief, and God used this for good, for the gospel was spread abroad among the Gentiles. “I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? (i.e., stumbled as to never to come back, or fall because God didn’t care? No, it was because of unbelief they were broken off (v. 23, DLM) God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy” (see v. 12 also). Yes, God made something good to come out of something bad. Paul then uses the illustration of an olive tree to make his case (vv. 16-24). Some of the natural branches were broken off, the unbelieving Jews.

Believing Gentiles were grafted in as wild olive branches. The natural branches were not broken off so these wild olive branches could be grafted in. The Gentile brethren did not need to get high-minded and boastful about the situation, but fear, for they could be cut off also! The Jews could be grafted back in, if they would leave their unbelief. For surely if wild olive branches can be grafted in, how much more the natural branches!

Then in verse 25 Paul says, “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” Paul did not want the Gentile brethren to become conceited and wise in their own eyes, so he wanted to reveal a mystery to them.

Let us look first at what the phrase “until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” means. Could it mean, until the Gentiles be converted and blessed by the gospel? No, for this has already taken place (Acts 10, 11). Could it mean, until the gospel is spread throughout the Gentile world? No, for Paul said that had already taken place (Rom.10:18). Could it mean, until all the Gentiles be convened? No, this will never happen (Matt. 7:13-14). Could it mean, until the church is made up completely of Gentiles? No, when Jews are yet being convened, yeah, even in our day (e.g., Bob and Steve Darnell), how would this revelation have helped the first century Christians, seeing this idea has not come to pass even today? The only passage I can think of that would help explain this phrase is Luke 21:24. Jesus foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem says, “And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the Gentiles be fulfilled.” The phrase “until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” means God’s use of the Gentile nations to punish his people and his holy city. When Jerusalem was destroyed, God would never again use the Gentiles as he had used the Gentile nations of Assyria, Babylon, and Rome to punish his people, the times of the Gen-tiles were fulfilled, or the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

Thus I take Paul to be saying that when the destruction of Jerusalem would be fulfilled (the fulness of the Gen-tiles be come in) the blindness or hardness that afflicted much (“part”) of fleshly Israel would leave them. What is this blindness and veil that hardened much of Israel?

I suggest that it was the same mentality and frame of mind that was thawing and tempting the Hebrew Christians back to Judaism.

The Jews had the Temple with its goodly stones and gifts (they have had this attitude before, cf. Jer. 7:3-5); they had the Levitical priesthood with all the special robes and garments; they had the animal sacrifices and the pageantry associated with it; they had a “great” city that was rich and was the place for the center of their religion; they had a rich history, in which Jehovah God had worked in their midst and in their behalf; they had the promises, and that special promise of a Messiah who would come and lead them back to world dominance (their misconception); they had the high and mighty counted among their number.

And what did Christians “have”? A simple worship; no great temple or cathedrals, for they met in homes or “store fronts”; a membership made up mostly of “common people”; a “new founded” religion; they were small in numbers (that “little bunch”); Gentile members; and were persecuted everywhere. This is why most of the Jews were blinded, as they looked at the gospel. They failed to see by faith, the superiority of Christianity, and it was this same problem that was tempting the Hebrew Christians back to Judaism.

When Jerusalem was destroyed, the Jews that were left (a large number of them though were killed and died in unbelief, so sad) would no longer be blinded on these kinds of things associated with the temple. They may have been blinded by other reasons, as the Gentiles were (and as men are today), but not by these things. After the destruction of Jerusalem there was a great surge of evangelism in the world, which would have included evangelism among the remaining Jews also. “For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown to you they also may obtain mercy” (Rom. 11:30-31).

In Revelation 3:9 we read, “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie, behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.” Jesus is saying that the Jews would come to recognize that God’s people were Christians, and I would take it also, that some would be converted by this language (cf. 1 Cor. 14:25). And so, in this manner, in this way; in what manner? In what way? By becoming believers in Jesus Christ, all Israel, like the remnant, like the Gentiles, and like people today, shall be saved!

Guardian of Truth XLI: 4 p. 3-4
February 20, 1997

By Ron Halbrook

Women are increasingly taking the roles of evangelists and pastors, but is this the work of God or of people in rebellion against God? The question cannot be answered by human traditions, emotions, or opinions. The Bible is the inspired Word of God which answers every religious question so that we may be “thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

The Preacher’s Work

First, the Bible defines each work. An evangelist publicly proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ. An evangelist is a preacher or minister of the gospel and here is his work: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; re-prove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry” (see 2 Tim. 4:1-5).

Paul was an Apostle and “a preacher” especially dedicated to teaching the Gentiles (1 Tim. 2:7). An evangelist may travel from place to place at times; he also may remain with the same church for several years, teaching “publicly” and “house to house” (Acts 20:20,31).

The Pastor’s Work

The pastor’s work is entirely different. A pastor is a shepherd of God’s people viewed as sheep. He is also called an elder because of his spiritual maturity and a bishop because he oversees the local church. Pastor (or shepherd), elder (or presbyter), and bishop (or overseer) refer to the same per-son doing the same work (Acts 20:17, 28; Tit. 1:5, 7). This work involves overseeing and managing all the affairs of a local church:

Take heed to yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood (Acts 20:28).

Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind (1 Pet. 5:2).

The unique work of a pastor is not publicly proclaiming the gospel as a preacher. False religions confuse the roles of pastor and preacher. Each local church must have a plurality of pastors, never a one-man pastor (Acts 14:23; M. 1:5).

Women Too?

God’s Word teaches men, not women, to serve as pastors in a local church and as public preachers of the gospel. Christ as head of his church forbad women to take the roles of public leaders in the church. Christ commanded, “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence” (1 Tim. 2:11-12).

Women are not to preach in assemblies with men present or in any other way to exercise places of authority over men. A pastor must be a male: “the husband of one wife … one that ruleth well his own house” (1 Tim. 3:1-7). No woman can obey God’s word as a public preacher or as one of the pastors in a local church. Any church which tolerates such practices is a false religion. Another mark of false religion is the fear of examining such issues in public de-bate. Are you in a false religion?

How To Escape False Religion

Any person who remains in a church with women evangelists and pastors identifies himself with Satan and false religion, and thus wears the mark of the beast as others have done in the past (Rev. 13:11-18). Another such identifying mark is the substitution of human plans for God’s plan by which men are to receive the remission of their sins. God says, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). False religions say, “Repent for the remission of sins before and without water baptism. Perhaps you will be baptized later, but not for the remission of sins.” Through the gospel of Christ, God calls men to leave every false religion, to receive the forgiveness of sins by an obedient faith in Christ, and thus to be added to the true church of Christ found in the New Testament (Acts 2:47).

Guardian of Truth XLI: 3 p. 20
February 6, 1997

By Bob J. Walton

There are so many precious gifts God has given man; far too numerous for us to even attempt to list. But perhaps one of the great gifts often overlooked is the gift of memory.

Memory knows neither time nor distance. The human mind can in an instant make the treasures of the past seem real again. This gift can make the memories of childhood live again; it will allow us to relive the pleasant days of the past. It can restore the blessedness we knew when we first obeyed the gospel. It can reunite hearts separated by death. It is the word that can bring much peace, happiness, and joy to our souls. Someone has said that God gave us memory that we might have roses in December.

And yet the same word can be bitter; it can bring back the pains of sin. It can allow us to dwell on some event of the past we cannot forget and cannot forgive ourselves for having done this bitter deed. Through memory we will not forgive ourselves, even though God has forgiven us. When misused, this word can bring much misery to our lives and harm to our physical, mental and, worst of all, to our spiritual health. It is the word that can destroy peace and contentment in our lives.

Let us turn to the word of God and see how this word is used. The biographies of some of the men of the Bible vividly illustrate this word.

One of the finest examples of memory was that of Joseph. Banished from his father’s home, exile, slavery, false accusations, and some time in prison would have made Joseph’s lot terrible, except for his memory. Memory was the lamp to light his way through years of misery and unhappiness. It was also memory to which he clung in time of great temptation; memory of his ancestral religion, memory of his father Jacob’s face. It was also memory that kept his heart true and tender toward his brothers. Yes, Joseph’s life teaches us many valuable lessons on the sweetness of the word memory.

And perhaps a word most often used by God in dealing with the children of Israel was memory. He constantly exhorted them to remember. In theft wilderness wanderings they were told again and again to remember that they were once slaves in Egypt and how God had blessed them with deliverance. When they murmured, complained, and even rebelled against God and Moses, they were reproved and told to remember how God had fed them with manna from heaven, given them water out of a rock, and guided them with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Years later, when they were settled in the land of Canaan, they were told over and over to remember God’s great work in the conquest of the enemy and remember that they had been given the land promised to them by their father Abraham. And above all, memory was the key word pertaining to God’s law; that they were to keep it, obey it, and let it not depart from them that they might live and enjoy all the rich blessings of God.

And what a great lesson for the Christian. We should hold in memory the goodness and mercy of God. We should remember his blessings of salvation and his “exceeding great and precious promises” (2 Pet. 1:4). Yes, memory is a sweet word and is one of the great blessings especially enjoyed by the people of God.

One of the most striking examples of a bitter memory is described by Jesus in the story of the rich man and Lazarus. The sadness of this account comes when we find Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom and the rich man in torment. That tremendous saying of Jesus, put in Abraham’s mouth was “Son, remember” (Luke 16:25). But it was too late! He was told to remember his past rich life, but now nothing could be done to change his state. This rich man in torment also remembered his brothers and wanted them warned lest they come to this place, but again, it could not be done.

What a sad and dreadful plight in the day of judgment when those who, in this life, refused God and his generous offer of salvation to find themselves in torment to remember what they turned down in this life. But again, it will be too late; their destiny is sealed.

What a stern and forceful warning John made to two of the churches of Asia. To the church at Ephesus, the church that had left its first love, he admonishes: “Remember there-fore whence thou art fallen and repent and do thy first works” (Rev. 2:5). And almost the same was said to the church at Sardis, the dead church, “Remember therefore how thou hast received and didst hear, and keep it, and repent” (Rev. 3:3).

And what a great need of memory in many churches today. If they would only remember the former days and see how far adrift they have come, and would repent, what great changes would occur.

It was memory that convicted Peter of his grievous sin of denying the Lord three times, for when the rooster crowed, “Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, `before the rooster crows you will deny me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly” (Matt 26:74-75).

It is memory that convicts us of sin and brings us to a deep repentance as it did Peter when we sin against our Lord.

I have no doubt, too, that the remorse of Judas, when he threw the blood money down before the high priest and went out and hanged himself, was remorse created by memory (Matt 27:3-5).

Yes, memory is both a sweet and bitter word. Sweet memories will come if we will discipline ourselves to cherish up those pleasant memories of the past. And we should never dwell on, but use those bitter memories as stepping stones to help us do better. Then our lives will be lived joyously, happy and above all, pleasing to God. And may we make it our goal to commit to memory the love and mercy of Christ and his death on the cross for our sins. May we always remember how God in Christ forgives and forgets our sins when we repent and turn from them. And may we always remember the promises of the beauties and joys of heaven and let these memories ever push us upward and onward toward the goal.

Guardian of Truth XLI: 3 p. 18-19
February 6, 1997