Truth Magazine

By Ron Halbrook

During his personal ministry, Jesus had many debates in an ongoing battle between truth and error. A religious lawyer once tried to trap him by asking, “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25-37). Jesus answered the question by asking, “What is written in the law? How readest thou?” The lawyer correctly cited two pillars of the law requiring love of God first and then love of neighbor (Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18). Jesus said, “Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.”

This answer exposed the lawyer’s lack of love for his neighbor, so he asked a question designed to justify and excuse himself: “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus told the story of a man who was robbed, beaten, and left for dead on the Jerusalem-Jericho road, a route known for its bandits. A priest hurried by without stopping, as did a Levite. These religious leaders thought of themselves and perhaps their duties at the temple. They saw no reason to put themselves in harm’s way.

“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him.” The Samaritan bound up the man’s wounds and paid the costs for his recovery. Jesus asked, “Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among thieves?” The lawyer avoided saying the word “Samaritan” but simply said, “He that showed mercy on him.” Jesus answered, “Go, and do thou likewise.” To be a neighbor is to show love, mercy, and compassion wherever it is needed  to recognize our neighbor’s need and do what we can to help. That is how we fulfill the command to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Good lessons are found in this account. 1. Jesus is the Master Teacher. He taught we will know who our neighbor is if we resolve to be a neighbor, a person of love and mercy (Gal. 6:10; Rom. 13:8-10). Using a man of the despised race of Samaria to teach the lesson was a master stroke. “Never man spake like this man” (John 7:46).

2. Jesus appealed to the Bible as God’s Word. “What is written in the law? How readest thou?” “Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.” The Bible can be understood and has the right answer to every question (Matt. 4:1-11; 19:4; 22:29-31).

3. Religious debates are effective. This account teaches us to answer a question with a question at times. Jesus did not subscribe to Satan’s proverb, “I never discuss religion; I do not believe in debates.” We are not to engage in malicious quarrels, or to endlessly rehash the truth with people whose hearts are hardened (Rom. 1:29; Matt. 7:6; 10:14). Good de-bates can be traced from Elijah to Jesus to Paul to our time.

4. People who do not know the truth may do better at times on a given point than some who know the truth. Jeroboam led ten tribes of Israel to separate from Judah and to worship golden calves. When Israel went into Assyrian captivity, Assyria moved Gentiles into the land of Israel. The few Israelites left intermarried with Gentiles and their religions intermingled (2 Kings 17). Thus, the Samaritans arose with their false religion. Yet, in the story Jesus told, the Samaritan outshone two of God’s people. When the church at Corinth tolerated extreme immorality, God said the Gentiles do better than that (1 Cor. 5). Our proverb, “There is honor among thieves,” makes a similar point today.

5. Human sophistry cannot excuse sin. We cannot fool God by asking one question after another designed to get around his law and to justify ourselves. The lawyer knew the truth but his heart was not in it, just like the priest and the Levite.

The Good Samaritan Misused

Every gift and revelation from God has been twisted, perverted, and misused by Satan (2 Cor. 2:11; 2 Pet. 3:16). He twisted and tortured God’s law in the Garden of Eden to make evil appear harmless and good evil (Gen. 3:4-6). In tempting Christ, Satan perverted Psalm 91:11-12 to say God promises security to his children even when they disobey him; the passage promises God’s care when his children trust in him (Matt. 4:5-7). Jesus said men would destroy the temple of his body and, “In three days I will raise it up,” but at his trial false witnesses said he proposed to destroy the literal temple and rebuild it in three days (John 2:18-22; Matt. 26:59-61).

Satan’s ministers have perverted and misused the story of the good Samaritan to teach the following errors. 1. God does not care what our religion is, just so we are good neighbors and help people. This misses the lesson. Jesus shows that people who do not know the truth may do better on a given point at times than those who know the truth. He rebuked the spirit of the priest and the Levite another time, asking, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). The Bible speaks of some “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof’ (2 Tim. 3:5).

This is far different from teaching that people can be saved in ignorance and false religion. The Samaritan religion was a mixture of truth and error, an attempt to mix the worship of God with false gods. “They feared the Lord, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children’s children” (2 Kings 17:24-41). Jesus told the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well that her religion was false and devoid of salvation (John 4:22). She had to give up that religion to follow Christ.

Christ’s use of the good Samaritan to rebuke the Jews did not mean we can be saved by philanthropy without the gospel. Christ died on the cross because we cannot save ourselves by such deeds (Eph. 2:8-9). Salvation is only in Christ and is received by faith, repentance, confessing him, and immersion in water (Acts 2:36-38; 8:37).agencies, colleges, vocational training, entertainment activities, and legal and financial services.

2. The church is to be a good Samaritan by functioning as a social welfare institution. This very popular and widespread idea is utterly false. Jesus used the good Samaritan to teach that it is not enough to profess the truth  we must put it into practice in daily life. Each of us is personally responsible to help others as we have the ability and opportunity (Gal. 6:10; James 1:27). The church is a soul-saving institution, not a social welfare institution designed to provide hospitals, retirement centers, child care.

3. The church is to provide financial aid to anyone and everyone who asks without exception. No, the story of the good Samaritan is not discussing the use of a local church’s treasury, but emphasizes our personal, individual duty to our fellowman. The benevolent responsibility of a local church is limited to meeting the needs of faithful Christians on an emergency basis, except that qualified widows may be enrolled for constant care (Acts 6:1; 2 Cor. 9:1; 1 Tim. 5:4-16). A man who will not work should not be given aid at all (2 Thess. 3:10).

Guardian of Truth XL: No. 21, p. 8-9
November 7, 1996

By H. E. Phillips

To some degree just about everyone wants to be rich. The sad part is that most want to be rich in earthly treasures and care nothing for true riches. “Rich” is a relative term and does not say how much wealth one must have to be considered rich. It would depend entirely upon comparison with others. The word does not tell the nature of the wealth. One may be be rich in one thing and poor in another.

The Love of Money

The Holy Spirit warns: “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Tim. 6:9,10). Here those who “will be rich” are those who “love money,” and while they covet after it, they depart the faith and bring upon themselves many sorrows. I suppose there is nothing that has not been done or will not be done “to be rich.” One sure way to make a fortune is to devise a scheme which promises to make men rich and offer it for sale. The greed of men will drive them to invest in or purchase the plan in the hope of becoming rich.

False Concept of Riches

I can tell you how to be rich! But unlike some of the get-rich-quick schemes, I do not propose to offer the “uncertain riches” that fade away with time. “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17). The tendency to trust in uncertain riches is plainly taught by the word in a parable of a certain rich man whose ground brought forth plentifully. His major concern was to find the room to store his wealth, and when had he made ample arrangements he thought to say within himself: “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” God called him a fool and said he would die that night. Now what about his riches? Jesus concludes by saying: “So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:21).

The man who thinks he is rich because he has much money, property, stocks and bonds, and all that is considered wealth in this world is miserably mistaken. The lukewarm church in Laodicea considered itself rich. “Be-cause thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing . . .” (Would not a man in this state be considered secure and successful?) “. . . and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:17). I could hardly imagine a worse condition, yet these people thought of themselves as being rich, in-creased with goods, and have need of nothing. In reality they were wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.

True Riches

“I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich. . .” The real wealth comes from God and we must “buy” it. “Buy the truth, and sell it not” (Prow. 23:23). This suggests that the truth is obtained by some effort on your part and at some expense to you. Whatever you have to pay for it, do not sell it for any consideration.

Now, do you really want to be rich? I mean rich in the full sense of the word, with riches that cannot be taken from you. The Laodiceans were to “buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich.” “Buy” cannot mean that value for value is given, because there is no price man can bring to purchase the priceless riches in Christ. This simply indicates the effort on the part of the one desiring these riches to obtain them. The “gold tried in the fire” is the pure gold refined by fire and separated from the dross. “That you may be rich” is that true wealth from God in contrast to the riches of this world.

Jesus taught that men should “lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:19-21).

How to Become Rich

The true riches come from God through Christ. “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19). They come through Christ by the gospel. Paul said he had been made a minis-ter “to fulfill the word of God; even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is manifest to his saints: to whom God would make known what is the riches of his glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:25-27). “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:2, 3). Again Paul said, “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph. 3:8).

All this means that you can be rich if you will hear the word of truth concerning the unsearchable riches of Christ and understand it. But you must do the will of God to receive these riches. Both Jew and Gentile must call upon the name of the Lord to be saved (Rom. 10:13). In order to call upon him, they must believe; and in order to believe they must hear; and in order to hear, there must be a message given and a messenger to preach it. In the verse leading to this point we read: “For there is no difference between the Jew and Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him” (Rom. 10:12). The Lord is rich only to those who call upon him, and this is done by obeying the truth believed.

James 2:5 says that the poor in this world are “rich in faith.” Of course, this does not mean that one who is poor in things of this world is automatically “rich in faith.” Since the whole context is dealing with “respect of persons” even in the assembly, based upon how much of this world’s riches one possesses, the “poor” would be those saints who are not rich in goods, but rich in faith. A wealthy man may be “poor” in that he does not regard his wealth as important when compared to his faith in Christ.

The Lord said unto the church in Smyrna: “I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan” (Rev. 2:9). This church was in poverty, yet they were rich! How can this be? The answer, of course, lies in the difference between the riches of this world and the riches of faith in Christ. Moses elected to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; “es-teeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt” (Heb. 11:25,26).

False Values

Not many can be persuaded to accept the riches that come by faith in Christ. They are not nearly as interested in the treasures in heaven as in the treasures of this world. In this affluent society in which we live, anything that is not valued in terms of dollars and cents is not important. The great majority would not turn around for the privilege of learning the truth of God’s word. Most are not concerned about what their children are taught by way of television, movies, books, magazines, not to speak of back alleys and lonely roads in parked cars. Just so they can “make plenty of money” to “provide for their children,” nothing else makes any difference. Your child needs money less than anything else in this generation. He needs to become rich in things that extend beyond this life. He will never be rich, even if you leave him a million dollars, unless you teach him the wisdom of God that he may be rich in faith.

Find the riches of the wisdom of God in Christ, and obey it; you will be rich beyond anything this world can offer.

Guardian of Truth XL: No. 14, p. 12-13
July 18, 1996

By Norman E. Fultz

Let me tell you about a church and a program it offered for its youth which seems to have met with no small degree of success. But before we look at the youth program, maybe we should consider why we need to discuss it.

You see, it is felt by many that if youth are to be reached by the church, the church must engineer special pro-grams and activities that will appeal to them. In some cases, the idea is that a special youth minister is needed to keep the youth involved. He is to be as one with them and at the same time be an organizer of all sorts of special outings and activities.

In some cases it is thought the youth should be loosely organized so as to be properly represented as a group to the elders (somewhat like the student council in a high school). The elders, thus always duly counseled by the youths’ representative, can be sure to provide for all their “needs.” The responsibility of parents to provide activities of a social nature for the children with other youth is relieved as the church assumes it. So, in the mad rush for youth programs in re-cent years, the one I want to tell you about has often been shoved aside with little or no consideration. Some have thought of it as outmoded.

Surely you can now see why I considered it worthwhile to discuss the effective youth program of my home congregation. However, before giving the specifics of the youth program. let me tell you a bit about that church be-ginning with my earliest memories.

The country meeting house was a modest, white frame structure situated on a small plot, donated I think by one of the older members, ad-joining the grammar school grounds. The building was one large room filled with pews made from slats of wood about two inches wide and placed about one inch apart, a design that made for a fair degree of discomfort. Arranged in three rows plus a few in the Amen corner, the pews provided a seating capacity of perhaps 200. Heating was by a large coal-burning stove over in one corner. This allowed for much togetherness of the first two or three families to arrive on cold and inclement days as all sought to get close to the heater until it turned red hot and its heat began to radiate into the room. (The heat never seemed to reach the far corners.) Summer cooling was provided by raised windows and an ample supply of fans from a funeral home in town. Especially handy were those fans during the annual “big meetin”‘ held in late summer.

Services may not always have be-gun right “on time” since people came from every direction in that part of the county by whatever means of travel at their disposal and over roads that were dusty in summer and often deeply mud-rutted in winter. But when every one who seemed to be going to make it that day was present (sometimes the cedar wood whittlers and talkers had to be “sung in”), services began. The song leader, a somewhat rotund brother whose glasses fitted low on his nose allowing him to look over the rim at the audience, would announce the hymn number in the old paper back hymnal. A sharp striking of the tuning fork against the book was followed by a discernible humming of the beginning notes up and down the scale. He was a good song leader then and continued to be as long as he lived.

One of the brothers would lead in prayer, and Bible classes would be arranged, six classes to the best of my memory  a “card class” for “little ‘uns,” a class for older women and one for older men, a class for younger youth, one for older youth, and one for young adults. Three classes across the front and three across the rear of the auditorium with only an aisle separating them. It was of-ten easier to hear the teaching in the class across the aisle than to hear one’s own teacher. Not the most advantageous arrangement at all when considered by today’s convenient buildings with multiple, well-equipped classrooms.

The communion table was prepared with great care. A bright white cloth, starched and smoothly ironed, was spread on the table. Another equally as carefully prepared and placed, was spread over the elements of the Supper. Before communing, the brother “at the table” made a short talk about the significance of the occasion before taking the cloth by it creases and gingerly folding it and laying it to one side. That carefulness of preparation, even in my youthful observance, seemed to bespeak the reverence with which worship was to be offered.

Preaching was generally a once-a-month affair as a “part-time” preacher visited us. The one I best recall was aschool teacher or principal from the adjoining county. He walked with a decided limp on his artificial right leg; and upon arriving at the pulpit, he always asked the congregation to bow as he led us in prayer. Then, of course, there were those “big meetin’s” in summer in which the meeting house would not hold everyone and many gathered near the windows outside so as to hear as they sat on car fenders or the flat beds of farm wagons that had been pulled up close.

But now, about the youth program. It was probably be-cause of it that I became a Christian as did many of my contemporaries and those who were a bit older and those who followed after. The youth program consisted of Bible classes mentioned above, and the regular periods of worship in which all were encouraged to participate alike, whether youth or adult. It was expected that one would prepare his lesson, and the teacher did not apologize for calling upon class members to answer questions. Parents prepared their lessons complete with “daily Bible readings” and expected their children to do likewise. Discipline seemed never to be a problem.

Effective? Well, it must have been; for many obeyed the gospel and to this day, a half century or more later, I can count numbers who have remained faithful, some be-coming preachers, some elders, some marrying preachers. It was nothing special, just a church meeting in worship and service where folk seemed to realize what it was all about.

Guardian of Truth XL: No. 14, p. 
July 18, 1996

By Olen Holderby

This is my assigned subject for this special issue; and, I appreciate the opportunity to discuss these very important topics. I begin by borrowing a statement from Jesus that says, “The last shall be first, and the first last . . .”; for, this appears to be the best approach in studying these topics together.

Moral Issues

Neither word has found place in our English translation of the Gospel; but both words have some close relatives there, and are normally understood. Webster de-fines the word “moral” (adj.) as “conforming to a standard of what is right and good.” The word “is-sues,” while found in the Scripture, it is not there in the sense we normally use it. One comment which Webster makes on this word is “point of controversy.” Perhaps this is enough to set the stage for what we wish to say.

Let us first identify these moral issues. Galatians 5:19-20 is the first list that comes to mind: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, “and such like.” Paul’s “such like” seems to include all others mentioned in the Scriptures (Rom. 1; Col. 3; 1 Cor. 5, 6, etc.). Some of these moral issues are not so easily identified: hatred, covetousness, envy, malice, etc. Others, of course, are more easily recognized: Drinking, gambling, unscriptural marriages, murder, etc.

There is a fixed standard of “what is right and good” by which these things are to be governed. That standard is, of course, the “perfect law of liberty” (James 1:25; Phil. 1:27). Jesus demanded a higher standard in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:20). It appears that every time society lowers the standard, many in the church wish to do the same thing; and this is where/when moral issues become a battle-ground. God does not change (Mal. 3:6); Jesus does not change (Heb. 13:8); and, his law by which we are to live does not change. It cannot do so if it is the “perfect law of liberty.” I fail to see the difficulty in understanding these simple facts, or the application to moral issues.

The moral issues over which controversy is raging today are: divorce and remarriage problems, drinking of intoxicants, gambling, dancing, and homosexuality; at least this is so in my part of the country. The problems here are not to be assigned to a lack of plainness of the Scripture; rather, it seems to be a desire to lower that perfect standard. Compromising that standard cannot accomplish any-thing good. Jesus has plainly stated the only cause for divorce, and the ones who have a right to remarry (Matt. 5:32; 19:9). Any deviation from this is a lowering of the standard. The same can be said of other moral issues. In the final analysis the question would appear to be 

What is our attitude toward the standard given by the Lord? Having said these things, we are ready for the second part of our article.

Discipline

Webster defines this word as, “Treatment suited to a disciple or learner; educational training, drill; subjection to rule; severe training, instruction, chastisement, correction.”

From this definition, we can easily see that discipline is both preventive and corrective.

All church-related discipline has a two-fold purpose: (1) . To save souls (James 5:20; Gal.6:1), (2) To protect the purity of the church (Eph. 5:25-27; 1 Cor. 5:6). If, for some reason, we cannot save the soul, we can protect the purity of the church, and this must be done.

Preventive discipline has to do with instructions or teaching (Acts 20:28-30; Tit. 2:11-12; Phil. 1:27; Col. 1:28; 2 John 9-11). Proper teaching will deal with these moral is-sues, hopefully preventing people from participating therein. This stresses the importance of the local teaching program; such programs should be designed to include strong teaching on the moral issues.

Corrective discipline has to do with seeing to it that all members of a local church follow the gospel or suffer the consequences. This is punishing in nature; but, it is frequently necessary. Corrective discipline begins with the effort(s) to restore the guilty to a proper relationship to the Lord (Gal. 6:1; Tit. 3:10-11); we do this in meekness and love. The fact that such people are separated from God, in a lost condition, destined to eternal torment, clearly shows the urgency of such efforts.

The immoral man of 1 Corinthians 5 was to be disciplined, the disorderly of 2 Thessalonians 3 were to be disciplined, the false teacher of Romans 16:17 was to be disciplined, and the heretic of Titus 3 was to be disciplined. Any person persisting in or continuing in sin must be disciplined.

Discipline, whether preventive or corrective is for our own good (Heb. 12:4-11). When practiced, corrective discipline is never pleasant or joyous; it fact it is grievous. But, it “yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” Such discipline has its place even in private offenses (Matt. 5:22-24; 18:15-17), and it must be practised without respect of persons (James 2:9). This brings us to the third part of our study.

Fellowship

We come into fellowship with the Father and the Son through the agency of their word (1 John 1:3); and, that fellowship is maintained exactly the same way (1 Cor. 4:6; 2 John 9-11).

In the context of our study, the word “fellowship” has to do with relationship. Exactly what is our relationship to the one who has been disciplined? How do we treat them? What association are we allowed with them? The answer to these and other questions may be had through a study of some passages involved.

Romans 16:17, says that we are to “mark” the false teach-ers and to “avoid them.” To avoid is to “turn away from” and “to turn aside” (Vine). How can we avoid anyone by planning to be with them? This provides some response to our questions.

In reference to the immoral man of 1 Corinthians 5, we are told six things to do: Put away, judge them, with such a one don’t eat, not to company with, purge out, and deliver such a one unto Satan. The word “company” (sunanamignumi) is defined by Vine as, “to mix, mingle, to have or keep company with.” Does not this reflect upon the answers to our questions?

More proding for our answers may be found in 2 Thessalonians 3:6,14-15. We are to “Withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly. . .”; and, we are to “have no company with him.” Yet, Paul here says, “Count him not as an enemy; but admonish him as a brother.” To admonish anyone is to both instruct and to warn. This would appear to specify the limited contact which we may have with the one who has been disciplined.

“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Eph. 5:11). This is an obvious command, in fact two commands: (1) Have no fellowship with, and (2) Reprove them. Beck’s translation says, “Don’t have anything to do with.” To “reprove them” may make it a necessity to be with them; but, this contact would need to be for the purpose of reproving them. Thus, again, limits are drawn for us. When we make an effort to fellow-ship those who have no fellowship with God, we become “partaker of his evil deeds” (2 John 11)

We need to “continue sted fastly” in the apostles’ fellow-ship (Acts 2:42); yet, we must not forget that, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth” (1 John 1:6). On the other hand, “if we walk in the light, . . . we have fellowship one with an-other.” This most certainly is true where moral issues are concerned! May each of our lives be such, morally, that the standard will be held above the filth and scum of the world. To that extent, we may be able to say with Paul, “Christ liveth in me” (Gal.2:20).

Guardian of Truth XL: No. 13, p. 28-29
July 4, 1996