Truth Magazine

By Bruce Reeves

The March 25, 1991 issue of the U.S. News and World Report devoted several pages to the subject of hell. Some statements from the article are significant: “By most accounts hell has all but disappeared from the pulpit rhetoric of mainline Protestantism” (U.S. News and World Report, March 25, 1991, 56).

Martin Marty, University of Chicago professor, said: “Hell has disappeared and no one noticed . . . if people really believed in hell, they would not be . . . watching t.v. preachers, they would be out rescuing the lost.”

In an article entitled, “Hell Is Still On Fire,” Helen T. Gray of the Kansas City Star quoted from Robert Collins a Southern Baptist preacher of the area as follows: “. . . Even among conservatives, hell in the last decade has undergone a gradual cooling. Some church leaders no longer preach or teach about it . . . It has become land of a silent doctrine in the church . . . This has been done to make the church more acceptable to the baby boomers and generation X, which I think is tragic” (Kansas City Star, January 30, 1996).

It is important for us to recognize the truth that we must accept all of Jesus or we cannot have any part of him. The same Jesus that offers us the great and precious promises of heaven is the same Jesus that said: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28). The apostle Paul wrote the following: “. . . the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven . . . in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and the glory of His power” (2 Thess. 1:7-9). Let us notice what the Bible has to say about the subject of hell.

Why Does Hell Exist?

Sir William Blackstone said, “Law is a rule of action. In the fourth or vindicatory part of law consists the main strength or force. Where there is no law there can be no violation; where there is no penalty the law is null and void. The principles of right and justice must have a penalty behind them.”

Why is there a hell? (1) If there is no hell or penalty, there is no law. (2) If there is no law, there can be no sin. (3) If there is no sin, there is no moral or spiritual responsibility.

Many in our time feel that the Bible’s teaching about hell is antiquated and such teaching, quite frankly, is met with a certain amount of disdain and abhorrence. Yet, if there is such a place, we are compelled as Christians to warn the lost of their condition outside of Christ. We can, however, receive great consolation in the realization that none of us has to go to this awful torment. Every sinner who is lost to hell walks over the crucified body of Jesus and tramples the “blood of the covenant” with no concern for his own soul. Everything that divine love and human suffering could do to redeem a lost people has been done (John 3:16). 

The Nature of Hell

Hell Will Be Eternal. The same word that describes the existence of God and the Holy Spirit describes the duration of hell (Matt. 25:46). This will not be temporary torment, but everlasting.

Hell Will Be Dark. Hell will be dark because God will not be there. There will be no hope for the future and no opportunity for change, for our destinies will be sealed (Matt. 25:30). Hell will be a place of darkness because it will be the abode of sinners (1 John 1:5; Rev. 21:8).

Hell Will Be A Place Of Fire. “And the smoke of their torment will ascend up forever and ever: and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoso ever receiveth the mark of his name” (Rev. 14:11). 

Why Is Hell Decribed As It Is?

These are all descriptive terms to represent to the human perception and mind the awfulness and terror of the punishment awaiting those who do not obey Jesus Christ.  The Bible describes heaven as having “streets of gold” and “gates of pearl.” Certainly, we understand that this is figurative language of heaven. In like manner, God is unsparing in his use of every concept and term possible to describe the terror of hell.

The term “Gehenna” in the Greek is used to describe this place, but why? The valley of Hinnom, or Gehenna, bounds Jerusalem on the south below Mount Zion, and is the place which is so often mentioned as the setting of the awful idolatrous rites practiced by the apostate kings before the idol Moloch. When King Josiah at last succeeded in overthrowing the idolatry, he defiled the valley by casting into it the bones of the dead, the greatest of all pollutions among the Jews. From this time on, all the dead refuse of Jerusalem was cast into it and the combustible parts of it destroyed by fire, which was kept forever burning.

In the time of Christ, the festering bodies of criminals according to the barbarous fashion of execution then prevalent, were cast into this terrible valley and the smoke of their ever burning fires carried this horrid stench mingled with the smell of dead swine. To the Jew the name “Gehenna” would provoke within him the most profound sensations of disgust. Jesus is using the term to express the nature of the place for which the lost are destined.

Who Can Save Us?

It is true that each of us deserves hell because of our sins against the Lord (Rom. 3:23; 6:23), but the wonderful truth is that no one has to go to hell. We can lay hold on eternal life through faith in the divine Son of God, Jesus Christ. God is gracious and merciful and wants to save us, but he gives us the choice! Listen to the apostle Paul: “For when we were without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet perhaps for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Much more then being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”

10 Cedar Hill Road, Conway, Arkansas 72032

By David Dann

Toward the end of his epistle, Jude writes, “But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 17). There is certainly a great deal written in the New Testament concerning these men known as “the apostles of Christ.” The word “apostle” simply refers to one who is sent by another for some purpose. Therefore, the apostles of Christ were sent by Christ in order to accomplish a specific purpose. 

The apostle Paul describes the work of Christ’s apostles in the following manner: “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-13). 

The apostles of Christ were sent to carry out the work of edification among the churches of our Lord in order to bring about unity among God’s people through proclaiming God’s word. However, it is important to note that this work was only conferred upon a few select individuals. The Scriptures teach that there were certain qualifications that one had to meet in order to be able to serve as an apostle of Christ. In order to qualify, a man must have been:

1. A witness of Jesus Christ. Shortly before his death, Jesus told his twelve apostles, “And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning” (John 15:27). The apostles were a special group of messengers sent by Christ to spread the gospel message throughout the world. These men must have been with Christ during his ministry in order to qualify as his witnesses. This point is made clear in Acts 1 where we are told that the remaining eleven apostles sought a man to replace Judas Iscariot as an apostle in order to fulfill the prophecies concerning Judas. The apostle Peter pointed out on that occasion that for a man to qualify to serve he must “have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us” (Acts 1:21-22). Even the apostle Paul was a personal witness of the resurrected Christ (1 Cor. 15:1-9).

2. Chosen by Christ. All of Christ’s apostles were personally called and chosen by Christ himself. Luke writes that Jesus “called unto him his disciples; and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles” (Luke 6:13). Christ carefully selected twelve men from all of his disciples to serve as apostles. Paul refers to himself as, “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead)” (Gal. 1:1). No man had the right or authority to take it upon himself to become an apostle of Christ. According to the Scriptures, only those who were personally chosen by Christ could qualify to serve as apostles. 

3. A personal student of Christ. The apostles were also personal disciples of Jesus (Luke 6:13). Therefore, they were constantly learning the truth of the gospel from their teacher during their time with him. They were able to teach others the same truth that they had learned directly from the Lord. Not only did they learn from Christ, but they were guided into a further and more complete disclosure of the truth through the Holy Spirit after the resurrection and ascension of Christ (John 14:26; 16:7-15). Even the apostle Paul learned the truth directly from Christ, for he says, “But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Gal. 1:11-12). 

4. Able to perform miracles. In Acts 2 we are told that “many wonders and signs were done by the apostles” (Acts 2:43). While these miracles confirmed the truth of the apostles’ message, they also proved that a man was qualified to serve as an apostle. Paul made this clear to those who questioned his own right to apostleship when he said, “For in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing. Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds” (2 Cor. 12:11-12). Not only were the miracles themselves proof of apostleship, but the ability to confer miraculous gifts on others through the laying on of hands was also exclusive of the apostles. While Philip the evangelist enjoyed much success in preaching the gospel and performing miracles (Acts 8:5-13), he had to wait for Peter and John to come and lay hands on the converts so that they could receive the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14-17). Simon the Sorcerer rightly observed, “that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given” (Acts 8:18).

Conclusion

The apostles were a special group of carefully selected messengers. Only those who meet the qualifications given in the New Testament can rightly serve as apostles of Christ. No one today meets those qualifications. Therefore, let us guard against those whom Paul warns are “false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ” (2 Cor. 11:13). We would do well to follow after the example of the Ephesians whom the Lord commended because they “tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars” (Rev. 2:2). 

41 Foch Ave., Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada M8W 3X3

By W.R. Jones

After 59 years of preaching I am still a great believer in the power of gospel preaching. I am convinced that absolutely nothing will put God’s true message across as well as a forceful lesson from a godly preacher or teacher. I say this because I firmly believe that we not only draw from the words of those who teach us, but from their lives and character. While I was quite a young preacher I worked with an elder of the church, who I am sure, did more to shape my future than any man. This godly man taught me a great deal, and yet, strange as it may seem, I cannot remember precisely as much of what he taught me as I can remember about him, his life, his character, and his attitude. By his life and his teachings he was molding me for service to Christ.

In Acts 4:13 please notice what is said about Peter and John. “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” They took note that these men “had been with Jesus.” I am sure there were a number of things that led the observers to make the statement. This was in the infancy of the church and Jesus had been gone for sometime, but these people could tell that the men “had been with Jesus.” Everything about them pointed toward their devotion to Christ and it was very obvious to those who stood by and observed.

So, what we need today is not more gimmicks, not more novel plans, not more ingenious approaches, but more godly men who will set forth the unsearchable riches without fear or favor, and do it free of fanaticism. Today, we need men, and women as well (within their scope of teaching) who will demonstrate in word and deed that they have “been with Jesus.”

The “Social Gospel” influence upon us today has caused many to look with disdain upon “old fashioned gospel preaching.” The new idea is to get the message across with “puppet shows” and “Bible drama” and a host of other things which are designed to entertain and do some teaching at the same time. I must confess, I just don’t believe a  puppet or an actor could have much of a spiritual impact on me. But, that godly elder did! He didn’t entertain me, but he taught me, and let me freely observe that teaching in his life. I had the wonderful opportunity to see what it is really all about.

Question — How do you think the gospel was spread over this great East Texas area? Do you think it was done with “watered down” sermons designed to entertain? Do you think pioneer preachers established schools or camps that the Word might be spread? Do you think they presented messages that never offended anyone? The answer to all these questions is no! I will tell you what they did for the most part. With but few exceptions, they told listeners only those things in the Bible. They tore down the strongholds of error through preaching and debate. They preached anywhere they could get an audience and from home to home. By modern standards their presentations would be judged “crude,” but nevertheless, they were telling people what they needed to hear and not what they wanted to bear. They got the job done. Thousands left error and embraced the gospel of Christ.

So, while the denominational world and the liberal minded members of the church give the world “puppet shows” and “Bible dramas” and all kind of presentations that obscure and water down the truth, let’s get on with the real work. Let’s give the lost and dying world the forceful, but simple gospel of Christ. Let it fall from the lips of truly spiritual men who have “been with Jesus.” We may not have the most listeners and we may not have the biggest crowds, but we will prepare more people for eternity, and make them “meet for the Master’s use” (2 Tim. 2:21).

From The Messenger, Decker Prairie Church of Christ

By Larry Ray Hafley

Read the brief account of the work of Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:1-15:35). The text does not tell us of Paul and Barnabas’ personal feelings toward one another, but they must have been deep, loving, respectful, appreciative, tender, firm, and strong. Two men could not stand, fight, and work so intimately and closely without developing a powerful, personal bond of brotherhood. It is touching to think about.

Suddenly, however, we read of their disagreement and division. Barnabas wanted to take John Mark, but Paul “thought (it) not good to take him with them . . . and the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed one from the other” (Acts 15:36-40). Paul chose Silas, and Barnabas took Mark, and their work prospered. Later evidence shows they were reconciled to one another. They did not allow bitterness and silent separation to follow them to their graves.

But in the interval, immediately after the split, I have wondered if Paul and Barnabas did not regret their estrangement. Did they lie awake at night and quietly weep and pray for one another? Did each hope that the other felt the same twinges of concern and affection that he felt? Did they often long for one another’s presence, support, advice, and counsel? While believing their judgment was correct concerning Mark, did they ever regret their strong feelings and pointed words toward one another? Did they ever wish the whole episode had not occurred, or that they had muzzled and squelched their opinion of Mark and gone along in order to avoid the rupture of their work together? Did they promise themselves that they would be extra careful to confirm their love to one another when next they met? Did they hope that it was all somehow for the best? Did each promise himself to be the first to seek the restoration of their cooperation? Oh, consider the depths of hope, fear, love, anguish, and prayer that must have flooded their broken hearts! Surely, they felt and shared similar sorrows and emotions.

If you are Paul, who is your Barnabas? If you are Barnabas, who is your Paul? If you have been in the kingdom for a num­ber of years and have earnestly contended for the faith, you prob­ably have “a Barnabas,” someone you are at odds with, but you wish you were not. You remember with gentle fondness the sweet times and sad trials you bore together. You recall the family activities, the picnics, the singings, the hugging, the tears, the closeness, the bonds of fellowship, and ties of love that were once dearer than those among some of your own family. Then came “the split,” the hard looks, the harsh words, the misunder­standings, the unexplained changes in behavior, the cold stares, the sullen avoidance, the hurt, the pain, the tears, the sorrow and regret. Yes, you have felt it all and more, and you wish to recall those former days. “It could never be the same again.” Perhaps not, but, it need not remain the way it is.

Maybe your “Barnabas” feels the very same way and would react positively to a friendly gesture of kindness. There is only one way to find out.