Truth Magazine

By Donnie V. Rader

The story of Moses and his spokesman Aaron going before Pharaoh with the demand of God to let his people go is rich with principles that drive home practical lessons.

The texts we are considering are Exodus 7-10. Moses and Aaron go before Pharaoh and demand the release of the children of Israel who were being held captive and used as servants by the Egyptians. With each denial of the request, God sent a plague upon the land of Egypt. Nine plagues are delivered by the end of chapter 10.

Let’s consider some lessons from these chapters.

1. Wrong on the part of others can be used to demonstrate the power of God (Exod. 7:4). Each time Pharaoh rebelled and stubbornly refused to heed the demand of God, it simply gave God an opportunity to demonstrate his power with another plague.

God used the apostasy of the Jews to bring the Gentiles in and the jealousy it created to win back some of the Jews (Rom. 11). Today, God can use (not cause) the depth of the sin of man to demonstrate this power to forgive (Col. 1:20-22). However great the sin, there is that much more grace (Rom. 5:20).

2. Our obedience should be just as we have been commanded. God had commanded Moses and Aaron to go before Pharaoh. “Then Moses and Aaron did so; just as the Lord commanded them, so they did” (Exod. 7:6). Our obedience should be “just as the Lord commanded.” Partial obedience is not true obedience. We cannot be selective in which commands are important and which are not. We must obey just as we have been instructed.

3. When the heart is not moved, it is hardened. After the first plague Pharaoh’s heart was not moved (Exod. 7:23). The verse before says his heart grew hard (v. 22). Thus, I conclude that when one will not allow his heart to be moved by the message of God, his heart becomes harder. With each rejection it gets harder and harder until the gospel no longer can prick the heart (Acts 2:37).

4. The absurdity of waiting until tomorrow. When the second plague (the frogs) came upon Pharaoh’s land, he called upon Moses to entreat the Lord to take away the frogs (Exod. 8:8). Moses told Pharaoh to pick the time he wanted to frogs removed (v. 9). Pharaoh said, “Tomorrow” (v. 10). Why wait? Why not removed them now? In essence he said, “Let us spend one more night with the frogs.” Sound strange? Yet, there are people in sin (non-Christians and Christians alike) who want to be forgiven, but put it off for a week, a month, or a year. Though God is ready to forgive, they are saying, “Let me have one more week or month with my sins.” I’d rather have the frogs.

5. God takes care of his people. With the fourth plague (the flies) God specifically excluded the land of Goshen (where his people lived) so that they did not suffer like the wicked Egyptians (Exod. 8:22). I must conclude that God takes care of his people. He promises to put his eyes over us and have his ears attuned to our prayers (1 Pet. 3:12).

6. Some make promises and pleas only when they are down. Pharaoh cared little about God and his people. Only when the plagues had him in a corner did he cry out to God for deliverance and promise to release the children of Israel (Exod. 8:29ff). Yet when the plague was lifted he returns again to his stubborn rebellion against God. Today, there are those who continue in their lives of sin until all is out of their control and only then do they make promises of doing better if their situation is improved.

7. Those who fear God regard his word and obey.  Exodus 9:20-21 shows a contrast between those who fear God and those who do not regard his word. Thus, those who fear God are those who regard the word of God. Later Moses told Pharaoh that he knew he would not fear God (9:30). The context shows that he meant he would not obey God.

8. God expects us to pass the knowledge of him on from generation to generation. God told Moses that as he showed his power and might in the plagues, he wanted told “in the hearing of your son and your son’s son the mighty things that I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord” (Exod. 10:2). The grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Moses and Aaron should have been just as impressed with the mighty plagues as they were. God expects us to well inform our children so they will know the Lord God and be able to do the same for their children.

9. Stubbornness has consequences. No one has been any more stubborn in dealing with God’s requirements than Pharaoh was. However, his stubbornness led to the destruction of his land, his people, his power, and himself. Today there are people who are so stubborn that they refuse to obey the gospel lest someone get the impression they are being “pushed” or “forced” into doing what they don’t want to do. One who will not swallow his pride and submit to the Lord in obedience is stubborn. Stubbornness has consequences.

408 Dow Dr., Shelbyville, Tennessee 37160

By W. R. Jones

One piece of wisdom I have given to young preachers who have sought advice is this; “Don’t preach in glittering generalities.”

One of the many remarkable things about the teaching of Jesus is seen in the fact that it was always simple and to the point. The same for the most part can also be said of Paul. In writing to the church at Corinth, Paul said, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with ex­cellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God” (1 Cor. 2:1). Both Jesus and the inspired apostle demonstrated the importance of simplicity of speech. Sometime it is easy for preachers to preach in such “generalities” that no one knows for sure just what they are talking about. And sometimes worldly-minded members like it that way, be­cause that kind of preaching really never bothers anyone. I might add that it also accomplishes very little, if anything. A preacher may impress his audience with a wonderfully worded speech, but if his lesson doesn’t teach and touch the hearts of his hearers, the time has been wasted.

This reminds me of the story about some people who came as visitors to hear a preacher, noted for his “excellency of words.” When the service had ended some friends inquired concerning their impression of the preacher and the lesson. Whereupon, one young fellow responded, “that must be the smartest man in the world, I never understood a thing he said.” This was meant to be a great compliment, but it was far from it. Lost and dying men today stand in need, not of high sounding lectures centered around the projects of men, but the simple gospel of Jesus Christ. Our pulpits should ring with the sound of truth, but it is easy  for the pulpit to become nothing more than a “promotional podium” for pet projects and the monetary resources to support them

I am told the story of two candidates who had engaged in a very hot campaign for the office of governor. Most of the things in each man’s platform were identical. The incumbent had been content to plainly set forth his platform time and again. Meanwhile, his opponent had loosed quite a few implicating “glittering generalities,” making sure that he did not commit himself plainly and specifically to anything. He made it plain enough to do harm and vague enough to sound innocent. In the incumbent’s last campaign speech, he said, “The issue in this campaign is really very clear. When all the glittering terms are stripped of their glitter and my opponent’s speeches have been set out in their light, the one and only issue between us is this: I am the governor of this state and he wants to be.”

In preaching, “Glittering Generalities” are mighty effective for easing the sting of truth, and keeping the preacher uninvolved, but not for setting forth the saving power of the gospel. There is an old East Texas saying which says, “You have to put the salve where the sore is.” Applying the remedy round about will not get the job done. As preachers we should desire to preach, and as members, we should desire to hear only the “truth of God” in all simplicity. Perhaps we would all do well to ask ourselves the following question: “What kind of spiritual food am I receiving where I worship? As preachers we need to ask ourselves the question, what kind of diet am I offering my listeners? Our mission is to reprove, rebuke, and exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. We would do well to remember, you can’t make a strong church with a weak diet!

Where I preach I am constantly pushing for more in attendance. However, I must be careful that my quest for numbers does not influence me to present a “please everybody, watered down message.” It is a great temptation to alter the lesson when you fully know that your lesson will hinder your desire for great numbers. But remember, “telling it like it is” will also win some lost folks to Christ and prepare them for eternity. We have but one choice: preach the word in season and out.

From The Messenger, Decker Prairie, Pinehurst, Texas

By Justin Monts

How do you define success? Some define success as making a lot of money and marrying a good-looking man or woman. With God, however, success is measured in a much different way. 

The Lord instructed Joshua, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Josh. 1:8). True success is an approval that based on obedience to God (Acts 10:34-35). Having the greatest riches or the most popularity is meaningless in view of eternity. Are we living by the Book? That is the question to ask. If we are, then we are successful. 

Among the Corinthians, we read of some less fortunate but, nonetheless, successful Christians. “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are” (1 Cor. 1:26-28). Sometimes, rather than act jealous toward those who “have it all,” we should just be thankful for what we lack. Those who were “unpopular” were more inclined to obey the gospel. On the other hand, the rich had to be reminded “not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches, to do good, to be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share” (1 Tim 6:17-19; cf. Luke 6:24). Such was not the case with the poor. In contrast, God had chosen them (Jas. 2:5). 

When we stand before God in the judgment it will not matter what the world thought of us. How successful we were according to its standard is meaningless! Did we obey the Lord? This is the question to dwell upon and consider. Not long ago I came across a shirt which read, “He who dies with the most toys, still dies.” And when all is said and done that is the plain truth (Mark 8:36). Our condition before God alone determines success or failure (Eccl. 12:13-14). May each of us see things as God would have us to see them.

3602 – 243rd Ave. SE, Issaquah Washington 98027-7597

By Steven J. Wallace

About this time of year there is a jingle that is heard throughout the season. It often sounds like this: “Keep Christ in Christmas” or “Christmas is nothing without Christ but everything with Him.” Unfortunately, there is much “Christmas Fiction” today, fables that ring as if they are good and true but upon closer investigation are found to be falsehoods. 

Keep Christ In Christmas

One cannot keep Christ in Christmas because Christ was never in Christmas to begin with. This may often come across as shocking to most but it is no doubt the truth. While we read of the “what” of Jesus’ birth in the Bible, we nowhere read of the “when” and certainly not Christmas. What then of Christmas? The answer is simple; it originated with men and not God. The Bible doesn’t identify either the year or the month and day that Jesus was born and yet droves of people commemorate December 25 as his birthday? It was not until A.D. 354 that Liberius, Bishop of Rome, prescribed it to be celebrated on December 25. The choosing of this date was probably influenced by the pre-existing celebration of pagan festivals such as the celebration of Mithras, the supposed god of light and truth. Also in December the Romans celebrated Saturnalia, often filled with riotous and orgiastic behavior. It appears that Christmas was invented to assist in the transformation of pagan festivals from such carnal and depraved behavior to something more palatable to moral goodness. 

However, even if we did know the birthday of Christ, there is no authority in the Bible, the word of God, for commemorating it as a religious holiday. It is his death, burial and resurrection that the Lord stresses his followers to memorialize (Matt. 26:26-30; Luke 22:14-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-29). For the first-century Christian, this was a regular and weekly practice (Acts 20:7). How can we keep Christ in Christmas when Christmas was created four centuries after he was born? We have as much authority to keep Christ in Christmas as we do the fourth of July.

Three Wise Men At The Manger

Other fables and myths are publicly preached in “nativity scenes” that show three wise men gathering around a manger to see baby Jesus. Where does the Bible show that there were only three wise men? It is very assumptive to presume there were only three wise men simply because Jesus received three “kinds” of gifts. If one should say today that he received at his birthday clothes, music CDs, and computer software, it is ludicrous to assume that he must have only had three people at his party! 

We don’t know how many wise men were present to see and worship the sinless Son of God, but we definitely know that they did not see him in a manger. When Jesus was visited by the wise men, they “had come into the house” (Matt. 2:11), not into a barn. Incidentally, the wise men were not the same as the shepherds as given in Luke’s account, but distinctively different. They were from the “East” (Matt. 2:1) which is more than likely Persia. On the other hand, the shepherds were living in the fields of the “same country” (Luke 2:8) in which Jesus was born. The shepherds saw Jesus right after he was born (thus in a manger) but the Scripture implies that the wise men were expecting to see a child who was up to two years old, from Herod’s deplorable action (compare Matt. 2:7 and 2:16), thus a while after Jesus’ birth. 

Born In December

As for when Jesus was born, please consider that more than likely, Jesus was born between March and November. Scholars tell us that this is the time frame when shepherds would drive their sheep out to deserts and mountainous regions and then bring them back by October or early November.

Here is a chronology that presents the facts better than these half truth dramatizations that are given today:

• Announcement to Mary (Luke 1:26-38). 
• Announcement to Joseph (Matt. 1:18-24). 
• Birth of Jesus (Matt. 1:25; Luke 2:1-7). 
• Announcement to Shepherds and visit (at manger)         (Luke 2:8-20). 
• Jesus’ circumcision (eight days old) (Luke 2:21). 
• Jesus’ presentation at the temple (about 40 days old) (Lev. 12:1-6; Luke 2:22-38). 
• Wise men visit Jesus (at house) (Matt. 2:1-12). 
• Journey to Egypt (Matt. 2:13-15). 
• Massacre of children (Matt. 2:16-18). 
• Return to Nazareth (Luke 2:39; Matt. 2:19-23).

Be Careful What You Teach

Having said all that, we should be careful that we teach biblical events in a truthful way, “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment” (Jas. 3:1). Christmas is a time to spend time with family, exchange gifts, and eat good food, but there is no biblical authority for observing it as a religious holiday. To those who want salvation of the soul, we must not look into the manger, but to the cross in humble obedience (Col. 1:19-23; 1 Tim. 2:5, 6; Rom. 6:3-9).

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