Truth Magazine

By Johnie Edwards

The goings on among some churches of Christ is hard to believe. Take a look at some of these things which are going on among some churches of Christ:

1. Supporting a Billy Graham Crusade: A Nashville, Tennessee church of Christ is bringing Billy Graham to Nashville this month to preach. Mr. Graham preaches, among other things, salvation by faith only. The Bible does not teach such. James said, “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only” (Jas. 2:24). It’s hard to believe some have drifted so far!

2. A Good Friday and Easter Service: The Bering Drive Church of Christ in Houston, Texas conducted a “Good Friday Service” in April. Their bulletin stated, “Come remember the day Jesus died on Good Friday at 7:00 p.m. “Join us for breakfast, a dramatic presentation from the Gospels, and a celebration of Jesus, the Resurrection and Life. Come worship as the Bering Chorus presents special songs for Easter.” Ever read anything in the Bible about the Lord’s church conducting this kind of a service? It’s hard to believe but it happened!

3. A Passover Meal: A church of Christ “shared a Passover Meal.” I thought the Passover belonged to the Jews of the Old Testament as they remember the sparing of their first born in Exodus 12. Beats me!

4. Baked Potatoes, Ice Cream and Prizes: A church of Christ conducted a fifth Sunday singing and their bulletin stated: “The April singing offered a new menu for the supper with baked potatoes, pies and ice cream. Prizes will be given to those who can answer special questions about singing.” I thought the gospel of Christ was the drawing power (Rom. 1:16; 1 Cor. 15:1-2), not potatoes, pies and ice cream with prizes! Didn’t Paul say that the “Kingdom is not meat and drink . . .” (Rom. 14:17)?

4121 Woodyard Rd., Bloomington, Indiana 47404

By Donnie V. Rader

What is gambling? Is it a sin? Can we prove it to be wrong, even though it is not mentioned in the Bible? How can we argue that betting $2.00 on a horse is wrong, but losing $1,000 in the stock market is not? Can gambling be justified on the basis that the revenue it generates is used for education and other good programs? These and other questions we will attempt to answer in this article.

A Widespread Problem

“Lotteries are the most-played form of legalized gambling in the U.S.” ( John R. Hill, Theft By Consent). In 1997 Americans wagered $35.8 billion on lotteries. That is $135 for every man woman and child in the nation. “The amount gambled yearly in the United States — estimated at more than $500 billion — easily outpaces government expenses on Medicare and Medicaid combined” (Mayo Foundation, 1999).

“At least 75% of all high school students have gambled.” That makes it average and expected. Thus, gambling to many is no big deal. The fastest growing group of problem gamblers in terms of those calling for help is senior citizens. Seventy-two percent of Florida’s seniors calling a hotline for problem gamblers — identify the lottery as the source of their problem.

Store owners in California reported a decline in grocery sales equivalent to the sale of lotteries tickets where stores sold the tickets (John R. Hill, Theft by Consent, 4).

Not a New Problem

The Greeks of Homer’s time took knucklebones from  sheep and goats and marked them to serve as dice. Gambling boards discovered in Crete date back to 1800 to 1900 B.C. In Babylon, headless arrows were used for making wagers.

The ancient Egyptians played atep, a game of guessing the number of upheld fingers. The classical Greeks are known to have played with astragals, the forerunner of modern dice, and Jews in biblical Israel gambled by throwing dice. The Romans were reportedly obsessed with gaming and bet heavily on gladiatorial fights and chariot races. The Roman historian Tacitus noted that the ancient Germans gambled not only wealth but liberty as well (Grolier).

Tertullian said, “If you say you are a Christian when you are a dice player, you say what you are not, because you are a partner with the world.”

What Is Gambling?

1. What gambling is: The dictionaries and encyclopedias define gambling as “To bet money on the outcome of a game, contest, or other event” (American Heritage Dictionary, 546). “Gambling is the wagering of money or other valuables on the outcome of a game or other event” (Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia). “Gambling is betting on the outcome of a future event. Gamblers usually bet money or something else of value as a stake on the outcome they predict. When the outcome is settled, the winner collects the loser’s stakes” (World Book Encyclopedia, 1979).

The above definitions suggest that there are three elements involved in gambling: (a) There is an uncertain event that is arbitrarily determined. (b) There is a bet or wager that is deliberately chanced. (c) Then, there is a winner and a loser. The winner gains at the expense of the loser or losers. When these three elements are present, there is gambling.

2. What gambling is not: Gambling is not taking a risk. Life is filled with risks such as crossing the street, starting a business, or operating a farm. Taking a risk does not have the three elements mentioned above. For example, buying single stock is quite risky. However, if the business does well, no one loses. Furthermore, there is no wager involved. Something of value is bought that may go up or down in value.

Buying insurance is not gambling. Again, something of value is bought — financial protection. The buyer and the insurance company both stand to gain. The risk is not created by buying an insurance policy.

Prizes such as winning a sweepstakes is not gambling. There is no risk created by registering to win a prize. There is no bet or wager involved. The three elements of gambling are not present when one registers or wins a prize.
3. Gambling is not determined by size or degree. It is a matter of what action is taken, and not the degree. It could involve $50.00 or 50¢. “Gambling, for the compulsive gambler is defined as follows: Any betting or wagering, for self or others, whether for money or not, no matter how slight or insignificant, where the outcome is uncertain or depends upon chance or ‘skill’ constitutes gambling” (Gambler’s Anonymous web page). That would include “little” things like flipping for who will buy the coffee or matching pennies.

Different Forms of Gambling

The obvious forms of gambling include the lottery, horse or dog races, poker, roulette, slot machines and betting on sports events.

There are other forms of gambling that may not be as obvious to some. At least they are practiced in places where “gambling” is not legalized. If the three elements of gambling (uncertain event, a wager, and a winner and loser) are present, it is gambling! A raffle involves gambling. Some bingo games have all three of these elements. Playing the chance games at carnivals and fairs have all three components.

Why Gambling is Wrong

The Bible does not always state the conclusion that we are to draw. Rather, there are times that God gives us the evidence from which to draw that conclusion. For example, when John sent his disciples to Jesus to ask, “Are you the Coming One, or do we look for another?” Jesus did not give a specific “Yes” or “No.” Instead, he worked miracles in their presence and told them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard” (Luke 17:19-22). He merely gave them evidence from which to draw their conclusion. Jesus did the same on the question of divorce in Matthew 19:3-6.

The point is: gambling is not specifically mentioned in the Bible. That is, there is no passage that says, “Thou shalt not gamble.” However, there are biblical principles that are violated in gambling. The Bible gives ample evidence for us to conclude that it is wrong.

1. It is addictive. The enslaving nature of gambling is seen in the necessity of such organizations as Gambler’s Anonymous (www.gamblersanonymous.org). The crimes gambling breeds suggest that it is an addiction that has to be supported. John R. Hill, Ph.D., senior policy analyst for Alabama Family Alliance, states:

For many of these problem gamblers, the source of their trouble is the lottery. Of the 40,000 calls to the Council on Compulsive Gambling national hotline in 1996, fully 52 percent were from adults addicted to playing the lottery (Theft By Consent 15).
Paul said, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any” (1 Cor. 6:12). Even things right within themselves become wrong when it reaches the point of addiction. When we are addicted to something we no longer have the control of self that the Bible demands (2 Pet. 1:5).

2. It is covetousness. The gambler has an inordinate desire to gain what is not rightfully his. He seeks to win at the expense of others. That is covetousness which, Paul said, is idolatry (Col. 3:5). Timothy was told, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Tim. 6:10).

3. It violates the principle of love and the golden rule. The gambler cannot love his neighbor and practice the golden rule while striving to take all at the loser’s expense. Gambling is stealing by consent just as dueling is murder by consent. It is an effort to beat another out of what he does not want to give.

Jesus preached that we should love our neighbor as ourself (Matt. 22:39). In his mountain message he taught, “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 7:12). In gambling one certainly is not treating others the way he wants to be treated.

4. It violates the principle of stewardship. We are to be good stewards of what God has given us (Luke 12:42; 1 Pet. 4:10). Stewards have the weighty responsibility to be diligent in handling what belongs to his master (1 Cor. 4:2).

To say the least, gambling is poor stewardship. Would you want someone to manage your money that way? The odds are against winning. John R. Hill said:

In the typical state lottery, the odds of picking the right numbers are one in 12-14 million. By comparison, your chances of being struck by lightening are one in 1.9 million (Theft By Consent 23).

5. It violates the legitimate means of transfer of money or property. There are three legitimate ways of transferring money or goods. Labor involves money earned and paid for effort extended. Numerous passages allude to this (Eph. 4:28; 2 Cor. 11:8; 2 Thess. 3:10; 1 Cor. 9:9-10; Luke 10:7; Matt. 10:10; 20:1-15). Gambling does not involve gain by labor.

Exchange is where a commodity is exchanged for something of value (money or other goods). Any buying or selling involves exchange (cf. Matt. 13:44-45; Luke 22:36; Acts 4:32-37; 16:14). Buying stocks or insurance is an exchange. Gambling does not involve gain by exchange.

A gift is money or something of value that is given without any expectation of any return. Helping the needy involves a gift (Eph. 4:28; Acts 2, 4, 6, 11). When one receives an inheritance, it is a gift (Num. 27:1-11; Deut. 21:15-17). Gifts were given to Jesus at his birth (Matt. 2:11). When a company gives prizes (products or money) away for advertisement it is a gift. Gambling does not involve a gift. Thus, gambling does not fit any of the legitimate means of transfer of money or goods.

Gambling Breeds Others Sins

Jesus said we can know a tree by its fruits (Matt. 7:15-20). The problems that gambling generates tells us that it is corrupt.

1. Crime to support the addiction. Many gamblers (who never thought of committing a crime) have turned to all types of criminal activity to support their addiction to gambling.

According to research by the Compulsive Gambling Center in Baltimore, at least two-thirds of compulsive gamblers engage in criminal activity to finance their addiction, including check forgery, tax evasion, embezzlement, bookmaking, prostitution, selling drugs, and fencing stolen goods. Before their addiction, many gambling addicts had no prior criminal record (John R. Hill, Theft By Consent 19).

2. Suicide. The probability of attempting suicide is far greater among gamblers than the general population. The probability for the general population is 1.1 percent. For members of Gambler’s Anonymous it is 13 percent (John R. Hill, Video Vice 11).

Suicide rates in gambling cities is higher than other cities.

Suicide rates in gambling cites such as Las Vegas, Reno and Atlantic City are higher than in non-gambling cities, according to a study published December 15, 1997, in the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research Web Site).

3. The general crime rate is up in gambling areas. Let’s look at three areas of the country. Las Vegas had the highest crime rate per capita in the nation in 1981. At one point they reduced the crime rate by aggressive tactics which resulted in incarcerating ten percent of the city’s population. In 1994 it had five times the violent crimes as it was able to solve (John R. Hill, Video Vice 14).
Atlantic City’s officials claim that two-thirds of all its crimes are gambling related (Ibid. 14).

In Mississippi bank robberies have increased fourfold along the river since 1992. Tunica has reported a 500 percent increase in drunk driving. The total crimes such as credit card forgery, illegal drug possession, embezzlement, prostitution and robberies have increased (Ibid. 14).

Conclusion

With the knowledge of what gambling is and the principles that it violates, any reasonable person should have no problem understanding that it is wrong.

408 Dow Dr., Shelbyville, Tennessee 37160

By John C. Robertson

Magnets have always fascinated me. As a child, I would try to force two magnets to come together at the same poles, but it never worked. However, when I placed the north pole of one magnet together with the south pole of another magnet, they came together quickly. God’s word is somewhat like two magnets joined at opposite poles. Positive commands are joined with negative commands to produce reconciliation. If one dwells only on the positive, he will not have a “coming together” with God. Likewise, one dwelling only on the negative aspects of God’s word, will never “come together” with God. When Jesus sent the seventy out to preach, he implied both the power of magnetism and polarization of God’s word. “He that hears you hears me; and he that rejects you rejects me; and he that rejects me rejects him that sent me” (Luke 10:16).

While in the plains of Moab, Moses commanded the people saying, if your mother, son, daughter, or even wife attempts to draw your heart away from God, do not listen to them. “Neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: but thou shalt surely kill him; thy hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people . . .” This is a very negative situation. However, the positive side of the equation is that the heart has escaped from being drawn away from God (Deut. 13:6-11).

Due to the Corinthians not mourning over the fornicator among them the apostle Paul said, “In the name of our Lord Jesus, ye being gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh” (1 Cor. 5:4-5). This is a very negative statement, yet there is a positive that connects the two. The second clause of verse 5 reveals the positive, “That the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” 

Paul told the Roman brethren to “mark them that are causing divisions and occasions of stumbling, contrary to the doctrine which ye learned: and turn away from them” (Rom. 16:17). Thayer defines the word “mark” as “to fix one’s eyes upon, direct one’s attention to.” To turn away from a brother or sister in Christ is a negative action; however, there is a positive side. “For they that are such serve not our Lord Christ, but their own belly; and by their smooth and fair speech they beguile the hearts of the innocent” (Rom. 16:18). The positive side to this command is that we keep ourselves from being influenced by such a one.

To face a brother who is in error is a very negative task (Matt. 18:15-17; Jas. 5:19-20). Yet consider the positive side. Jesus said, “If he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother” (Matt. 18:15). James said, “He who converteth a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins” (Jas. 5:20).

The words of our Lord are never offensive to the ears of his true saints. David said, “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding: Therefore I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and light unto my path” (Ps. 119:103-105). The magnetism of God’s word is truly captivating and irresistible to the eye of the one who loves him.  A mind that takes the negatives with the positives is one that accepts that God has our well being in mind. Let us not be polarized by God’s word but “perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10).

jcrobertson1@juno.com

By James P. Needham

In Philippians 4:5, Paul said, “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.”

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:1-3).

Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another (Rom. 12:10).

And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient (2 Tim. 2:24).

To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men (Tit. 3:2).

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy (Jas. 3:17).   

We live in an angry society, the age of rage. Patience is almost non-existent. Everybody is on edge, and demands instant gratification. Airports are crowded. Traffic is bumper to bumper. All this pressure and tension leads to all kinds of rage: air rage, road rage, domestic rage, child murderers, parent murderers, and abortion by the millions. 

It is a fact of history that the church is influenced by its environment. We can find in the church parallel conditions and situations that we observe in its environment. Corinth tolerated fornication; it was the way of life in the city.  

We can see in the church today the intemperance and rage that we observe in our society. The best illustration of that is to be found on the Internet and the printed  pages of the journals among us. Preachers seem to be the worst offenders. So many seem to be unable to discuss differences without reflecting upon motives and personality traits, which have nothing to do with the  issues discussed. Language becomes acrimonious, harsh, and unkind. Egos get in the way of honest consideration of the divine word. It is almost as though being a Christian is an automatic adversarial relationship with fellow Christians.

This has caused many to turn away and not consider the issues involved. It is difficult for some people to ignore the intemperance and focus on the core issue. They are sensitive to the lack of brotherly love and kindly consideration. Such poor behavior blinds them to what needs to be studied.  I do not mean to excuse this, but to state a fact. Important issues are not considered because brethren perceive of them as paper fights, just competition between periodicals, or preacher fusses brought on by egocentric individuals who want to be somebody in the kingdom. Sometimes this may be a fair evaluation, but not often.  

Some brethren would do us a favor by turning off their word processors, do a little introspection and undergo an attitude adjustment before they turn them back on. If we are studying issues, why don’t we do just that, carefully consider each point of view until we have settled the matter in our own minds. Sometimes when brethren approach me with a disagreement, their very method of approach is obnoxious!

It’s seldom if ever proper to impugn the motives of the persons with whom we disagree. Such is almost always just and assumption. Motives sometimes are obvious, but not usually. A brother said to me recently that my disagreements with a brother were more personal than doctrinal. Now, how could he know that? It absolutely is not true. I refuse to discuss the matter further with him because my motives and integrity are not a matter of debate so far as I am concerned. Paul said (1 Cor. 4:5): “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.” I understand this to be a condemnation of judging motives, things we cannot know. Paul said, No man knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of man which is in him (1 Cor. 2:11). We may suspect that a brother has bad motives, but unless we know for sure it is best not to approach it. 

Today there are several issues that trouble the church: The nature of Jesus controversy, marriage, the divorce and remarriage question, the unity-in-diversity issue, etc. Rather than deal forthrightly with the issues involved, we have seen efforts to intimidate by questioning motives, trashing  the opposition, attempts to minimize the seriousness of these issues, or sweep them under the rug in a unity-in- diversity scenario.

Good brethren who have been known for their intelligence, soundness and good work are sometimes caught up in these unbrotherly tactics. It is a shame to see great mental energy wasted on side issues and personal insinuations that cannot be proven. Men of good will and great intelligence should not be swayed by worldly pressure or brotherhood politics to violate the principles we know they have embraced all their preaching lives.

The church today is burdened down with problems. The solution is not losing our patience and composure and venting our spleens at each other, but rather settling down and in a cool and collected manner study the issues in the light of God’s word. If we don’t get down to this task, we are about to undergo another split. If a split has to be, then let it be over error, not over personality conflicts that come about by intemperate outbursts, religious rage and poor attitudes unrelated to the core issues that divide us. 

When brethren cast aspersions on each other and assume bad motives, these actions can accumulate to the point that we can’t stand each other’s company; so we divide not over issues, but because of personal bitterness. It is sad to see brethren unwilling to sit down and discuss scriptural issues because of personal dislike and intemperate language used in the fray.

This is no defense of softness or compromise, but a plea for us all to be civil in our discussions. It is proper and right to press one’s point with vigor, but remember, it is lightning that kills, not thunder. 

1600 Oneco Ave., Winter Park, Florida 32789