trict) James A.

Haley in his Washington Report of

May 23, 1969, of which I also have a photostatic
copy. Here are those rules as copied from Attorney
Gener al Brautigam's report along with the note he
attached and signed.
COMMUNIST RULES FOR REVOLUTION
A. Corrupt the young, get them away from religion. Get them
interested in sex. Make them superficial, destroy their
ruggedness.
B. Get control of all means of publicity and thereby:
1. Get people's minds off their government by focusing
attention on athletics, sexy books and plays and other
trivialities.
2. Divide the people into hostile groups by constantly
harping on controversial matters of no importance.
THE DUSSELDORF PAPERS 3. Destroy the people's faith in their natural leaders by
holding the latter up to contempt, ridicule and obloquy.
Jere E. Frost 4. Always preach true democracy, but seize power as
fast and as ruthlessly as possible.
Some Communist rules for revolution were cap- 5. By encouraging government extravagance, destroy its
credit, produce fear of inflation with rising prices and
tured by Allied forces in May of 1919 at Dusseldorf, general discontent.
hence, "T he Dusseldorf Paper s." T he contents of 6. Foment unnecessary strikes in vital industries, encour-
these paper s become mor e inter esting when it is age civil disorders and foster a lenient and soft atti-
r ealized that they still constitute a part of the tude on the part of government toward such disorders.
7. By specious argument cause the breakdown of the old
scheme of the religio-political system called Com- moral virtues, honesty, sobriety, continence, faith in
munism. When viewed beside Amer ican society the pledged word, ruggedness.
today, and most particular ly its youth segment, C. Cause the registration of all firearms on some pretext,
they ar e nothing short of stunning and staggering with a view to confiscating them and leaving the popula-
tion helpless.
as the long range and once seemingly unreachable NOTE: The above "Rules for Revolution were secured by
objectives of these enemies of truth and r ighteous- the State Attorney's Office from a known member of the Com-
ness ar e r ealized and become a part of the street munist Party who acknowledged it to be still a part of the
scenes of our cities and hamlets. Many of the young Communist program for overthrowing our Government.
and not a few of their mod and erratic elders smugly s/ George A. Brautigam
State Attorney, State of Florida
defend and even applaud the rebellious spir it, long
hair on boys, unisex, and women's lib. Most of these My interests focuses on points A and B7. I am not
are probably unawar e of the forces r esponsible for nearly as concer ned by the purely political aspects
the open defiance of authority and the revolutionary of the other items, though their becoming r ealities
break from basic and long established codes of moral in our countr y is most striking, to say the least. The
decency and social decorum; understandably such battleground of the all- out struggle for the hearts
deny the influence and even the existence of the Dus- of the young is pretty well descr ibed in these points.
seldorf papers or any clandestine purposes such as it Let us not ignore the de-emphasis of religion by
outlines. Nonetheless, the paper s wer e r eal. T hey deification of science and education, and by the social
are real today. I have obtained a photostatic copy of gospel, nor let us fail to see the tides of sensuality
these rules for revolution over the signature of and glor ification of passion, nor be blind to the sick-
Flor ida's State Attorney (11th cir cuit, Dade County, ening effeminacy in the appearance and manners of
1953-1956), George A. Brautigam. T hese rules were so many boys and young men. T he enemy is at work.
also cir culated by Florida Congr essman (7th dis- T hese trends cannot be ignored away; they must be
Page 2 ___________________________________________________________________________________

fought back and repulsed by the proper and bold use

of the word of God. T he Scriptures are not only rele-
vant to today's issues, but they are actually the only
solution and salvation.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Page 3

of the church today. I mean exactly what the scrip-

tures meant by the words which are translated by
"havoc"— destroy, maltreat, outrage, lay waste, and
persecute. Many ways are being used to accomplish
this goal, but thr ee are prominent in my mind as I
wr ite this.
LACK OF SPIRITUALITY

T he almost complete lack of spir ituality on the part

of bishops, pr eacher s, teacher s, deacons, saints and
all, make it obvious that some force has been at work
making havoc of the chur ches in the land. I lay no
claim to having all the answers to this ser ious prob-
lem, but I think I know some of the r easons for it.
For ten to fifteen years brethren have been seeking
MAKING HAVOC OF THE CHURCH "some new thing": some gimmick by which to at-
tract numbers and compete with the denominations
about them. L ittle by little the gr eat distance be-
Saul of T arsus is first introduced to us as an enemy tween truth and error has been closing, so that now in
of the cause of Christ. He consented to the death of many areas there exists no longer a scr iptural dif-
Stephen and vigorously took part in the great perse- ference between the people who were the Lord's and
cution against the church which was at Jerusalem. Acts the denominational world.
8:3 describes Saul's actions in these words: "As for T he pseudo-intellectuals are the leaders of the at-
Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into tacks that make havoc of the church. More and more
every house, and haling men and women committed emphasis is being put upon schools and education and
them to prison." T he ASV renders the verse thusly: less and less upon the natur e and function of the
"But Saul laid waste the church, entering into every church. Although many educators vehemently deny
house, and dr agging men and women committed this, the fruits are too obvious.
them to prison." I seldom go to the post office that I do not get
W.E . Vine's E xpository Dictionary of New Testa- some announcement of some "workshop," "forum,"
ment Words defines the word lumainomai as "to "dialogue" or some such meeting for the purpose of
maltreat, outrage." finding a compromise among dissenting brethren.
After Saul was converted at Damascus he preached T hese are almost always arranged and directed by
Chr ist in the synagogues, "that he was the Son of schools and educators and their influence has its im-
God." (Acts 9:20) . "But all that hear d him wer e pact upon those who assemble.
amazed, and said: Is not this he that destroyed them In the absence of inspired apostles who could and
which called on this name in Jerusalem..." (Acts 9:21). did deliver the decrees of the King in heaven, there is
T he ASV says: "And all that heard him were amazed, not an ounce of author ity in the New T estament for
and said, Is not this he that in Jerusalem made havoc such conduct. Paul, Barnabas, Silas, T imothy, T itus
of them that called on this man? " Peter, John and all those of the first century "de-
T his word is from portheo, which W.E. Vine de- bated" and "contended for t he f aith" with all
fines as "to destroy, ravage, lay waste, is used of the comers, both in the church and out. T hey spoke bold-
persecution inflicted by Saul of T arsus on the church ly the word of truth and cared nothing for the wis-
in Jerusalem, (Acts 9:21, and Gal. 1:23..." Paul said in dom of this wor ld. T hey "disputed" in the mar ket
Galatians 1:13 that "beyond measur e I per secuted places, synagogues, and streets of the towns they en-
the chur ch of God, and wasted it." I n the ASV he tered. T hey were, for the most part, considered un-
said: "beyond measur e I per secuted the chur ch of learned and ignorant men (Acts 4:13), but those who
God, and made havoc of it. " heard them took note that they had been with Jesus.
In Galatians 1:23 those in Judea who knew not This makes the difference!
Paul by face had heard "that he which persecuted us I know a few men who have attained the highest
in times past not preacheth the faith which once he recognition in the educational field, but have always
destroyed." KJV. The ASV renders it: "He that once recognized the difference between the wisdom from
persecuted us now preacheth the faith of which he above and wor ldly wisdom. On the other hand, I
once made havoc." know hundreds who have thrown over the wisdom
What is obviously meant by making havoc of the from God in favor of the wisdom of this world. T his
church is the persecuting or destroying of both the is where the spiritual drain originates. Spir ituality has
faith ( doctr ine) and those who believed it. To lay been virtually lost in many congregations because the
waste is to render to nothing. T his was the work of preachers and elders are so enamored with the world-
Saul until he came face to face with the Christ whom
he sought to destroy. ly wisdom and devices of "smart" men that the tricks
of dr awing a crowd and making them like you are
Individuals in the church now are not maltreated being used to replace the powerful preaching of the
physically as Saul did, but they are spiritually muti- pure simple gospel of Chr ist that makes a sinner real-
lated by grievous wolves in sheep's clothing. Almost ize he is lost and headed for hell.
every congregation has its own internal agents labor- In case you get the idea that I am opposed to educa-
ing to make havoc of the church. There are many ways tion, let me make this one thing clear: I am certain
by which havoc is being made that God expects every man to prepare himself to the
Page 4___________________________________________________________________________________

fullest to do the best work in life he is capable of do- you missed the point. I am in no more sympathy with
ing. But this does not mean that education of this their disregard for divine authority that before; I am
world will ever save one sinner from his least sin. It is just putting other s who have no mor e r espect for
only important in making a livelihood and serving God's author ity in the organization of the church in
mankind in some better way. the same class. T his is what is making havoc of the
church today.
If you ask why br ethren ar e doing this, I know of
NO RESPECT FOR DIVINE AUTHORITY no better answer than to say that they have more res-
pect for human wisdom1 than for divine authority.
T he complete lack of respect for divine authority is
making havoc of the church. I can well remember CONFORMING TO THE WORLD
within my lifetime when a statement from the word
of God usually settled a matter between brethren, but T he conformity of the church to the world is com-
now many do not believe in the verbal inspiration of plete surrender. Romans 12:2: "And be not con-
the scriptures. T hey even debate that we do not need formed to this world; but be ye transformed by the
authority for all that we do. Many even become in- renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is
volved in great projects without ever thinking to in- that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God."
quire whether it is authorized by Chr ist. T his is the More and more the language, dress, conduct, princi-
reason we have had all the trouble with institutional ples of right and wrong that are ruled by the pr ince of
questions, unauthorized works by the church, and the the power of the air, the god of this wor ld ( E ph. 2:
involvement of the "Chr istian" schools with the 2; 2 Cor. 4:4) are being accepted by the professed
chur ch. T he determination of most school men to disciples of Christ. Moral decay is everywhere.
get the schools into the treasuries of churches (several Where is the standard that once branded a liar just
have now admitted doing this for years, but they have what he was and called upon him to repent of it or be
carefully kept it from the brethren), creates one plan disciplined by the chur ch? What happened to the
after another to get this easy money. As far as I divine principle that childr en ar e to obey their
know Flor ida College and the school at Athens, parents, and that fathers are to br ing up their child-
Alabama are the only ones not now accepting funds ren in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph.
from chur ches. About all the r est ar e accepting 6:1-4; Col. 3:20,21)? Now the rules are changing: the
church funds and even soliciting it with the same zeal church is conforming to the world, and the world is
as they did a few years ago for orphan homes. Now making a mocker y of God and His word. When it
the men who then strongly denied their belief in reaches the point that a Christian cannot be distin-
schools being supported by churches are now yield- guished from those of the immor al wor ld by his
ing to the pressures of the great force of these in high speech, dress, habits, company, family life, and re-
authority; and I must say here that these are in auth- ligious claims, who can deny that these are making
ority against Christ. havoc of the church?
Another place where this lack of respect for It must rest upon the people like you who r ead
authority shows up is in the organization and func- these words with interest to do something about it.
tion of the church. I am amazed and sickened at the T here must be a strong, strict, scriptural discipline
number of churches now who have no elders and do initiated in hundr eds of chur ches who have not
not want them. T hey make the excuse that they have known one case of discipline in two or three gener-
no one qualified, and I guess this is so in many res- ations. T hose who do not love the Lord and do not
pects. But I wonder why they did not do something want to serve him faithfully must "be put away from
about the preacher s and teachers who for years did among" the church (I Cor. 5:13); "taken away from
not and still will not teach the sound doctrine on the among you" (I Cor. 5:2); "deliver such an one unto
need for elders and deacons and try to help men be- Satan..." (I Cor. 5:5); and "withdraw yourselves from
ever y brother that walketh disorderly..." (2 Thess. 3:
come qualified by being more spiritually minded. 6). Before this can be done effectively done in some
Where is the New Testament authority for the "vot- places it may be necessary to do something about the
ing" machinery and "committee" systems that have cowardly, faint hearted, untaught elders, pr eachers
supplanted the scriptural assignment of most of this and church members who are afraid to undertake this
work to bishops? I am anxious to learn why "sound" obedience to God "because we will lose member s"
churches (when we are talking about institutional and "just stir up trouble." No member was ever lost
problems) ignore divine authority and build a human or trouble stirred up by obeying God. T he trouble
organization within the church called "T he Business was already there and the members were already lost.
Meeting" with all its parliamentary officers and rules. It must take obedience to God's will in this regard to
T his unscr iptural organization functions with the save these. They are making havoc of the church and
power which often excels anything scr iptural for something must be done about it. E verything done in
elder s, and when one asks for authority, the best word or deed must be done by the author ity of
I have ever heard is: "How else can we do it?" T he
same question of the institutional church supported Christ. (Col. 3:17).
orphan home is asked when they say: "T he Lord told
the chur ch to do it, but did not tell the how. How
else can we do it?" I do not see much differ ence so
far as divine authority is concerned. HAVE YOU RENEWED YOUR SUBSCRIPTION?
If you charge that I am giving aid and comfort to DO IT TODAY!
the digressive brethren on the institutional problem,
 Page 5

able), in my judgment, might participate on the

grounds of such being incidental to the purpose of
the class. Such could, no doubt, receive some good
commensurate with their ability — with a view to
assuming full responsibility when they become ac-
countable. E lse, how can we justify their singing in
a regular period of worship? I recognize, of course,
that, pr imarily, the r esponsibility for training such
r est upon par ents ( E ph. 6:4) .
Concer ning children offer ing thanks for the fam-
ily meal, it is my judgment that such is pr eparatory
to worship on their part. It is one way by which the
parental responsibility to bring children "up in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord" ( E ph. 6:4) is
fulfilled in part. While the unaccountable child sus-
tains an acceptable relationship (safe, not lost —
QUESTION: Recently quite a disagreement arose therefore, not an alien) unto God, this relationship
among us over the matter of letting little boys make ought not to be confused with accountability and its
talks, lead singing and read scr iptures in a men's responsibilities. Such action on the part of the un-
training class. We discussed the differences of sing- accountable child is simply a part of his training.
ing hymns being worship one time but not being Perhaps, the best method to follow in this instance
worship another time. Some affirming it to be al- would be for some Chr istian to offer thanks, then,
right to use an instrumental accompaniment at home in addition, let the child offer thanks, as a matter of
while singing hymns and of course other s denying training.
this. It is believed by some that if one denies the Concerning singing praise unto God with an in-
little ones r ight to lead singing in the class he must strument of music, it matters not where it is done —
not let him offer thanks at the family meal either. whether at home or in the chur ch ( assembly), if it
Is it scr iptural to sing praises unto God with an is offered unto God — directed unto Him as the ob-
instrument at home but unlawful in the church ? ject — it becomes an effort to worship. T hen, all
Per haps you can dr aw a summation of the ideas the essentials of acceptable wor ship apply. A lack
and answer this in the paper. We would appreciate of either would make for vain worship (Matt. 15:9).
something from you. T hank you ver y much. — T his, however, does not mean that song practice at
E . E. H. home is worship. Songs may be sung at home for
ANSWER: Worship, like ever y other requirement pr actice or for other r easons, right within them-
of God for which men shall be judged, demands, fir st selves, and such not be worship. I n such instances,
of all, accountability. However, not all service unto the essentials of acceptable worship have no appli-
God is worship. Worship involves homage, praise, cation. I 'm per suaded that instruments of music
and acts of adoration. Worship unto God involves may accompany such singing — in some instances
three essentials: 1) T he r ight object (God), 2) the it may be a gr eat aid to practice. I realize that cau-
r ight spir it (attitude), and 3) the r ight act ( "in tion must be exer cised so as to avoid leaving the
truth"). This is established by the following: "God wrong impression, namely, confusing such with wor-
is a Spir it: and they that worship him must worship ship. Let no one think, however, that an instrument
him in spir it and in truth" ( John 4:24) . as an aid to pr actice ar gues the case of an instru-
One can practice and train for both service and ment as an aid to worship. Aids (expediencies) in
worship, but such would not be worship. Worship worship must first be lawful ( I Cor. 10:23). T her e
must not only be "in spir it and in truth," but must is such a thing as an unlawful expediency. It might
also be directed unto the right object, namely, God. be expedient, from one point of view, for some to
One might think, r eason, plan, and even observe the Lord's Supper on Wednesday instead of
memor ize a prayer to be offered in worship Sunday. If so, it still would not be scriptural — no
whereby he leads the whole congregation in matter how expedient. E xpediencies must be within
prayer. (This is not to endorse prayer by rote.) Such law, and there is no way to put Wednesday within
preparatory efforts, however, would not be worship. law, namely the first day of the week (Acts 20:7).
I n a training class of the chur ch, some member Some people have a deep love for poetry. T hey can
of the chur ch might lead the group in pr ayer and listen to or r ead poems for hours, and do so with
song. T his would be worship. However, everything deep joy and appreciation. Some of these poems ex-
done ther eafter or during the class session might press spir itual truth, e.g., "CROSSING THE BAR"
not be worship, depending upon whether or not all by T ennyson. T his, however, does not preclude their
three of the essential elements mentioned above were being read or heard except in worship. I believe that
involved in the things done. Some things done might such can be read and heard for pure personal en-
be mer e pr actice or prepar atory in natur e. Hence, joyment without such being either worship or sacr i-
not being offered as worship — not being directed lege. Furthermore, setting this poem to music and
unto God, it would not be worship. Song practice is singing it for the same reason, even to the accom-
not worship. Such is a means by which we prepare paniment of instrumental music, does not make it
ourselves to offer acceptable worship in song unto worship or sacrilege — not until it is directed by the
God. individual unto God as wor ship. T his poem along
Such training classes should be designed pr imar- with many other s have been set to music and ar e
ily for members of the church as a means of edifying often sung in worship unto God. When so directed,
itself. However, younger persons (the all the essentials of acceptable worship apply, and
unaccount- care should be exercised not to violate any particular.
Page 6___________________________________________________________________________________

objections to saying they were baptized twice. After

all, we have many differ ent baptisms mentioned in
the Bible. One must keep in mind that these people
at Ephesus had not been baptized correctly and there-
fore had to do it over. T hey had been baptized under
John's baptism which was not valid at that time. It
would not be unscriptural to baptize a man who had
been baptized a dozen times if all his former bap-
tisms were not in accord with scr ipture. I have bap-
tized people who had been immersed three or four
times before. Bible baptism demands a scr iptural
subject — a penitent believer ; a scr iptur al element
— water; a scr iptural action — immersion; and a
scr iptural design — for the remission of sins. Gen-
tle reader, it is too important to jeopardize your soul
"HARD QUESTIONS — NO. 5" with a man- made baptism.
Our question for this month has to do with the
age-old question of baptism. A number of Baptist
preachers have asked this question, so I will not
attribute it to only one. T he question is, "Since you
teach that a child of God can fall from grace, when
he returns to be restored, why don't you baptize him
a second time since he is still a sinner ?"
T o the sectar ian mind this is a ver y hard question
in that he thinks of salvation in an entirely different
way than the child of God. For example, he thinks
of salvation as being eter nal salvation the moment
one believes. He has never differentiated, between
salvation from past sins and salvation in heaven. I
understand why he thinks that consistency demands
that we baptize a man the second time if he is in
sin. If the Bible had been observed this would be a
ver y simple question. T he scr iptures make it cr ystal
clear that such passages as Mark 16:15,16 and Acts
2:38 are talking about salvation from past sins and
not salvation in heaven. It is true that we have many KURIAKE HEMERA: "LORD'S DAY"
passages which deal with salvation in heaven but OCCURRENCES
the context always make an easy diagnosis. In Acts
22, when Ananias was sent to Paul he said, "And I n one r espect, the expr ession "the Lord's day"
now why tar r iest thou? Ar ise and be baptized, and is similar to such words as "Bible," and "Chr istian."
wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Although the word "Bible" is spoken often by Chris-
Lord." It must be observed that he was told to "wash tians, the E nglish word "Bible" does not occur in
away his sins", not that he was saved in heaven. the Scriptures. T he word "Chr istian" is one of the
L ater, at the close of Paul's life he said, "I am ready most common words in the Chr istian's vocabular y;
to be offered — Henceforth there is laid up for me a yet, the word "Chr istian" occurs only three times in
crown of r ighteousness" (II Tim. 4:6-8). It is made the entire Bible, Acts 11:26; 28;26; I. Pet. 4:16.
ver y clear that the salvation alluded to in this text Similarly, the expression "Lord's day" is uttered
is eter nal salvation. T her efore, the answer to the frequently; yet, the expression occurs only one time
above question is obvious. T he scr iptures teach that in the sacred text, Rev. 1:10. However, the term
the alien sinner is to be baptized only once. If he is translated "Lord's" (kuriakos) occurs in one other
baptized according to the scr iptures, baptism will passage, I Cor. 11:20. In this passage the term occurs
never be required again. However, he may sin many in the expr ession "Lord's supper."
times as a child of God and it will be necessar y for KURIAKOS, "LORD'S"
him to repent and pr ay. T he finest example of this
is in Acts 8. Her e Simon who had bewitched the T hayer comments that kuriakos is "an ecclesiasti-
people with sorcery was saved and later tried to buy cal word." We know now, however, that the term
the gift of God with money. Peter told him to repent occurs in early, non-Biblical Greek papyr i. (See
and pray (Acts 8:22). It will be observed that he was Vocabulary of the Greek T estament, Moulton and
not told to be baptized again but r ather to repent Milligan.) T he term kur iakos was used commonly in
and pr ay. So the answer to the question is that it the sense of "imper ial" to descr ibe finances, feasts,
would be a violation of scr iptur e to baptize a child etc. It even occur s in the phr ase "Emperor's (kuria-
of God every time he committed sin. kos) day." Some scholars think that this latter usage
Another case in point is Acts 19. In this text we may have led to the use of "Lord's day" as opposed
read of some people at E phesus who were baptized to "Emperor's day."
the second time. Some people object to saying they Apparently, the term kuriakos attaches some ver y
were baptized the second time. However, since the singular and peculiar character istics to whatever it
word "baptize" means to inundate or dip I have no describes.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ Page 7

WHAT DAY IS IT?

T he Bible does not say that the "Lord's day" is
Sunday. However, many Bible scholars believe that
such is the reference.
Post-apostolic wr iter s almost without exception
r efer to Sunday as the "Lord's day."
It is this author 's judgment that the "Lord's day"
in Revelation 1:10 does, indeed, refer to Sunday.
T his peculiar reference to Sunday is probably be-
cause of the significant episodes that are associated
with Sunday.
WHAT HAPPENED ON SUNDAY?
According to the Biblical text, Jesus was resur-
rected on Sunday. This is expressly affirmed in Mark
16:9. T he expr ession "in the end of the Sabbath" BRETHREN UNDERSTAND THE TRUTH —
that occur s in several passages ( Matt. 28:1, etc.) OR DO THEY?
might literally be translated "the Sabbath just hav- T he director of the local Boy Scouts of Amer ica
ing passed." sent me a copy of an article which appear ed in a
It is further evident that the church of the New Scout magazine. T he article was entitled, "Scouting
T estament spoken of by Jesus in Matt. 16:18, etc. among Chur ches of Chr ist." It was wr itten by I r a
was established on earth on a Sunday. T his is af- North, minister of the church in Madison, T ennes-
firmed in light of this author's view that the Jewish see. He said:
Pentecost always occurred on Sunday. "We have r eceived many r equests for informa-
It is clear from Acts 20:7 that the disciples of tion about Scouting in the Churches of Chr ist and
Chr ist came together on Sunday ("the first day of particular ly about the BSA program at the Madison
the week") to "break bread"; that is, to observe the Church."
Lord's Supper. He then proceeds to praise the Scout organization
T he above-mentioned episodes (and possibly other for offer ing "one of the gr eatest opportunities that
things) make it ver y fitting that Sunday should be we have today for developing char acter in young
referred to as "the Lord's day." men." I have no objection to the good work done by
the Boy Scout organization. Of course the home and
church should have the greatest influence upon the
childr en, especially the childr en of Chr istians.
Brother North said:
"We believe there is a plan whereby individual
members of a congregation of the Church of Chr ist
can have a Scout troop and at the same time violate
no principle of scr ipture or conscience and have the
goodwill of the entire congregation and community.
T he plan simply stated is this: organize, finance,
and operate the troop on an independent basis. Have
your charter made to a 'Group of citizens of the con-
gr egation of the — -------------- Chur ch of Chr ist.'
This is the plan we have used at the Madison church
and it has worked beautifully and harmoniously."
I disagr ee with the expression "congr egation of
the Church of Chr ist" for it is redundant and un-
scr iptural. It implies that the universal church is
composed of congregations. Isn't a congregation a
church? Would it be r ight to say "a church of the
Church of Chr ist?" If the above expression is cor-
r ect, why not say that?
I agree with his teaching that all such work should
be done on an "independent basis" separate and apart
from the chur ch, and that such procedur e violates
"no principle of scr ipture or conscience."
"J. L. Hunter, one of our oldest elders, made the
point that while we recognize the tremendous good
the Scouts do and the need for our boys to partici-
pate in Scouting, he did think it should be operated
independently by inter ested citizens and not as a
work of the chur ch. He said: '. .. we do not believe
the Scout organization should be tied into the opera-
tion of the church, since both are separate organiza-
tions and institutions — the Scout organization is a
human institution while the chur ch is a divine in-
Page 8 __________________________________________________________________________________

stitution. T he chur ch being a divine institution, it var ious college activities. We have an example of
will admit of no added institutions or auxiliar ies.' that here in the L ittle Rock area. A group of br eth-
T hose interested in the r estoration of New T esta- ren formed a corporation for the purpose of operat-
ment Chr istianity in name, doctrine and practice can ing a private secular school which is being conducted
r eadily under stand why Chur ches of Chr ist car r y in the building of the Sylvan Hills church of Chr ist.
on only such programs for which they can give a T he elders of that church, the preacher, and sever al
Bible example (Evangelism, Edification, and Be- other pr eacher s who endor se the school have all
nevolence). However, without the violation of this stated that they oppose chur ch support of schools
concept our boys can enjoy the great benefits of and colleges. I have called upon them to explain how
Scouting and that under devoted members of the they can endor se the pr actice of the chur ch fur-
Church of Christ." nishing the facilities for a secular school and oppose
It is obvious that br ethren North and Hunter can the church making a monetar y contr ibution to the
see the difference between individual action and same school. I 'm still waiting for an answer.
church action, and between the church and a human As has been true in so many ways through the
institution. T hat's wonderful! I wish that they could years, we need to let our practice catch up with our
get that simple truth across to some preachers and preaching! History reveals that when such discrep-
brethren whom I know and try to teach. Wouldn't it ancy is finally recognized, brethren usually change
be wonderful if these and other br ethren would their preaching to fit their practice.
apply these sound principles to the benevolent insti- One final statement from brother North: "T hus I
tutions and similar works which have caused divi- explained the program to the congregation from the
sion in the church ? pulpit. However, I made it clear that the peace and
According to the logic and advice of these breth- harmony of this gr eat chur ch was mor e pr ecious
ren, if benevolent institutions were operated on a and important than any matter of expediency, and
pr ivate enterprise basis and independent of the if ther e was any objection we wanted to know it."
church, such would violate no scripture or conscience T hat is certainly a commendable attitude. I f
— and they are r ight! It is certainly scr iptural for brethren had followed this principle, instead of in-
br ethren to operate any private inst itution which sisting upon church contributions to controversial
is morally right, and if support of "our" benevolent works (which they descr ibed as a matter of expe-
institutions was left to independent and individual diency), many congregations which have been di-
action, brethren in congregations would never be vided would now be working in peace and harmony.
forced to violate their conscience. T hat's exactly "L et us ther efore follow after the things which
what many of us have advocated as a means of make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify
operating benevolent and edification institutions another " (Rom. 14:19).
scripturally and peaceably.
To apply brother Hunter's teaching, we would see
that the church is a divine institution and that all
others are of human origin and should not become WE CAN ALL HELP BROTHER PHILLIPS
"added institutions or auxiliar ies." He also under-
stands what the work of the church is, and that such Thomas G. O'Neal
social works as Scouting do not come within the
purview of its divinely authorized mission.
I truly wish that the article had ended her e, but When Searching The Scriptures was first started I
it did not. Notwithstanding what had been said, was asked to write for it, but I have not written every
brother North proceeded to explain that the Madi- month. However, every month I have paid for a num-
son church had fur nished its building and facilities ber of subscriptions to this paper. Others have done
for the activities of a Boy Scout troop, and had used likewise.
the pulpit to explain and promote the work. He justi- T he editorial in the October issue shows the need
fied such by stating that they had on occasion loaned for some additional help with the financial burden
their building to var ious civic and labor groups in accumulated over the years in publishing the paper.
town who needed to borrow a meeting place. He said Each year of its publication I have been aware of its
that he made the following proposition to the Madi- need. Brother Phillips has done a first class job as
son elders: "I will take the responsibility of raising editor; many have been the compliments to him from
financial support of the Scouts and of securing all many places of the good that paper has and is doing.
the leader ship. It will not cost the church treasur y a This paper can be taken out of the "r ed" and put in
penny, and it will not cost the elders any time or bog the "black" over night, so far as the personal burden
them down in any way in details, or take anything on Brother Phillips is concerned. If every person who
away from the program of the church." reads it and has been blessed in any way during its
I fail to understand how brethren can contend that publication would take the time to send just $1 to
something is not a work of the church, cannot be Brother Phillips when you renew or send in a sub-
financed by the church, nor under the oversight of scription, to retire the debt of publication, this alone
the elders, yet the church can furnish and maintain would get the job done.
its facilities for such work. Will someone explain to I do not believe in asking others to do what I am
me how the church can provide the facilities for not willing to do. With this article also goes my
something which is not its work, and how such is check. T his will work if every person mentioned will
not a contr ibution to that work? send $1 with his subscr iption or renewal to: H.E .
T hat is the same kind of inconsistency which we Phillips, P.O. Box 17244, T ampa, Florida 33612. Do
see in brethren who SAY they oppose church support it right now before putting this copy of the paper
of colleges while furnishing church facilities for down.
 Page 9

town dr ains, streets, two- storied houses, a gr eat

temple tower ( ziggur at), trade routes joining the
town with other gr eat towns to the north and the
south, and var ious other evidences of a highly de-
veloped civilization" ( J. A. T hompson, The Bible
and Archaeology, pp. 15, 16). The Sumerian culture
also developed a sophisticated system of mathema-
tics and produced advanced linguistic studies. "Clay
tablets have been found which list Sumer ian words
with their Akkadian equivalents. T her e were lexi-
cons before Abraham! So Abraham was not at all
primitive nor did he live in a pr imitive society.. ..
T he problem is now that almost too much antiquity
has been studied, and there is so much history to be
mastered before Abraham's time" (R. Laird Harris,
PROBLEM PERIODS IN The Seminary Review, XVI, no. 1 (Fall, 1969), p. 4).
OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY Near E aster n ar chaeological excavations have
THE PERIOD OF THE PATRIARCHS yielded over one million clay tablets from Mesopo-
T he title of this article and per haps of sever al tamia. Two ancient sites, Mari and Nuzi, have pro-
to follow was suggested by a ser ies of lectures de- duced material especially useful for Old T estament
liver ed by R. L aird Harris, a former professor of background. In the next article some of this material
mine at Wheaton College, given in the 1968 Cin- will be discussed. Why should one be- constrained to
cinnati Bible Seminar y Lectureship. T he specific talk about the "myths" and "legends" of Genesis
motivation for writing on this subject, however, was when the events of the patr iarchal age fit so beauti-
received last week while listening to a lecture on fully into the cultural per iod between 2000 to
Hebr ew history in a Humanities class at Florida 1700 B.C.?
State Univer sity. Within the scope of a two- hour
lecture I heard the professor affirm that the Biblical
account about Abraham compresses the legends of
at least three gener ations of Hebr ew people into a BOOKS AND TRACTS OF VALUE
single nar r ative about one man, since it is much THE WHOLE DUTY OF MAN (L. H. Andrews) ...............................25
easier to believe that thr ee gener ations lived 175 COURTSHIP, MARRIAGE, HOME, DIVORCE (L. H. Andrews) .25
year s than to believe that Abr aham alone lived to SERMON OUTLINES ON OLD TESTAMENT
such an advanced age; that Moses merely borrowed CHARACTERS ( R . L. Andrews) ........................................................ 1.25
his concept of one God from the Egyptians; that MORMONISM UNDER THE SEARCHLIGHT
(Wm. Edward Biederwolf) .................................................................60
there were actually two departures from E gypt hun- RUSSELLISM UNVEILED (W. E. Biederwolf) ........................................ 50
dreds of years apart: one lead by Moses and Aaron SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISM (W. E. Biederwolf) ..............................75
and the other lead by Joshua; and that the I sraelites SPIRITUALISM (W. E. Biederwolf) .........................................................60
literally pulled the walls of Jer icho down with ropes, THE UNVARNISHED FACTS ABOUT CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
(W. E. Biederwolf) ................................................................................50
a version supposedly more easily accepted than the THE CHANGING IMAGE (Luther Blackmon) .....................................15
"ludicrous" account in the Bible. T he bell sounded MANUAL FOR TEACHERS (H. Leo Boles) ............................................50
before the professor concluded his material, so there BOTH SIDES OF THE MUSIC QUESTION DISCUSSED
is no telling what will yet be revealed by the self- (Robt. Bunting A J. D. Marion) .............................................................25
BIBLE ANSWERS (Guthrie Davis Dean) ................................................35
styled "naturalistic humanist" who speaks with r e- THE MEN'S TRAINING CLASS (John D. Cox) ......................................50
spected author ity to his class of graduate students. THE HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS (James L. Denison) ..........................25
T he exper ience descr ibed above was tragic for at THE HISTORY OF EASTER (J. I. Denison) ...........................................25
least two reasons: most of the students in the class 1900 YEARS AGO THE CHURCH OF CHRIST WAS ESTABLISHED
(J. Harvey Dykes) ...................................................................................35
were unable to distinguish between fact and fantasy FLORIDA COLLEGE 22nd ANNUAL LECTURE SERIES (1968) .. 2.00
in the professor's lecture, and the professor himself WOMAN, HER BLESSINGS AND RESPONSIBILITIES ( I . S. Foy) .75
displayed a woeful ignorance about the patriarchal CAN A CHRISTIAN KILL FOR HIS GOVERNMENT?
period of Old T estament history. At least, if he was (B. L. Fudge) ..............................................................................................25
aware of the amazing accuracy of the Genesis rec- THE MESSIAH AND RACIAL PROBLEMS (Franklin T. Puckett) .10
OLD TIME RELIGION (Othor S. Hunt) ................................................ 25
ords with respect to customs and pr actices cur r ent THE CURRENT ISSUES (Foy E. Wallace, Jr.) ............................... 1.00
in the ancient Near E ast, he allowed his bias against THEOPHILUS (Bob West) ..................................................................... 1.00
divine revelation to cloud his presentation of the RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH (L. R. Wilson).............. 15
material. THE HOLY SPIRIT: SIGNS, IN US, NEW BIRTH
(Robt. C. Welch) ..................................................................................... 15
EVIDENCE FROM THE DUST LIVING FAITH AND MODERN SCIENCE (Robt. C. Welch) .. . .30
SCRIPTURE LESSONS, GALATIANS (Robt. C. Welch) .................... 25
E xcavations at Ur by Sir Leonard Woolley during THE WELCH - SCHREINER DEBATE ..................................................... 1.50
the years 1922 to 1934 revealed that an advanced GOD'S SHEPHERDS (Robt. C. Welch) ........................................... 1.00
civilization flourished in the southern region of the '
WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE DANCE? (John R. Rice) ................... 75
LODGES EXAMINED BY THE BIBLE (John R. Rice) .......................... 75
T igr is- E uphr ates r iver s at least 2500 B.C. "Ur was A FRIENDLY LETTER ON BENEVOLENCE (Irven Lee) ................ 05
a town with a complex system of government and a UNITY (Walter R. Martin) ........................................................................ 50
well-developed system of commerce, one with writing WHAT'S WRONG WITH MODERN MARRIAGE?
in common use for the issue of receipts, the making (H. E. Phillips) ......................................................................................... 75
of contracts, and many other purposes. T here were
Page 10

that Searching the Scr iptures is the best paper pub-

FIGHT AGAINST PORNOGRAPHY lished ! He said that not only the contents, but the
James D. Bales workmanship is excellent. T hought you'd like to
know that.
Something can be done about the flood of por-
nography which tries to drown both body and soul. Guy McDaniel, P.O. Box 2364, Muscle Shoals, Ala.
What shall it profit Amer ica if she has clean air and 35660 — We are interested in purchasing some used
water, but her soul is polluted by lewd liter ature? pews to be used in our new classroom addition. If
What does it profit to clean up the atmosphere and ther e ar e any chur ches in our gener al ar ea which
lose one's own soul? As certainly as good literature have used pews for sale, please advise them to con-
can influence people for good, bad literature can in- tact us.
fluence them for evil. T he mind thinks on what the
mind feeds on, and as a man thinketh in his heart T. N. Thrasher, P.O. Box 1941, Decatur, Ala.
so is he. Adulter y can be committed in the heart as 35601 — Religious Debate: There will be a public
well as with the body (Matt. 5:28; I Cor. 6:15-20). discussion between T . N. T hrasher and Richard C.
However, in many cases there ar e those who do Craft on Jan. 24-25, 1972 in Decatur, Ala. T he sub-
not know what to do to fight against pornography. jects to be discussed are: first night, number of per-
One can find some helpful suggestions, as well as sons in the Godhead; second night, Holy Spir it bap-
news concerning what is being done, from Morality tism. T he sessions ar e scheduled to begin at 7:00
in Media, published at 487 Park Ave., N. Y., N. Y. each night in the building of the chur ch of Chr ist,
10022. It is published by people from several dif- Old Moulton Road, Decatur, Ala.
fer ent r eligious bodies and their newsletter costs Religious Debate: Drew E . Falls will meet Mr.
$1 per year. Hugh L . Tubbs of the United Pentecostal Chur ch
in public debate on the Godhead and Holy Spir it
Saraland church of Christ, 712 Shelton Beach Rd., baptism questions on Feb. 7-8, 10-11, 1972. T he first
Saraland, Ala. 36571 — T he church here at Saraland, two nights will be in the building of the Hanceville
Ala. (near Mobile) has a tent for sale and would like chur ch of Chr ist, Hanceville, Ala.; the last two
for you to announce it in Sear ching the Scr iptures nights of the debate will be in Jasper, Ala.
if you would. T he tent has a seating capacity of about
200. It has only been used in 8 gospel meetings and M. E. Strouss, 425 E. Washington, L isbon, Ohio
is in good shape. We are asking $300.00 for it, this 44432 — I am in the second year of labor with the
includes ever ything but seats. If anyone is interested church in Lisbon, Ohio and have the following to re-
in buying this tent they will have to make arrange- port on our progress in the Lord's work here. Despite
ments for shipping. purchasing a house for the preacher and assuming
his full support, we are self- supporting after one
J. T. SMITH MOVES
year (that is, we ar e no longer reducing the small
reserve fund), have had three gospel meetings with
J. T. Smith will be moving from Louisville, Ky. one r esponse (four other baptisms and thr ee r e-
to begin work with the Northside chur ch of Christ stored during this period), have scheduled a singing
in Conway, Arkansas on Feb. 1. Conway is located school for the first of the year, have improved our
about 30 miles west of Little Rock on Interstate 40. Bible study program (including home studies and a
Anyone passing that way is encouraged to stop and new-converts class), have had elders selected and ap-
worship with us. T he building is located at 1800 pointed, have a weekly newspaper article and a semi-
Hairston Avenue in Conway. T he phone number is weekly bulletin as additional ways to preach the
329-8735. truth.
Eugene Britnell, L ittle Rock, Ark. — T hanks to Ken Thomas, Brooksville, Fla. — On Jan. 15 we'
the good Lord, 1971 was a busy and fruitful year will have a ser ies of lessons all day in the responsi-
for me in the Lord's work. I preached 187 times ( in- biities of New T estament Chr istianity. T he follow-
cluding 16 gospel meetings) and spoke on 161 radio ing are the speaker s and subjects: 10:00-10:40 —
programs (110 of them 30- minute). In addition, I Colly Caldwell — What is a Chr istian?
taught classes, answer ed hundreds of letters from 10:40- 11:20— Jim Daniel — Why be a Christian?
radio listeners, published two monthly papers, and 11:20-12:00 — Ray Smallr idge — T he Fruits of a
tried to write for two others. Our work at Arch St. Chr istian's L ife. 12:00-
church continues to make progress. Brethren, let us 2:00 — Lunch Break
heed the Lord's admonition: "Lift up your eyes, and 2:00-2:40 — H. E . Phillips — A Chr istian's Respon-
look on the fields; for they are white already to har- sibility to the Local Congregation. 2:40- 3:20 —
vest." I have just returned from a meeting in Berea, Bar ney Keith — A Chr istian, Unspotted from the
Ohio. Brother Tom Hughes, a professional wr iter World.
and editor of a trade magazine for his company, says
_________________________________________________________________________________________________ Page 11

3:20-4:00 — Irvin Himmel — Unusual Challenges St., No. 8, N. Providence, R. I. 02911. Sur ely there
of the Chr istian's L ife. All are invited to attend is someone that will "come over and help us."
these lessons.
Greensbury Church of Chr ist, Greensbury, Ky.,
J. Edward Nowlin, 3004 Gena Dr., Decatur, Ga. 42743 — Sound gospel preacher needed to work with
30032 — After 20 years in the Atlanta area and 13 small congregation. Must be willing to work in the
years with Glenwood Hills church, I have resigned, community. Phone 932- 4488. Area Code 502.
effective Jan. 1, 1972, and am planning to move to
Per r y, Fla. T he chur ch in Per r y is small and ver y Edgar C. Walker, 2410 S.W. 14th St., Miami, Fla.
much in need of a man to preach the gospel in that 33145 — I am now living and working with the
town. A liberal element pulled out several years ago Southwest church in this beautiful sunshine state of
and established themselves on the south side of town. Florida, in the city of Miami. I left what I believed to
Brother Otis Jordan left Perry more than a year ago, have been a real good work in Dayton, Ohio with the
and home forces have been carrying on since. T hey Haynes St. congr egation in that city, wher e ther e
have a small house for the preacher, and can furnish were seventy- four responses to the invitation while
about $50 a week for car and utility expenses. T hey we wer e ther e.
are now erecting a new building to replace the old We continue to look each month for the Searching
frame meeting house at 714 North Calhoun St. and The Scr iptures. You are doing a good job. I hope and
their financial out-go is heavy. However, I believe pray that you will be able to continue this fine work
that the congregation can be made self-supporting for many years to come.
again within three years. Since we have a son living
in Per r y, I have a special inter est in that wor k. Michael E. Grushon, Box 275, Hobart, Ind.,
My plan is to obtain time on the local radio station, 46342,
publish a bulletin, and pr each the gospel publicly — T he Hobart chur ch of Chr ist conducted a gospel
and privately. I intend to continue circulating a 26- meeting the week of November 1- 7, 1971. Jimmy
lesson correspondence course on the Bible which I T uten of T allmadge, Ohio was the speaker. Dur ing
wrote and have been using for 20 years. I believe the course of the meeting eight souls were baptized
this program of work will produce results down there. into Chr ist.
To do this work, I am doing something I have never
done before in attempting to raise my personal sup-
port. I shall need about $600 a month from other Joe F. Nelson, P.O. Box 536, Jasper, Georgia,
churches, and am asking that you brethren consider — A faithful church is now in Jasper, Ga. We are lo-
sending me $50 or $100 a month, beginning in Jan- cated on Highway 5 just 2 miles out of Jasper. We are
uary, 1972, and continuing for a maximum of three another small ( in number) congr egation that stands
year s if you see fit. I will make a monthly report to for the "ancient order " of New T estament work,
all who send to my support. worship, and organization. Our time of worship
Most any of the brethren connected with Florida services are as follows: Morning Worship: 11:00 a.m.,
College, Searching the Scriptures, or T he Gospel Evening Worship: 6:00 p.m., Wednesday service: 7:00
Guardian, and many preachers, as well as the breth- p.m. Phone 692-5669 or 692-2575.
ren her e would know me if you wish to inquir e. If
you wish, I will visit with you at your convenience
on week nights or week ends. Please let me know
what you can do as soon as possible. T he time is
short.
Henry M. Myers, P.O. Box 243, Umatilla, Fla.
32784 — I have worked with the chur ch here in "THE WOMAN'S COVERING"
Umatilla since last April. We have had four bap-
tisms, three have placed membership, two restored, of
the attendance has doubled and we are looking for-
ward to greater accomplishments for the Lord in 1 Corinthians 11:1-16
the coming year.
"special issue"
Leslie E. Sloan, 3090 N. Trezevant St., Memphis,
T enn. 38127 — In the interest of the work of brother S E ARCHING THE SCRIPTURE S
Haven Starr of N. Providence, R.I., I would like to October, 1968
run the following r eport and r equest from him:
T here is a great need of a faithful gospel preacher
in the Northeast. T his is truly a mission field with Hiram O. Hutto
the Lord's church sparsely settled in this section of
our wor ld. We ar e trying to contact a faithful and
preacher of the gospel to move to this area to work James P. Needham
in God's Vineyard. If you or some one you know
would be interested in moving here and accepting a
challenge, please contact Haven Starr, 5 Garabaldi 50c per copy
Page 12 _______________________________________________________

One such case in T olber t F anning's experience

occur r ed in the year s between 1856 and 1862, when
he became tr oubled at the dir ection being taken by
Rober t Milligan, Rober t Richar dson, and other
prominent br ethr en associated with a paper called
the Millennial Harbinger, edited by Alexander Camp-
bell. By that time the American Christian Mission-
ar y Society had been instituted and in a f ew in-
stances the or gan was being played in wor ship.
What F anning saw in Milligan and the other s
which alarmed him had been bor n in the 1830's and
1840's when some Biblical basis was being sought
f or a pr oposed missionar y society. In articles in the
Harbinger, Robert Milligan, a ver y r espected Bible
scholar among Disciples, had claimed that the chur ch
RESTORATION ATTITUDES — cannot do the wor k God gave to it thr ough local
TOLBERT FANNING congr egations. T her efore, he said, it must establish
auxiliar y societies thr ough which to wor k. T o Fan-
It has been suggested that much of the gullibility ning the issue was not so much the society itself as
of b r ethr en in r eceiving r eligious notions without the r ationalization which allowed it. He saw a ter r i-
pr oper S cr iptural r eview is due in part to a failure ble danger in Milligan's saying that the New T esta-
in under standing the Restor ation movement and its ment does not pr esent a "thus saith the L or d" f or
principles. While I had much r ather emphasize the all things believed and pr acticed by the chur ch. He
r eal pr oblem, which is impr oper application of the had begun publication of the Gospel Advocate to
Scriptur e, I recognize that some pr oblems could be allow a fr ee exchange of views on the society ques-
avoided if some wer e mor e inf ormed on how these tion, but to Fanning it had never b een questioned
pr oblems have been met in prior decades. One gr eat that the chur ch could do what God had given it to do.
value of studying Restoration histor y is letting it Milligan also asserted that the Bible is a book of
show us the ends of the r oads we ar e t r avelling. I motives and gener al laws, not specif i c patter ns.
know, f or example, of no r eally new position occu- While he did not intend that this should necessar ily
pied on any major i ssue t h r eatening the br et h r en be applied outside the subject of congr egational co-
in the past 20 year s that had not been introduced oper ation, some of his admir er s and students in the
in the decades before. Per haps in a f ew cases some College of the Bible at the Univer sity of Kentucky
new wrinkle on some passage has been pr esented, took him to be saying that the New T estament was
but the issues have been the same, the ar guments to be obeyed not in the letter but only in the spirit.
have been basically the same, and the r esults have T hey took up this chant and it led to complete apos-
been the same that they wer e a hundr ed year s ago. tasy by many in ter m s of the r estoration appeal f or
It is with pleasur e that I have r eceived and ac- a r etur n to the Bible for r eligious patter ns.
cepted the opportunity to present to the r eader s of Fanning was appalled. When he attacked such
this jour nal, per haps with some r egular ity, a view r easoning he was said to be "ambitious" and with-
of the fundamental principles of the Restoration out love. He was accused of desiring to lead out a
movement which ar e r eappearing in our day. I know new party. He was to many an exclusive, liter alistic,
of no better place to begin than with the basic atti- Phar isaic bigot. But he loved the truth, and he loved
tudes of some of the leader s of that movement. man enough to war n him not to abandon Biblical
One of the most prominent pr eacher s in the his- patter ns.
tor y of the chur ch in T ennessee was T olber t F an- What F anning saw in Milligan, Richar dson, and
ning, founder of the Gospel Advocate (with William the other s, we ar e seeing today. What he exper -
L ipscomb, elder br other of David L ipscomb) . ienced, we experience.
Fanning was not a ruthless type of p r eacher , First, we ar e in the same position as was Fanning
lacking love and loving dispute. Some said he pr e- r egar ding Institutionalism. We oppose institutions
f er r ed his Middle T ennessee farm to religious en- that ar e chur ch suppor t ed which car e f or either the
counter and working with his cattle or riding his ver y young or the ver y old and we ar e without love,
hor ses to debate which so often ended in per sonality some say. We oppose cooper ative pr ogr ams of the
battles. On one occasion when his opponent clearly Her ald of T r uth type and we ar e too l iter alistic.
r ef er r ed to him as a "brute," he ar ose and left the S econd, the L or d's people stand wher e Fanning
hall not to r etur n at all for the debate. But Fanning did on ecumenism. But those who oppose ecumeni-
loved the tr uth and he would stand for it whenever cal movements designed to bring joint action with
and wher ever he saw the need. denominationalism ar e often ridiculed. We ar e ex-
Sometimes Bible pr eacher s have been categor ized clusive sectarians, we ar e told. T hat's alright! God
as pr eacher s of hate, religious fanatics, or sectarian never did want his people f r aternizing with the
bigots. On a f ew occasions the terms have been fitly daughter s of men.
appr opriated. Often, however, they ar e applied by T hir d, those of us who insist that union without
those who do not appr eciate deep love f or the Wor d Bible unity is not Biblical oneness ar e said to be
of God in men who insist that it be followed. Re- Pharisaic bigots. T her e always have been, and so it
gar dless of the love that may fill a man's hear t and is no sur pr i se that ther e ar e sever al now, move-
the desir e f or unity he may have, other s will ridi - ments under way which would attempt to bring
cule him if he is uncompr omising and non-denomina- those who believe dif f er ently on basic Bible doctrines
tional in his pr eaching. together without uniting them into one mind in
 ____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 13

fact. T he sophistry used is often per suading, but the ments when I sing this? Do I really trust Jesus?
father of it is the god of this world, and he knows When a problem comes up in my life, do I trust
how to work the men of this wor ld. Paul ran into it obedience to the Lord to work it out or do I want
at Corinth (I Cor. 1-2); Fanning exper ienced it in to lean on the arm of flesh. If the latter, do I really
reading some of Robert Richardson's articles on trust Jesus?
philosophy; and we will face it around the next cor- "I will tell the wondrous story" ar e the words of
ner if it has not jumped out at us alr eady. the second stanza to the song, "I Will Sing Of My
Fanning could see where all their sophisticated Redeemer." As I sing these words ar e they r eally
reasoning was leading. He predicted ver y ear ly a the sentiment of my heart, or have I sung these so
complete estrangement between the rivaling par- often that I do not r ealize what I am saying?
ties. Today, those who followed Milligan and other T he song "I Am Praying For You" contains some
more liber al teacher s through the year s form the powerful words that I need to give attention to as
Christian Church Denomination (called a "denomi- I sing. T hat alien sinner that is in the ser vice time
nation" by their own choosing). Those who were of after time, do I really expr ess my heart to God and
the same mind with Fanning became simply Chr is- to him when I sing, "For you I am pr aying?" Have
tians and formed themselves into churches of Chr ist. I prayed for him? As I sing this song, is ther e a
But another division has come in the churches of prayer on my heart for his obedience? Or do I just
Chr ist dur ing the last 25 years. Does not the former sing without my wor ship being "in spir it?"
dispute and its results forewar n us concerning the Do the words "Anywher e with Jesus, over land
end r esult of the pr esent disturbance? and sea, telling souls in darkness of salvation free"
really express my thoughts when I sing them? Are
they sung "in spir it ?" Or do I sing them but am not
inter ested in talking to one of my neighbor s about
his soul ? If such is the case, then my worship is not
"in spir it" is it? What about your worship?
"I love them no mor e" ar e the words of part of
the second stanza of the song "A New Cr eature."
T hese words r efer to the "old things" that "ar e
passed" which are the things that allured me before
obedience to Christ. Do I really feel this way about
them as I sing, or would I still like to engage in the
sins of the flesh? Have a dr ink? Gamble? Do I still
love these things?
MELODY IN HEART
With the above examples I need to ask myself if
I make melody in my heart (Eph. 5:19) when I sing?
Is my heart harmonious with the gr eat truths ex-
WORSHIP IN SONG pressed in the songs ? Or do I find a discord note with
T homas G. O'Neal how I feel and what I am singing? Does my heart
over f low with pr aise and thanksgiving to God for
I n a pr evious article we have seen the kind of what he has done for me?
songs to be sung in worship are spir itual in nature. CONCLUSION
T he inner man, II Cor. 4:16, is strengthened by such
spir itual worship. It is not enough to show other s that wor ship is
SPIRITUAL WORSHIP not to be r itualistic, but when I worship I must do
so "in spir it" as well as "in truth" if God is to be
T he Lord said, John 4:24, that our worship is to pleased with my worship.
be "in spir it" as well as "in truth." We under stand
that for our worship to be "in truth" it must be ac-
cording to truth, which is the word of God (John
17:7). However, our worship must be "in spir it"
which we under stand to mean that our heart, the
inner most feelings and expressions, are poured out OUT L I NES OF FLORIDA
unto the Lord. Each specific period of worship should COL L E GE L E CTURES
find us so expressing ourselves to God.
Our worship should never become such that it is 1968
a ritual, that we so act toward God without thinking Detailed outlines of each speech deliver ed at the
about what we are doing. However, it is easy for us 1968 Florida College L ectur es, including 3 lectur es on
to drift into such an attitude and our worship become The Holy Spirit by Fr anklin T. Puckett, 3 lectur es on
not the expression of our heart but the form which the Pr oblem of Human Responsibility and Organiza-
we have repeated so many times. tion by James W. Adams, 3 lectur es on The Church
EXAMPLES — I t s Natur e and Str uctur e by Roy E . Cogdill, and
2 lectur es on Contemporar y Pr ophetic Cults by Homer
In' the song "Jesus Is All T he World To Me" these Hailey.
words are found: "I trust Him now." Often this Price $2.00
beautiful old song is sung and we sing "I trust Him
now" and yet do I really expr ess my heart's senti-
 Authority, in a single word, is under a multi-pronged
attack on virtually ever y front.
What is to be done about the problem? Shaking our
heads in dismay, or wringing our hands, or talking
about how it used to be and of what we are coming
to, will not meet the needs of the hour. Nor will the
cr isis be met by our running around shouting "law
and order" or pleading fervently for "respect for
authority." T his is what is needed alright but will just
saying it to someone who loathes established and
legitimate authority be likely to generate respect?
Hardly. He who despises his nation's anthem and
bows his head when it is played, or who hates the
stars and stripes of his homeland and dishonors it by
a degrading use, will not be won over by shouts of
THE CRISIS ON AUTHORITY "love that song" or "love that flag." Reasons must be
supplied. Before authority can be expected to be res-
Open contempt for author ity of all kinds and at pected, it must be admitted; before it can be admitt-
all levels is alarmingly and distressingly obvious. The ed, it must be recognized; before it can be recogniz-
crime rate continues to mount new statistical highs ed, it must be convincingly established. We cannot
year after year. "Civil disobedience" and "passive re- assume the ver y point at issue ( in this case, authority)
sistance" are popular expressions openly promoting and just keep parroting our contention (in this case,
disrespect for and rejection of author ity, and they that it should be respected) with much reasonable ex-
aptly describe the deliberate life style of a consider- pectation that it will persuade a dissenter.
able number of malcontents. Vigorous demonstra- The premise of authority must be reestablished.
tions against established law are commonplace. A "Prove all things." (I Thess. 5:21). Most people (even
breakdown of major proportions has taken place in anarchists) acknowledge the wisdom and need of cer-
the homes of our land. Divorces for every cause a- tain laws, but deny that anyone (including God) has
bound. And in many homes where there has not been the r ight to tell them what to do. As one put it, "I
a divorce the wife and children reject the authority of will not obey a law in the making of which I had no
the father (no "problem," for he does not want it!), part." Only if I had a part in its making, only if I see
the children rebel against both parents and seize a its wisdom, only when I agree to it will I obey a law!
kind of independence, and usually an uneasy truce Arguing the virtues of an individual law is a waste of
emerges in an unsteady democratic family state. The time with such a per son for, even if you succeed,
marital laws themselves come under attack with "free there is still no respect for law itself and the whole
love" and some bizarre arrangements for cohabiting matter depending upon a purely personal option can
and child-care being seriously offered as alternatives later be as easily rejected. Further, it enthrones hu-
and improvements. Churches also are undergoing a man wisdom as the judge of the law rather than
revolution in the name of relevance, old standar ds rendering law the judge of the man. T he whole issue
are being stuck down, and a power struggle is under must therefore be settled at its foundation— what is
way in several denominations. E ven in churches of the basis for authority? What is its source and nature?
Chr ist voices have been heard boasting that we do We can meet this crisis on authority by assuming
many things for which we have no author ity, and nothing, and by resorting to God's word for the foun-
that, we do not necessarily need authority. T his is the dation facts and persuasive proofs that enable us to
same voice of anarchy, and a pious face and lip- know the what, the where and the why of law and
ser vice to God does not alter the fact. A wave of authority. We can thereby go up boldly against all
novel concepts and practices have resulted, issuing in forms of anarchy, and more clearly hold to and plain-
much confusion, division, alienation and aloofness. ly preach the lordship of Jesus.
Page 2____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Searching the Scr iptures is now in the thirteenth

year of ser vice to a large number of readers. During
this time H.E . Phillips has admirably edited the paper
and has seen it through many tight places, financially
speaking, and has not only kept it alive but has great-
ly improved it. Contrary to the opinion of some, the
publishing of such a paper is not a financial gain. A
number of friends from the start have helped to make
the paper possible but the greatest financial drain has
been on H.E . Phillips himself. T his he has done be-
cause he believes the paper serves a great need. E vi-
dence has accumulated through the years of the great
amount of good being done through this effort.
But there is a limit to a man's resources regardless
of his devotion to a worthy project. Not only so, but
there is also a limit to how much strain one can take
physically when financial worries mount. Brother
Phillips has always given more of himself in whatever
task he put his hand than was good for him physical-
ly. He has suffered several heart attacks. I am one of
many who believes that Searching the Scriptures de-
serves to continue and that H.E. Phillips deserves the
assistance of grateful brethren who, for years now,
have bef itted from the wealth of good mater ial
this paper has presented each month for over twelve
years. In the 1960's I was a regular contributor to the
columns of this paper and counted it a pleasur e to
send the paper to 36 people each month for several
years. My own writing responsibilities with Truth
Magazine will not permit time to wr ite much for
other papers, but I am still interested in seeing this
good paper live and serve. I am also interested in see-
ing some of the strain lifted from my esteemed friend
and brother.
Here are some ways you can help. When you renew
your own subscr iption, why not subscribe for a fr iend
or relative. It makes a fine gift throughout the year.
Consider sending the paper to so many a month and
have the paper to bill you for the cost. Also, why not
write brother Phillips a note of appreciation for his
faithful work and sacrifice with the paper and en-
close a donation of whatever amount you can afford.
Brother Phillips did not ask me to say these things.
T hey have been on my mind for sometime now.
Many of us have befitted from his labor s. Don't
you believe that tur nabout is fair play? ********
___________________________________________________________________________________________________Page 3

blood of Jesus Chr ist in obeying the truth.

Nearly all of the errors in the views held by Car l
Ketcherside are based upon a misunderstanding, mis-
representation and misapplication of the figures used
by the Holy Spir it in descr ibing the relationship of
the redeemed to God and the Saviour Jesus Christ.
Any figure pressed too far or used in a sense that con-
flicts with other figures and plain statements in the
word of God is not an understanding of the truth.
Whether done ignorantly or deliberately, the con-
sequences of such misuse of the scriptures has creat-
ed all sorts of denominations and divisions among stu-
dents of the Bible. Carl disavows any action or teach-
ing that causes division among brethren, yet the ver y
THE KETCHERSIDE-TURNER EXCHANGE foundation of his false doctrine is the cause of all
divisions: a misapplication of the word of God.
On Tuesday evening, Januar y 25, 1972, at approx- I believe brother Robert Turner hit at the very core
imately 10 p.m., following the lectures at Flor ida of the error when he spoke of Car l's misuse of the
College, an overflow crowd assembled at the Univer- figure of family relationship. From the tape of the ex-
sity church meeting house in T ampa, Florida to hear change Robert said: "T he family r elationship, and,
Car l Ketcherside and Robert Turner speak on the of cour se, the birth process that goes with it, is a
gener al theme of "fellowship." For the lack of a figure of speech. T hose who come into an acceptable
better word to express what took place I have used relationship with God ar e likened unto a kingdom,
the word "exchange" to describe it. It was an arrange- and when you are talking about these people in terms
ment tailored more to the preference of Ketcherside of a kingdom, they ar e citizens. And the language
than to T urner. It was a "panel discussion" following that would go with teaching anything along that line
a thirty minute speech by Car l Ketcher side and a is language that has to do with kingdom. Kingdom
thirty minute speech by Robert Turner. Other mem- language. You are talking about a ruler. In fact, you
ber s of the panel wer e Ferrell Jenkins and Har r y are emphasizing the rule of God in Chr ist, and he is
Pickup, Jr. Bob F. Owen acted as chairman or mod- king, and so on. But when you are talking about these
erator as questions were asked from the floor and same people from the standpoint of horticulture,
directed to some member of the panel. All questions then those people are no longer citizens, they are
were directed to Ketcherside except one which was branches. You don't have a vine with citizens on it.
directed to Ferrell Jenkins. You have a vine with branches on it, because you
Perhaps others would approach this review in an maintain the use of the figure throughout. And Christ
entirely different manner, but I ask you to bear with is the vine, just like Chr ist is the king in the other
me as I write candidly what my impressions of the figure. When you are speaking in terms of an organ-
meeting were as I saw it, and to say what I must say ism or a body, you are talking about the units as
on the subject. I speak only for myself and am not member s of that body. You wouldn't talk about a
particular ly interested in pleasing anyone but God in body, referring to a head and then having branches,
this study. (Gal. 1:10) but having members. When you are talking about a
Here and now I want to commend Carl Ketcherside building, Christ is the foundation or chief corner
on his pleasant disposition and congenial personality stone, and the units are lively stones. Now when you
in presenting his views on fellowship. His kindness in are talking about those same people from the stand-
attempting to answer questions and his winning point of a family, the unit is a child. But from a prag-
smile overshadowed his dodges and evasions in direct- matic standpoint, getting r ight to the bottom of the
ly facing up to the questions that wer e asked. This thing, there is no difference in being a child of God,
was certainly true in the minds of some who did not and a lively stone in the building, and a member of
understand his real doctrine and the consequences of his body, and a branch on the vine, and a citizen in
it. As a person, I have never met a more pleasant and his kingdom."
kind man, nor a more dignified gentleman than Carl T his is exactly my understanding of the word of
Ketcherside. But this does not mean that he is r ight God. For a number of years I have discussed with var-
r eligiously and to be r eceived as a brother in ious brethren the abuse of the figure of the family
Chr ist. His personality and appearance should not r elationship in showing our r elationship to God
allow us to be deceived by his corruptible teach- through Chr ist. Not all of the process of the "new
ing and the consequences of it. T he Holy Spirit birth can be compared to physical birth. T he father-
said that Satan is transformed into an angel of light. child relationship was never intended by the figure to
"T herefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be exactly parallel the human relationship in all points.
transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose This is the reason I reject the idea of "once a child of
end shall be according to their works" (2 Cor. 11:15). God, always a child of God," just as I reject the idea
I want it clear and explicit from beginning to end of "once a br anch on the vine, always a br anch on
that I am not making an attack upon the per son of the vine." T hese are all the same people in the same
Car l Ketcher side, but am directing my attention in relationship to God, but descr ibed under different
this study to the false doctrine he teaches and practic- figures.
es. Since no error exists apart from some person, it FIGURES OF THE CHURCH
becomes necessary to involve the person who espous- The ekklesia of Christ (the "called out" by the gos-
es the error when exposing it. He must go down with pel) are those people who have been saved, redeemed,
the error or repent and be separ ated from it by the
Page 4 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

had their sins r emitted, r econciled to God, justified, tious believer in the f act of Christ's, divinity, and con-
sanctified, pur chased unto God, and various other f essor of the L or dship of Jesus, though unimmer sed,
expr essions which tell the same thing: T hat thr ough is your br other in prospect? Carl replied: "Yes, such
the mer it of the blood of Christ and by obedience to an individual is." Har r y asked: "He is your brother in
the faith once deliver ed to the saints, man is deliver - pr ospect?"
ed from t he guilt and eter nal consequences of his sins Carl answer ed: "Yes, he is God's child and my
to the fr eedom from sin and the hope of eter nal lif e br other in prospect."
with God. Har r y then r ead from I John 5 the condition of the
All this is expr essed in sever al dif f er ent figur es to one begotten of God to show the pr edicament of
emphasize one or mor e aspects of this salvation and Carl's position. After some statements denying the
new r elationship to God. T his ekklesia of Chr ist is conclusions that followed from the passages r ead,
called a body, a building, a bride, a kingdom, a house- Car l r esponded with the following: "I believe with
hold or family, Isr ael, br anches on a vine, wheat in a Alexander Campbell that birth, either in the physical
field, a priesthood, a nation, a chosen r ace, a flock of or spiritual kingdom, never produces life. You ar e
sheep, and other figures. Any lesson dr awn f r om one not bor n in or d er to have life; you ar e bor n because
of the figures that makes the other s non- sense is not you do have lif e. And the purpose of birt h is to bring
a pr oper use of the figures. you into a state or r elationship wher e you can enjoy
T o illustrate allow me to take just one figure and the blessings f or which life was intended, and fulfill
show the limitations of it in the simplest way. We ar e the r esponsibilities that ar e devolving upon it. But I
baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:27). Does this mean that believe that a per son is begotten of God by the Spir it
the act of immer sion and emer sion liter ally places one thr ough the wor d, and then this individual develops
into the per son of Christ who is at the right hand of the place wher e he is bor n into the family. But he is
God? But we ar e baptized into one body (I Cor. 12: begotten of God bef or e. He is not begotten in the
13). Does baptism literally put us into the physical or water, that is when he is deliver ed. You ar e not be-
spir itual body of Christ at the right hand of God? gotten in the hospital. T hat is wher e you ar e deliver-
Certainly not! Into Christ means to be put into the ed. And so for thi s r eason I think that an individual
r elationship with him that pr ovides all the spiritual is begotten of God, and because he is begotten of the
blessings from God. Into the body means to be put same F ather who begot me, he is my br other i n
into the r elationship of the one "called out" com- pr ospect and God's child in pr ospect. But still he is
munity of people who ar e all in Chr ist in the same not in the family any mor e than Jer r y and Sue wer e
sense as just stated in the pr evious sentence. until Nell deliver ed them. It's just that simple."
Baptism is described as a birth. One must be bor n Now since Carl has carried this figur e to the point
of water and of the Spirit (John 3:3,5). It is the wash- of conception and deliver y exactly as in the physical
ing of r egener ation (T itus 3:5). It is the washing of family, using his own wif e and childr en to illust r ate
water by the wor d ( E p h. 5:26). Obviously, these ar e the point, I wonder if he would explain who the
figur es of a deliver ance from one world into another. mother is who is car r ying this begotten unbor n child
I n liter al birth one is deliver ed from his mother's of God? He said the birth did not produce life, but
womb into the world in which we live. Without this one was bor n who alr eady had lif e. T his unbor n child
physical birth, natural or otherwise, one would never of God has life by r eason of conception, and Car l
be in this world from his mother 's womb. E r r or is said: "He is not begotten in the water , that is when
cr eated when this f igur e is pr essed beyond this point. he is deliver ed." But how can ther e be a bir t h without
For example, the charge by some denominationalists a mother to deliver the unbor n child? I wonder who
that if we depend upon baptism to save us, we have or what the mother of God's childr en is. His pr oblems
water f or our mother and claim God f or our F ather. stem fr om his abuse of the figur e of f amily r elation-
T his is said because physical birth always r equir es a ship.
mother who deliver s the child, and if we claim that ANOTHER FIGURE OF BAPTISM
baptism is the new bir t h, we must be bor n of water,
which makes water our mother . Baptism is said to be a bur ial and r esur r ection
CARL KETCHERSIDE'S "BROTHER IN PROSPECT" (Rom. 6:3- 5; Col. 2:12). In this figur e we have a con-
flict with the figur e of a birth if either is carried be-
At the end of questions from the floor, the panel yond its intended use. One must die bef or e he can be
had ten minutes to discuss the subject of f ellowship bur i ed and r esur r ected. But if one dies bef or e he is
among themselves. Har r y Pickup, Jr. asked Carl bor n, he never has life in this world following the del-
Ketcher side the following question: "Do you believe iver y. How do we r econcile this? T he obvious truth
that ever y conscientious believer in the f act of is that the figur e of a birth is only intended to des-
Chr ist's divinity, and conf essor of the L or dship of cribe the purpose of baptism as bringing into a new
Jesus, who is unimmer sed, is your brother in pr o- life as a family and the cor r esponding figur es would
spect?" be that of family r elationship. All figur es in this
Carl answer ed: "No, I don't think necessarily that r elationship must agr ee with the other figures that
everyone such is. I do believe this. I believe that when describe the same people in r elationship to God.
one is thoroughly convinced of those f acts that con- T he figure of a bur ial and r esur r ection is intended
stitute the good news and the glad tidings, and he r e- to contrast the state of sin and death from which one
pents of his sin upon the basis of this f aith, I think he is deliver ed and the state of new lif e in r elationship to
is God's child and my br other. But I think ther e is a Chr ist af t er he ar ose from the dead to die no mor e.
gr eat deal mor e than just saying, you know, that you T his emphasizes lif e as opposed to death r ather than
believe in Jesus as an intellectual fact." family relationship.
Har r y r esponded with this question: "Do you not If a r elationship can be established, it can be brok-
say, and have you not written, that ever y conscien-
en. I know of n o exception. Marriage is br oken by
 Page 5

death. All human physical ties are broken by death.

If, as in the time of Chr ist and the apostles, one had
the power to raise the dead, he would reestablish the
physical ties that existed before death. But such is
not done now, and in the general resurrection we are
sown a natural (physical) body and raised a spiritual
body. T he relationship of physical ties is not restored
in the general resurrection at the last day.
I do not believe the Bible teaches the eternal
brother hood of men in Chr ist regardless of their
doctrines and practice. T he combination of figures as
they are used in the word of God clearly teach that
there are conditions upon which one must come into
the r ight r elationship to God, and ther e ar e con-
ditions upon which that one remains in the r ight re-
lationship to God. If the conditions of the gospel are T elevision in gener al is getting pretty rotten. It
essential to one getting into Chr ist, then the con- is difficult to view any musical or variety program
ditions of the New T estament are essential to one without seeing half- naked women gyrating and
staying in Chr ist.
This is the first of three articles dealing with Carl jumping around as if they had just escaped from
Ketcherside's abuse of the figures of relationship to the jungle. But beyond doubt, one of the most vain,
God used by the Holy Spir it. His misuse of these immoral and ungodly shows ever seen anywhere is
figures has produced his despicable doctrine on "The Dean Martin Show." Just about every comment
Fellowship. the man makes is suggestive and r isqué. And he
H. E . Phillips can't even sing without acting a fool — and sucking
******** a cigar ette.
I seldom see any part of his show any mor e, but
a few months ago I saw a part of one. It opened
with the naked gir ls, known as the "Ding-a-ling sis-
ters." T hen he hired a gir l to stand in for his wife in
a vulgar scene. After she did some singing, he said,
"Her voice is so sexy the doctor has to look down her
throat through a key hole." When time came for a
station break, a gir l came wr iggling out on the stage
with the message wr itten on her stomach, and she
didn't have on enough clothes to cover a decent jay
bird! After she left, a ver y ugly gir l came out and
said to Dean, "Name one thing that she's got that I
haven't." He said, "I can name two."
T hen they played the musical game wher e the
gir ls each sing a line from a song and then he
matches it with one from another song, and each
time it ends up being suggestive. And on and on it
went, along with all of the jokes about him being a
drunkard, which is probably no joke.
Decent citizens should wr ite the NBC Networ k
and all others which are contributing to the moral
corruption of our society by showing such filth.
I have known that cigarette smokers are without
self-control, but I finally heard of one who will admit
it. L eonid I. Br ezhnev, of the Soviet Communist
Party is trying to stop smoking, and it seems that
he is having such a hard time that he has a timed
cigarette case which will allow him only a specified
number per day. Now I can understand that for a
Communist, but a Chr istian should control himself
by such passages as I Cor. 6:19,20; 9:25 and II Pet.
1:6.
In an editorial entitled, "T he Coming ACC Preach-
er's Workshop" (Firm Foundation, Jan. 4, 1972),
brother Reuel L emmons said, "We hold it a self-
evident fact that most of the trouble in the brother-
hood is pr eacher-generated. Groups of brethren do
not divide from each other unless they ar e led in
that division by preacher s. T he anti-cooper ation
Page 6___________________________________________________________________________________________________

folly would never have wounded the body of Chr ist Abolish Sundays? Don't laugh; they may do it!
had it not been for preacher s." An Associated Press article out of Chicago said:
T her e is some tr uth in this statement, but he is "With Sundays widely used for recr eation rather
guilty of the ver y thing that has caused and which than rest and worship, the Rev. Dr. Leroy C. Hodapp,
perpetuates much of the division, namely, misrep- a Bloomington, I nd., Methodist leader, suggests in
resentation ! He does not know of any "anti-coopera- the weekly Chr istian Advocate that the church aban-
tion" brethren. He has spoken out recently against don its weekly worship custom, and substitute ten
church support of colleges. Would it be fair to ac- 'Chr ist- Days' per year in lar ge center s of wor ship."
cuse him of being "anti- college?" No, for he sup- After all, when people cease to worship God as the
ports them and is on the board of one and maybe New Testament authorizes — and they have — what
two. He is anti-church-support of colleges. Likewise, difference does it make whether or not they worship
we are not anti-cooperation; we are anti-centraliza- at all ? We wonder if the "Rev." has reach such pas-
tion and usurpation! L et us tell the truth about one sages as Acts 20:7? T he first day of the week —
another, and then we will know what we believe each week — is the true "Christ- day" for true
and why. Chr istians.
In a recent letter to brother Yater Tant concern-
ing some churches and instrumental music, Leroy
Gar r ett said, "Since the New T estament scr iptur es
say nothing about instrumental music either way,
those br ethren concluded that its use was a matter
of opinion.. . . It is true that the New T estament
says nothing about instrumental music, but all that
proves is that the New T estament says nothing
about instrumental music. People can differ as to
how they interpret silence, and silence does have
to be inter pr eted, and still have mutual r espect for
the author ity of scr ipture."
Now that's the same fallacious thinking which
allowed a large Baptist Church in T exas to serve
Coca- Cola on the Lord's table, and a Methodist
Church in St. Louis to use hamburgers. T he New
T estament doesn't say one word about using Coca- SOME ACTS OF SATAN IN THE CHURCH
Cola and hamburgers on the Lord's table. Does that
make it r ight? According to Garrett it does. I have befor e me a booklet, "T he Acts of T he
T he Old T estament never said one word about a Holy Spir it in T he Church of Chr ist Today," which
man from the tribe of Juda ser ving as pr iest, but the is published by the Full Gospel Business Men's Fel-
inspired apostle used such silence to show that one lowship International in Los Angeles, Calif. It con-
could not ser ve with God's approval (Heb. 7:14). tains 14 articles by the same number of men, all of
whom claim to be members of the Church of Chr ist.
"He doesn't believe in taking care of orphans." T hey are: Ben Franklin, Dean Dennis, Pat Boone,
When a statement like that is made and believed, Forrest H. Wells, Donald R. Hurley, Dwyatt Gantt,
two things are true: the one who makes it is lying, William R. E pperson, W. L. Wilson, Jim Noblitt, T .
and the one who believes it is incredibly naive and C. Wisenbaker, Paul Logue, Curtis L ydic, George
ought to be ashamed. You can't name a per son — Welsh and Lester E . Nichols.
black or white, Chr istian or atheist — who opposes THEIR CLAIM
an orphan child having the necessities of life! T hese
"orphan- hater s" ar e like Campbellites; I've heard T he claim of these individuals is expressed in the
much about them but I have never seen one. title, they all believe that the Holy Spir it is working
now in a miraculous way. Claim is made for Holy
In response to one of our radio programs, a lady Spir it baptism, prophecy, tongues, gifts of healing,
from Iowa wrote: "Chr ist will reign on the earth for faith, wisdom, discer nment, etc. now among the
1,000 years. T hat's what I've been taught all of my Lord's people.
life, and I believe it. If he does not, then he deserved COMMON DENOMINATOR
to be crucified. He should reign on the earth and my In reading this booklet through twice each of these
dead mother ought to be alive again on the earth men have some common ground. That common de-
some day too. This is what I want to believe." And nominator is error. (1) Each of these men claim to
I imagine she will believe that until she dies. We sent be a member of the Lord's church. However, after
her some mater ial which proves that Chr ist will not r eading the articles I would question if they wer e
reign on this earth, and she returned it. So, like the ever a member. Please note that I am not saying
majority of the people, she is going to believe what they were not, I am just questioning if they wer e.
she wants to believe regardless of the facts. Isaiah, T heir concept of the church is that it is a denomina-
Chr ist, and Paul encountered such people, and they tion. T he expressions used in regard to the church
are descr ibed in Matthew 13:15. T her e isn't much reveals their denominational concept. "Our church
you can do for them. doctr ine" (p. 9), "other denominations" ( p. 10),
"our denominational bodies" (p. 10), "I had been
 Page 7

the minister of one of the denomination's largest "a strange and utterly amazing tongue which I had
chur ches in the west, the Northside Chur ch of never hear d" (p. 67), "a new and strange language"
Chr ist" (p. 11), "ser ved as pastor to four such (p. 69), and "ecstatic language" (p. 58). One says,
churches" (p. 25), "Church of Chr ist preacher" ( p. "there came a flood of sounds, none of them at all
26), "overcoming denominational hang-ups" (p. 46), intelligible, lasting for perhaps a minute or two and
"of our denomination" (p. 49), "we went to our de- then stopping, as though by some will other than my
nominational church, Vermont Avenue Church of own" ( p. 58) . T his one claiming to speak in an
Chr ist, near George Pepperdine College," (p. 51) , "ecstatic language" says the "sounds" were not "in-
"I remember saying to our pastor" (p. 62) are just telligible" (p. 58). Does the Holy Spir it give an un-
some of the expressions used in relation to the Lord's intelligent language? T he new T estament teaches
chur ch that show that these men look upon the otherwise ( Acts 2:6,8,11). Cf. I Cor. 14:9,19.
church as a denomination. NEW TESTAMENT TEACHING
(2) Again and again they give their personal
"testimony" that what they claim is so. But others Having seen the denominational attitude these
could give the same kind of testimony that other men have toward the Bible and the chur ch of the
acts ar e of the Holy Spir it. (3) T hese individuals Lord, I want to note some New T estament passages
want to establish the fact that they wer e "real tr ue which they fail to understand.
chur ch of Chr ist member s" at one time. T hey give (1) I Cor. 15:8 — Paul said of Chr ist that "last
all kinds of evidence, such as, being a "Bible school of all he was seen of me also." If this wer e under -
superintendent, coordinator , youth wor ker, elder, stood, one would not read in this booklet of one say-
etc. in both large and small congregation" (p. 60) or ing of his claimed exper ience "I believe it was a
such a church "was started in our home" (p. 65) and vision of the glor y of Chr ist Himself, and I was
"I attended Pepperdine College and while ther e here given a glimpse of Him, the full image of Deity"
planted all the shrubs around the Church of Chr ist (P- 37).
building on Vermont Avenue, every one of the trees (2) Acts 1:4-8 — T his passage is used in the book-
and the gr ass" ( p. 65). let to teach that Holy Spir it baptism is for men
T hese men cast the Lord's church in the role of a today. While it is true that someone in this passage
denomination and evidence their displeasur e of is promised Holy Spir it baptism, it is not men now.
preachers who expose denominationalism and draw Note the context: ( 1) commandment was given to
the line on them where the Bible draws the line. the apostles, v. 2; ( 2) to the apostles Chr ist showed
HOLY SPIRIT VS. HOLY SPIRIT
himself, v. 3; (3) Chr ist was assembled with the
apostles and commanded them (the apostles) that
they should not depart but wait for the promise of
One of the inter esting things about this booklet the Father, v. 4; ( 4) the "ye" of verse 5 that wer e
is all of these men claim a miraculous operation of promised Holy Spir it baptism wer e the apostles of
the Holy Spir it in their lives. Yet, they ar e divided verse 2. T he antecedent of the personal pronouns in
on some fundamental issues about the Holy Spirit. verse 3-8 is the noun, apostles, in verse 2. When one
For example, on page 17, one prays for the baptism understands this, he will not be expecting to be bap-
of the Holy Spir it, but on pages 26-27 one receives tized with the Holy Spir it since he is not an apostle.
Holy Spir it baptism by the laying on of hands by Men ar e not now the ones to whom the Lord made
an Episcopal priest. Both claim to have Holy Spirit the promise of Acts 1:5,8, so men now have no right
baptism, yet both claim to have received such in a to expect the fulfillment of the promise.
different way. Another example, one claims, on page (3) John 14:16-17 — Use is made of this passage
8, "that which is perfect" in I Cor. 13:10 refers to to show that "gifts of the Holy Spir it ar e promised
"Chr istian maturity" but on page 14 we are told it in the Bible" for men today. T he context of the chap-
r efer s to "the perfect state of all things usher ed in ter will show otherwise. In John 13:5, it is lear ned
by the return of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Chr ist" that Jesus was with his disciples; he told them "that
and then on page 66 we are told it refers to "Jesus one of you shall betray me" ( 13:21); chapter 15:16
Chr ist." We have three different answers by three shows Jesus still is speaking to the disciples when
different men, yet each claims Holy Spirit direction. he said, "I have chosen you." I n these chapter s in
T hus, these men have the Holy Spirit divided if what which this passage is found, the names of some of
they say is so. the apostles ar e given in conver sation with Chr ist.
TONGUES T he "you" of this passage the context .shows is the
apostles; not men today. I n these passages all these
One of the things that is often affirmed of the men miss a fundamental rule of understanding, that
Holy Spir it in this booklet is that he causes these is, when some are specifically addressed, no one else
men and other s to speak in tongues. T he claim is is included in that address. For example, "I will spue
made he causes men to speak in: "strange words" thee out of my mouth" ( Rev. 3:16) addr essed to
(p. 8), in "a prayer language" (p. 14), in a "new L aodiceans does not include saints at Philadelphia
language" (p. 17 and 27), "when blocked in the E ng- (Rev. 3:7).
lish language, I have spoken in this new tongue" (4) I Cor. 13:8- 10 — It is admitted ( p. 7) t hat
(p. 28), "in a new and unknown tongue" (p. 34), "I this passage is one "which even hinted that anything
broke forth in a tongue of praise and prayer in words of the mir aculous would cease at some time." It is
I had never heard" (p. 35), "heavenly language" obser ved in the article that the r eason the mir acu-
(p. 35), in a "complex Indian dialect" (p. 36), "in a lous continues is because v. 8 "states that 'prophe-
language I didn't know" (p. 37), "I spoke in a new cies,' not 'prophecy' would cease." T hat is r eal wis-
language" (p. 48), "a voluble stream of a heavenly dom. If 'prophecies' ceased it would be because
language" (p. 53), "in a strange tongue" (p. 61), 'prophecy' ceased. If 'prophecy' continued there
Page 8 ________________________________________________________________________________________________

would be 'prophecies' continued. T his is just a play

on words, but is not a real argument.
I Cor. 12:8-10 names the miraculous gifts of the
Spir it. I Cor. 12:14-31 shows they were for edifying
the body. I Cor. 13:1-7 shows the need for love even
with miraculous gifts. I Cor. 13:8-13 shows that mi-
raculous gifts would cease. "Prophecies shall fail"
"tongues shall cease and knowledge shall vanish
away." How could language be plainer ? But such
plain language means nothing to one who wants, in-
tends to have, and thinks he has spir itual gifts. He
is r ight and the New T estament is in error. Paul says
"now abideth faith, hope, char ity, these three; but
the gr eatest of these is char ity" ( I Cor. 13:13).
T hese men whose articles are in the booklet would
say, "now abideth tongues, prophecy, and Holy Spirit PROBLEM PERIODS IN OLD
baptism." TESTAMENT HISTORY
Much more could be said about this neat printed
booklet filled with error. I trust that this will help THE PERIOD OF THE PATRIARCHS (2)
someone into whose hands this book of false doc- T he consensus of scholar ship has come around to
trine falls. a more conservative attitude toward the Genesis ac-
count of the patriarchal per iod. William F. Albr ight
affirms that "aside from a few die- hards among
older scholars, there is scarcely a single biblical his-
torian who has not been impressed by the rapid
accumulation of data supporting the substantial
historicity of patriarchal tradition" (The Biblical
Period, p. 3). Nelson Glueck goes so far as to say,
"E ither the Age of Abraham coincides with the Mid-
dle Bronze I period between the twenty-first and
nineteenth centuries B.C. or the entire saga dealing
with the Patr iar ch must be dismissed, so far as its
historical value is concerned, from scientific consid-
eration" (Rivers in the Desert, p. 68). T he period be-
tween the twentieth and sixteenth centur ies B.C.,
the age of the Patriar chs, continues Albr ight, "was
unusually well adapted for such movements as those
described in the Book of Genesis" (op. cit., p. 4).
MIDDLE BRONZE AGE
Archaeologists call this period the Middle Bronze
Age (2000 -1500 B.C.). In Babylonia it was the time
of Hammurabi, king of the Amor ites, a nation of
people frequently mentioned in the Book of Genesis
(Gen. 10:16; 14:7; 15:16,21; 48:22). It was also the
time of the Hyksos invasion of E gypt ( late eigh-
teenth centur y) ; while at Nuzi the Hur r ians ( Bibli-
cal Horites, Gen. 14:6; 36:20,21,29) were in power.
Dur ing the Middle Bronze Age Palestine was di-
vided into little city states according to the Hyksos
sources and the Amar na letter s.
T hese Canaanite city states dotted the Mediter-
ranean coast and the r ich valleys of Palestine, a fact
that helps to explain why Abraham traveled through
the hill countr y and settled in the South. Albr ight
makes quite a point of this: "I n this per iod, mor e-
over, towns were scattered thinly through the hill
country and sedentar y occupation was largely r e-
stricted to the coastal plains and the broad alluvial
valleys of Jezreel and the Jordan. T he wanderings of
the Patriarchs are thus correctly limited by tradi-
tion to the hill country and the desert Negeb; not a
single city of the coastal plains or the broad valleys
of the inter ior is mentioned (except in the extreme
south) " (Ibid., p. 5).
Furthermore, as George E r nest Wright obser ves:
 Page 9

Abr aham is associated with Mamr e (Gen. 13:18), said, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my
Isaac with Beer sheba (Gen. 26:23; 28:10), and Ja- disciples indeed." ( John 8:31). I knew all along I
cob with Bethel, Shechem and Dothan (Gen. 33:18; must abide in the doctr ine of Chr ist, in order to be
35:1; 37:17). Wr ight then states that "archaeologi- His disciple. "He that abideth in the doctrine of
cal evidence confirms that these towns were the main Chr ist, he hath both the Father and the Son."
settlements in the ar ea between 2000 and 17000 ( 2 John 9).
B.C." (Biblical Archaeology, abridged ed., p. 29). So I want each one who reads this article to know that
the Patriarchs avoided the heavily fortified areas of - I understand your problems and the pressures that are
the hill country and Negeb. Notice the subtle accu- being placed on you by institutional brethren, for I
racy of the Genesis account in this whole matter. faced the same sort of problem.
I was living in Chattanooga, Tennessee at the time I
MARI made the change. I had been troubled about my stand
Mari, located on the bend of the Euphrates north- for several months. Yet, I was not about to allow my-
west of Babylon, has yielded 20,000 to 30,000 clay self to be labeled an "anti" unless I was absolutely
tablets dating back to the eighteenth century B.C. sure I was right. I had several questions that were ask-
Names like Nahor, Haran, Serug, T erah, Abraham, ed by several of my preaching brethren who were
Isaac, Jacob, Benjamin, and Hamor are not unknown opposed to human institutions, that I was unable to
in these texts. One is even tempted to associate the answer. I began to ask many of my preacher friends,
term "Habiru" in the Mar i letters with the designa- elders, and others (who believed as I did) to help me
tion "Hebr ew" ascr ibed to Abr aham in Genesis find the answer s to these problems that I had
14:13, although such an association presents some encountered. Some refused to discuss the matter, and
difficulties, for the term "Habiru" is certainly not others made attempts to answer, and yet the answers
restricted in its application to Abraham's immediate were not Scriptural answers. For E xample:
family. 1. Wher e in the Bible, did one chur ch ever send
money to another chur ch to pr each the gospel? No
THE REAL ISSUE answer was given!!
2. Where is Scriptural authority for a church making
T here is no reason to doubt the accuracy of the a donation to any kind of a human institution? No
Genesis record in respect to historical matters. The answer was given!!
critic's real problem has to do with his unwillingness 3. Where is Bible authority for elders overseeing any
to believe in mir acles, but the issue often is shifted work except that "which is among them" ( I P et.
to other questions. 5:2)? No answer was given!!
4. Where is the authority for the church engaging in
and providing for supper s, parties, or entertainment
for anyone? No answer was given!!
If any effort was ever made to answer these, it was
usually James 1:27 or Gal. 6:10. Actually, the more
I heard these passages used by my brethren to sup-
port these pr actices of taking money from the
Church's treasur y to support human institutions, the
more convinced I was that I was wrong. It is really an
insult to any person's intelligence to quote the above
passage to tr y to prove church action, when the
passages themselves are giving instructions to the
individual Christian and his living the Christian life.
Read them and see for yourselves.
But, as I said, I know of your problems. When I
took a stand against these "church splitting innova-
tions," one of my dearest friends, who was a gospel
preacher said, "I hope and pray J.T. quits preaching."
Not only this, but I was told by the congr egation
where I was preaching one Sunday morning, that that
INSTITUTIONALISM— WHY I CHANGED would be my last day. I was left without any means
of supporting my family; I was then faced with being
in opposition to many of my dear est friends and
One of the most difficult decisions I ever made in many in my own family. I immediately became an
"orphan hater " to hear my friends ( ?) tell it. Yet, I
my life was my decision to take a stand against in- was confronted by the fact that regardless of what
stitutionalism. I believed, as per haps many of you people call you, God is right!! "I n hope of eternal
who read this article believe, that the support of hu- life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the
man institutions (such as orphan's homes, colleges, world began" (Titus 1:2). I also knew that God said,
hospitals, etc.) should come from the chur ch's "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his r ighteous-
treasury because of the good they were doing. I based ness; and all these things shall be added unto you"
this solely on the emotional appeal that was being (matt. 6:33). That is why I changed — Jesus said I
made for those who were orphans, the sick, etc., and must!! "And a man's foes shall be those of his own
on human reasoning rather than Scriptural facts. Yet, household. He that loveth father or mother more
my desire to be right forced me to take a stand than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not
against chur ch support of human institutions. Jesus his cross, and followeth after me is not worthy of
Page 10

me" (Matt. 10:36-38). In the light of this, I could not

allow friends or family to stand in the way of my be-
ing right. Yes, I lost much but I gained much more. I
gained a position that I can support by the Bible. I
can give Scriptural authority (command, example
necessar y inference) for my teaching and practice. I
am not now afr aid to tr y to defend what I believe.
All institutional preachers are!! I know why they
won't defend it. T hey can't. I know, because I tried!
I wanted to be able to defend it as much as anyone
ever did. It grieved me much to have my friends turn
their backs on me.
All of you who read this publication, or who have
read my writings in the past, know that I am still try-
ing to obtain the answer s to the questions that I stat-
ed earlier in this article. It would be a happy day in "THE CHURCH TREASURY"
my life if I could call those who are so bitterly oppos- Within the last few year s the "chur ch treasur y"
ed to me, and join hands and hearts with them again. has come in for more than its share of criticism. Per-
Yes, with all the pleas I have made for Bible authority haps some of this cr iticism is justified and some of
for these things, few have even tried to give me it is entirely without Bible backing. It is a well known
Scriptural authority for these things— and those who fact that the name "chur ch tr easur y" is not found
did, gave Scriptures that have nothing to do with the in the New T estament wr itings. However, it cannot
questions that were asked. T herefore, I will have to be denied that a collection of money was gather ed
continue to speak out against institutionalism and by Chr istians on the fir st day of the week (I Cor.
those who espouse it as much as I dislike being in 16:1-2). I suppose one could call this collection by
opposition to my brethren. Paul said, "And have no a number of names and still be within the confines
fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but of biblical descr iption. It is not my purpose in this
r ather r eprove them" ( E ph. 5:11). T hus, I must do article to ar gue for the name "chur ch tr easur y" or
this to be pleasing to God. If I preach anything that any other specific terminology but to establish Bible
was not received from God, His curses will rest upon
me (Gal. 1:8-9). And, if I do not abide in the doctrine authority for such a collection and its scr iptural use.
of Christ, I cannot have God (2 John 9). When Paul told the Cor inthian br ethren to make
So, as you can well see, I can sympathize with your this collection he used a militar y term "As I have
situation, and feel sorry for you. I know it will be given order." He said, "As I have given order to the
hard, but you too must take your stand against in- chur ches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the fir st
stitutionalism and against anything for which you day of the week let ever y one of you lay by him in
cannot find Bible author ity. I beg of you— please store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no
stand up against these innovations; or else give me gatherings when I come." It must be observed in this
Scriptural authority for your practices so that I may text that this order was not for Corinth only. He
stand with you! had given a uniform order for all the churches in
(This article has been in tract form for a number of regard to this collection. It must also be observed
years. At this writing, over 50,000 copies have been that it was to be done on the fir st day of the week.
printed and distributed. T hey may still be obtained at I insist that this ver se author izes Chr istians to give
one cent per copy simply by wr iting to J.T. Smith, as they have been prosper ed, upon the first day of
1320 Gardiner Lane, Louisville, Kentucky, 40213. the week and that this collection belongs to a local
congregation and that said money is to be used for
whatever God has authorized a local congregation to
do. I maintain, from other texts, we can find that a
local congregation used such funds for preaching the
gospel ( I I Cor. 11:8) and for helping poor saints
(I Cor. 16:1-2).
I would now like to notice some objections to the
chur ch tr easur y as it is used by many br ethren.
First, we have some who scoff at the idea of a treas-
ur y at all. T hey insist that I Cor. 16 was a special
contribution and that ther e is no author ity for a
chur ch tr easur y today. However, these cr itics in-
volve themselves in difficulties from which they can-
not escape. T hey all agree that churches supported
Paul in preaching the gospel but they cannot con-
sistently tell wher e these chur ches r eceived the
money. T hey all agree that the CHURCHES sup-
ported the widows indeed (I Tim. 5) but they can't
tell us where the CHURCHES got the money! If they
admit that some sort of collection was made they
have surrendered their argument because a treasury
comes into existence. It must be obser ved that in
 Page 11

both of the above cases the text says CHURCHES

or a church supported both Paul and the widow in-
deed. Some might tr y to argue that what the indi-
vidual does the church is doing but on this he is in
gr eat difficulty. I n I T im. 5:16, Paul says, "If any
man or woman ( individuals) that believeth have
widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church
be charged." It is true that the church is made up of
individuals, but neighbor, ther e has to be a differ-
ence in the individual and the church or Paul made
an inspir ational blunder. Paul tells us in this text
that when an individual is taking care of a widow this
is NOT the CHURCH doing it!
T her e ar e other s who insist that this collection of
I Cor. 16 was for poor saints and that under no cir-
cumstance should this money be used for preaching
the gospel. It cannot be denied that Paul makes spe-
cific reference to this collection being for poor saints.
T he text bear s this out. However, we must remem-
ber the Bible says CHURCHES supported Paul and
our problem is WHE RE DID THEY GET THE
MONEY? Some have implied that the chur ches
might have had TWO treasuries, one for evangelism
and the other for benevolence. T his is not only ab-
surd but without Bible authority. Since I Cor. 16 is
the only Bible example on how churches RAISED
money, it must be established as an exclusive pat-
ter n for any congregation raising money. T he
SPENDING of that money is found in other texts.
If one argues that preaching the gospel is not men-
tioned in I Cor. 16, I would remind him that "T he
cup" is not mentioned with the "bread" in Acts 2:42
where the Lord's supper is mentioned. I would also
remind the cr itic that the entire plan of salvation
(faith, repentance, confession and baptism) are not
mentioned in any ONE verse in the Bible! One does
not have to establish Bible author ity for something
by finding all the essentials crouched in ONE verse.
Sabbatar ians cr iticize the church treasur y in a
different way. Burt F. Marrs, whom I met in debate
sever al year s ago, argued that the first day of the
week was not the Lord's day but the first day of the
week. He insisted that the laying by in store was
fruit such as gr apes, figs and apples. He said the
people at Corinth went out into the fields on the first
day of the week and gathered this fruit so it could
be sent to the poor saints at Jerusalem. I asked him
why they could do this only on Sunday and he never
did reply. I also pointed out that II Cor. 9:2 tells us
that the chur ch at Corinth had been "ready a year
ago." T his means that all "fruit" had been laid up
for a year. It would be r ather absurd to think they
could gather fruit the year around, in all seasons,
and that it could be preser ved for an entire year!
Yes, we have cr itics of the chur ch tr easur y but
the fact remains that the Bible teaches that a col-
lection was made by churches; that churches sup-
ported preachers and poor saints; and that the col-
lections were made on every first day of the week.
T hese facts cannot be denied.
Page 12

T he only "out" that you have now is to retract

your implication or state the man's name with MILLER-WOODS DEBATE
documented proof concerning every work he engaged
in (for you said all were failures) so that the brethren Guy N. Woods and James P. Miller will engage in a
may know who it is, cease their support, and pray for three night debate in Montgomery, Ala. February 28,
God's forgiveness. Are you willing to just "say at" or 29 and March 1. T he discussion will be conducted in
state clearly? We will wait. the Cleveland Avenue meeting house at 4214 Cleve-
land Avenue just one block off the southern by pass
at Collinswood.
5966 Park Place PROPOSITIONS:
Hammond, Indiana February 28 — It is in harmony with the scriptures
46320 for churches of Christ to build and maintain benevol-
ent organizations for the care of the needy, such as
Donald G. Collins, 2005 Wisconsin Ave., Joplin, Boles Home, Tipton Home, Tennessee Orphan Home,
Mo., 64801 — I helped a small group of Chr istians Childhaven, and other orphan homes and homes for
start a congregation in E lm Springs, Arkansas about the aged that are among us.
ten years ago, and have helped as I could through the Guy N. Woods — Affirms
year s. It was the fir st conser vative congr egation to James P. Miller - Denies
start in northwest Arkansas after the division over
institutionalism. T hey are now of a mind to obtain a February 29 — It is not in harmony with the scrip-
preacher to work with them full time. T hey can pro- tures for churches of Chr ist to build and maintain
vide fifty dollar s ($50.00) per week of his support, benevolent organizations for the care of the needy,
and the rest will have to come from other sources. such as Boles Home, Tipton Home, Tennessee Orphan
E lm Springs is a small town in the northwest cor- Home, Childhaven, and other orphan homes and
ner of the state, about five miles west of Springdale, homes for the aged that ar e among us.
which is growing in that direction. Northwest Ark- James P. Miller - Affirms
ansas is, I believe, making more progress than any Guy N. Woods - Denies
other part of the state. March 1 — Such an arrangement and cooperative
T he congregation is made up of about fifteen mem- effort on the part of chur ches of Chr ist for the
bers who stand for the truth. I believe now is an gospel as the Herald of Truth is
opportune time for them to make good progress in preaching of the gospel as the Herald of Truth is with-
the cause of the Master, if they can get some help. out scr iptural authority.
T hey, as all small groups in starting, has had their
share of troubles, in trying to stand for the truth. James P. Miller - Affirms
If any preacher is interested in this work, or a con- Guy N. Woods - Denies
gregation that would like to help support a preacher T ime for the discussion is 7:30 each night.
in this area, get in touch with John Hayes, Box 191, Brother Miller will be endorsed by the Gay Mea-
E lm Springs, Ark., 72728, or phone (501) 235-2885. dows congregation and all questions, letters, calls and
******** etc. should be addressed to Carroll Puckett, 2527
PREACHER WANTED Montr eat Drive, Montgomer y, Ala. 36111
********
Preacher needed at the church in Char lotte, N.C.
Self supporting, new preachers home is being built. EVANGELIST NEEDED
Contact: Alton R. Watts, 3308 Denson PI., Char lotte,
N.C. 28215. Phone 535-0393 or David Haga, 7133 We are a small congregation in the Gulf Coast area
Star Valley Dr ive, Char lotte, N.C. Phone 523-6938 that needs a preacher immediately. T he church needs
if interested. a man who has had experience working with small
congregations and who can not only preach effect-
ively from the pulpit but can guide and participate in
PREACHER WANTED strong personal evangelism efforts. T he congregation
R.L. Cr aig, 410 L ightsey Rd., Austin, T exas — I is able to provide only part of his support. Interested
have just finished a meeting with the church in individuals may contact church of Chr ist, P.O. Box
Rockdale, T exas. T hey have just gotten into a house 1821, Gulfport, Miss., 39501, % Leroy Henry.
of their own and seem to be ready to do a good work.
T hey have a small but zealous membership and would
like to get a man to work with them regular ly. T hey
can pay part of his support and can arrange for most
of the r est of it. For further information contact ********
Carroll D. Holt, Box 107, Rockdale, Texas 76567. J. Edward Nowlin — I am now laboring with the
******** Perry church of Chr ist in Perry, Flor ida. Please note
my new address: 109 Cedar Road, Perry, Fla. 32347.
********
 Page 13

BENJAMIN LEE FUDGE IS DEAD DEBATE WITH BAPTIST IN LOUISVILLE

I received the shocking news Saturday night, Feb. Connie W. Adams
5, near midnight that my long time fr iend and broth- 4724 E. Manslick Rd.
er Benjamin L ee Fudge had suddenly passed from Louisville, Ky. 40219
this life as the result of a cardiac arrest at about 6:45
p.m. in the hospital in Athens, Alabama. His good Weldon E. Warnock of Paden City, West Virginia
wife, Sybil, was with him when he died. will meet H.C. Vanderpool of Louisville, Kentucky in
He ar r ived home from Florida College L ectures a debate in Louisville March 13, 14, 16 and 17. T he
with a sever e case of the flu to which was added discussion will be held in the Iroquois High School
pneumonia. We will have more to say about this in auditorium at 4615 Taylor Blvd. just south of Watter-
the next issue of the paper. — E ditor ******** son Expressway.
HIGHERS-GRIDER DEBATE
The first two nights Mr. Vanderpool will affirm sal-
vation through faith before water baptism. T he last
two nights brother Warnock will affirm that water
A debate between Alan E. Highers and A.C. Grider baptism is essential to salvation.
will be conducted at the high school auditorium in These men met in debate in Bowling Green, Ken-
Central City, Kentucky. Sessions will begin each tucky about two years ago at which time agreement
evening at 7:30. T he date is Mar ch 6- 10, 1972. was made for a debate to be held in Louisville. T he
Manslick Road church in Louisville will endorse and
PROPOSITIONS FOR DEBAT E : support brother Warnock in the discussion. Mr. Van-
1. It is in harmony with the scriptures for churches derpool preaches for the L yons Chapel Baptist
of Chr ist to contribute from their treasur ies to the Church in Louisville and they will support him. Both
support of destitute children who are not saints men are experienced in religious debate. W.T . Russell
(Christians). will moderate for Mr. Vanderpool and the writer will
serve as moderator for brother Warnock.
Alan E. Highers - Affirms A limited number of places to stay may be provided
A.C. Grider- Denies for out of town visitors. Wr ite me at the above
2. In benevolent work churches of Chr ist are address. T he debate will begin at 7:30 each night.
limited by the scr iptures to extending help only to ********
needy saints (Christians).
A.C. Grider - Affirms
Alan E. Highers - Denies J.M. Kennedy, Rt. 3, Box 1-B1, Rogersville, Ala.,
35652 — I have resigned my work at the West Rogers-
3. It is in harmony with the scriptures for churches ville, Ala. church of Chr ist, and desire to locate with
of Chr ist to contribute from their treasur ies to bene- some other conservative congregation. I am 43 years
volent institutions such as Potter, Southern Chr istian old, married, and have four children. I have been
Home, and others of like nature. pr eaching for 25 year s and doing located work for
Alan E. Highers - Affirms 20 years. I can move anytime and will be glad to
A.C. Grider — Denies correspond with any interested congregation. If you
4. Such cooperative efforts in evangelism as practic- care to call, my number is 205— 247-0378.
ed in Wor ld Radio, Herald of Truth, and the Houston ********
Music Hall Meeting are without scriptural authority.
E .C. Poland, 516 N. Freedom, Alliance, Ohio,
A.C. Grider — Affirms 44601 — A new congregation of the church of Chr ist
Alan E. Highers - Denies is now meeting in a building recently purchased and
5. Such cooperative efforts in evangelism as practic- is known as the Homeworth Road church of Chr ist,
ed in Wor ld Radio, Herald of Truth, and the Houston Alliance, Ohio.
Music Hall Meeting are in harmony with the scr ip- ********
tures.
Alan E . Highers - Affirms Doug Black, P.O. Box 317, T r ilby, Fla. 33593 -
A.C. Gr ider — Denies I am available for part-time pr eaching work in the
AGRE E ME N T F O R DE BAT E : central Flor ida area on a fill- in or regular basis.
********
1. One evening session shall be given to the discuss-
ion of each proposition in Central City, Kentucky, at Ward Hogland, Box 166, Greenville, Tex., 75401 —
a mutually agreed time and place. T hirty wer e baptized into Chr ist her e at Walnut
2. E ach speaker shall have three alternating twenty- Street in 1971. Meetings for 72 include work with
minute speeches each evening, beginning with the Bobby K. T hompson, Miami, Fla.; Ted Beaver, Okla.
affirmative. City; Rufus R. Clifford, Franklin, T enn.; Charles
3. Each speaker shall select a moderator whose duty Bland, Houston, Miss.; Rayford Petty, Haynesville,
it shall be to keep time and to maintain order. La.; Franklin Williams, Lawrenceburg, T enn.; Ken-
4. T he affirmative speaker shall define the terms of
the proposition and bear the burden of proof; no new neth Keller, Weiner, Ark.; Weldon Warnock, Paden
mater ial shall be introduced into the last negative City, West Va. We look forward to our meeting with
speech on any proposition. Robert Jackson of Nashville, Tenn. ********
********
 50:10-12) and (3) sustainer (Acts 17:25-28) of the
universe, eloquently and irrefutably declares that
lordship over all that is or that has been or that
shall be, is his. "In the beginning God created." T he
creator does not need to obtain his r ights from the
things he has cr eated. "E ver y beast of the forest
is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills... I f
I were hungr y, I would not tell thee: for the world
is mine, and the fullness ther eof." T he absolute
owner has no need of permission, nor anyone from
whom to obtain it; all is his. "I n him we live, and
move, and have our being." T he Self-E xistent One's
author ity is evidenced by both his position and
power. T he whole universe is dependent upon and
answerable to him. I n turn, he is neither dependent
upon or answer able to anyone ( except to himself
THE FOUNDATION OF AUTHORITY and his own immutable integr ity). T he question
T he beginning place, the source, the sure founda- that is sometimes impudently asked, "Who gave
tion of all author ity, is God. All legitimate author- God the r ight to tell man what to do?" is ther efore
ity ultimately comes to rest upon the fact of his one of galling ignor ance that fails to compr ehend
existence and the nature of his ver y per son. Apart the inherent qualities and intrinsic r ights of the liv-
from God, ther e is no legitimate author ity. T he ing God. T here is no one who could give God au-
whole issue and crisis of our generation regarding thority. T here is no one who can deny him his au-
author ity, both as to its existence and our attitude thor ity. No rock, or bird, or man, can give or deny
toward it, is dependent upon our effectiveness in God rule over any portion or particle of his cr ea-
clear ly and for cefully pressing this fundamental tion. I n a wor d, author ity is inher ently his. He
fact. Let us now define a few terms and hasten to simply has because he is who he is.
the proof and significance of the above. All author ity that resides in men has been dele-
Author ity is defined as legal power, or the r ight gated. Men do not possess any inherent authority.
to make law or to command another. There are only T hink a moment. What author ity do men possess
two kinds of authority in the world, namely, (1) in- in any r elationship or at any level of society, that
her ent or intrinsic authority, and (2) delegated has not been given to them by God ? It is submitted
authority. Inherent means that which is natural, an to you that par ents do not have inher ent authority
inseparable quality of, an indwelling essence or char- over their childr en, that they do not have an in-
acteristic; intrinsic means that which is within, an trinsic r ight simply because they ar e bigger,
essential and inter nal part of a being or thing, and stronger or wiser. No, they r ather have rule over
is often used as a synonym for inherent. Delegated their childr en because God gave them the author-
means to be appointed by another to possess certain it y. He delegated the author ity (Eph. 6:4; T itus
powers or rights. Now to the application of these 2:5). T her efore par ents do have the r ight to tell
terms. their childr en what to do — God gave them the
God possesses inher ent author ity. It is intrinsi- r ight. Civil government possesses no intr insic r ight
cally his. Where did he get it ? Nowhere! Who gave to exist or to command its citizenr y. It does not
it to him ? No One! How did it come to be ? It didn't! obtain the r ight through the royalty of blood or the
He has authority simply and solely because of who voice of a consenting multitude, for no cr eated
and what he is. The ver y fact that he is God, that things (men) inhere any authority to give to one
he is (1) the cr eator (Gen. 1:1) , (2) owner (Psalm another. But civil gover nment has the r ight to exist
Page 2

and rule, for God has decr eed it ( Rom. 13:If). It

may be unwise and even immoral, even as parents
may sometimes be, but still it has rule over its
citizenr y by the author ity delegated to it by God.
T he author ity of elder s in the chur ch is accord-
ingly a delegated one, and they have rule only to
the extent God has confer r ed it (Heb. 13:7, 17;
I Peter 5:2). Any child who disobeys his parents
disobeys God, for in r ejecting their delegated au-
thor it y they r eject the intr insic author ity of him
who delegated their s in the fir st place. T hus it is
that God, in ever y other relationship and upon every
other level, is at the foundation of all author ity.
Mentally remove God from the picture and watch
the crumbling collapse of all law and author ity. If
there is no God, upon what basis do a group of men
get together and decide they (or one of them) shall
have a right to rule over ever ybody else? If ther e
is no God, there is no absolute basis for law, and the
rebellion of children or citizens is not to be censured
as wrong, but is merely the exercise of their natural
role of not being under author ity to anyone. But,
God be thanked, God is. And God has delegated
certain r ights and author ity to men, and has au-
thor ized enfor cement of certain statutes, and no
man can deny it without denying the person of God
himself. He is the source and sure foundation of all
legitimate author ity, -the corner stone of an orderly
society, the ar chitect of r ighteousness and justice,
and our hope of eter nal life.
 Page 3

T he second and third in the ser ies of three articles It is not our gener al pr actice to publish articles
dealing with the Ketcherside-Turner Exchange in that appear in other journals or bulletins, but occa-
T ampa on January 25, 1972 will be delayed a month sionally there ar e exceptions because of the nature
or two by doctor's orders. I had been taking- on more of the article and the present need of people in gen-
than was good for me and the firm order s of Dr. eral. T he following article by Irvin Himmel appeared
Wayne Mitchell amounted to the modern expression: in T r uth Magazine of Mar ch 16, 1972. I asked
"Cool it"! He ordered the delay in two meetings brother Himmel for permission to reprint the article
scheduled for April of this year in Ohio: one in in Searching The Scriptures, which he gladly gave.
Akron and the other in Toronto. I hope to re-schedule Brother Himmel has some knowledge of the prob-
these for a later date. lems of publishing a religious journal, having edited
T her e is no ser ious problem with my health at and published Apostolic Doctrine for over ten years.
the pr esent. T hese order s from the doctor ar e in — Editor.
my best interest and to prevent another attack which
may be more serious than the last one. I have com-
mitted the car e of my body to him, and if I am to
profit I must follow his instructions. T he history of the church of Christ in Amer ica is
Dr. Mitchell has the full approval and assistance closely linked to publications in which brethren have
of the two fine elders at Forest Hills where I preach: expr essed thought, preached their convictions,
Melvin F. Neel and Harold W. White. T hese two waged battles, explor ed questions, reported the
bishops have shown a ver y personal interest in my news, and left a fluent record of their actions and
physical condition. T hey have taken some of the attitudes.
load of work which I would normally do and have Hundr eds of magazines and paper s have come
insisted that I keep my schedule of meetings and and gone. A few have had tremendous influence in
other work within the bounds of my physical ability shaping thought. In the early days of the Restora-
until I have recovered enough to resume full work. tion Movement in this country, A. Campbell's pa-
My love and r espect for these men compel me to pers, the Christian Baptist and the Millennial Har-
hear them obediently. binger, along with B. W. Stone's Christian Messen-
ger, wer e unusually potent. I n the next gener ation
of journalism, Ben Franklin's American Christian
Review, Isaac Errett's Christian Standard, and
Living Voice Tapes David Lipscomb's Gospel Advocate wielded great
of power. Moses Lard's Quarterly, though of short
duration, made its mar k.
THE KETCHERSIDE-TURNER EXCHANGE Most religious publications have experienced fi-
in Tampa, Florida nancial problems. T he few that are hoary with age
Januar y 25, 1972 have sur vived har d times, and most of the ones
which have died were killed by the same plague —
The full exchange between Carl Ketcherside and lack of money.
Robert Turner and the panel discussion including Ferrell Only God knows how many periodicals were com-
Jenkins and Harry Pickup, Jr. with questions from the menced to propagate someone's peculiar views.
floor which lasted nearly three hour s ar e now available When a faction ar ises, a paper will soon be started
on open r eel, cassette or 8-track tapes. to voice the heresy. Other papers may be started to
7" or 5" r eels ar e $5.25 each for the full discussion counter the influence of that one. As long as breth-
on one r eel. r en take up with false doctrines and promote par -
Cassettes ar e $4.95 each and two tapes contain the ties, this trend will continue.
full discussion. T otal price for cassettes: $9.90. Some brethren are "down" on all religious papers
8- track cartridges ar e $4.95 each and it takes three because many of them ar e not worth the pr ice of
for the full discussion. T otal price for 8-track cartridges: the ink with which they are pr inted. Such a reaction
$14.85. is not justifiable. Shall we downgrade all elders be-
cause some are not worthy to be called elders ? Shall
we refuse to hear anyone preach because some
Page 4

preachers are plain sorry ? Shall we refuse to be as- and powerful paper, to be sure, but not really as
sociated with a local church because many congrega- powerful as some suppose.
tions ar e digr essive? Not all r eligious jour nals are A few years ago (1965) the Christian Chronicle
bad. L ike people, they have their faults. T he best of was pr inting 37,883 copies each week. In 1971 it
paper s cannot offer perfection in ever y issue. T he became a bi-weekly, printing 6,029 copies. Its circu-
men who wr ite, edit, and publish the papers make lation has dropped to one- sixth the 1965 level and
them what they ar e. T he folks who have "sour ed" it appears only half as often. We wonder if this
on gospel paper s are doing themselves a disser vice r epr esents a r eaction to its more liber al stance?
by not r eading at least some of the excellent ma- Searching the Scriptures enjoyed the largest cir-
ter ial that is being offer ed. culation of the papers published by conser vative
E ver y year new per iodicals make their appear- brethren during 1971. T he combined circulation of
ance and other s r each their demise. I think it will Searching the Scriptures, Truth Magazine, Gospel
be of inter est to the reader s of this magazine to see Guardian, and the Preceptor was 16,787. It is obvi-
a list of some of the papers circulated among mem- ous that many of us ar e much too "conser vative"
bers of chur ches of Chr ist dur ing the past year, and when it comes to spending money on subscr iptions
to know how widely (or narrowly) they were dis- for good paper s! T hat figure should be at least
tributed. 50,000.
Cir culation figures were former ly a deep, dark T he cir culation figures r eported ar e the total
secr et car efully guarded by the publishers. Postal number of copies pr inted on the average for a
laws governing second- class publications have twelve- month per iod as published in the different
changed that. Br ethr en who take it for granted that paper s in accordance with postal laws and regula-
Goodpasture's Gospel Advocate must have at least tions. Most of the figures were compiled and sub-
100,000 subscr iber s ar e in for a surprise. It is a big mitted in Oct. of 1971.
 ____________________________________________________________________ Page 5

forbade per jur y (forswear ing) — i.e., swear ing

falsely ( L ev. 19:12). Ever y oath was to be per -
formed unto the Lord (Matt. 5:33). T hat the scr ibes
and Phar isees per verted this law is evident from
Matt. 23:16-22. T hese ver ses show that they had
coined a number of oaths, used in common con-
ver sation, which did not involve dir ectly the name
of God. These they considered as "nothing." Hence,
according to their view they could swear by these
things — heaven, earth, temple, Jerusalem, head,
etc. — without ser ious r egard and without such
oaths being unto God. T his abuse Jesus condemns
severely and shows that such things ultimately in-
volve God. Hence, Jesus says "Swear not at all;
neither by heaven; for it is God's throne; nor by
QUESTION: We recently had a rather warm dis- earth; for it is his footstool; neither by Jerusalem;
cussion in a Bible class about whether or not one for it is the city of the gr eat king."
may swear under any conditions. Did Jesus condemn Concerning this prohibition T he E xpositor's Greek
all oaths in Matt. 5:33-37? Please give special notice T estament calls special attention to the Greek con-
to the phr ase, "Swear not at all;. . . " Also comment junction "mete" translated "neither" and emphasizes
on James 5:12. — E . B. the fact that it is not "mede." T he former is used
"to connect these different evasive oaths as forming
ANSWER: When I first began writing this col- a homogeneous group.. . the latter add negation to
umn (over eleven year s ago) , I wrote an article negation, while the former divide a single negation
on the above subject matter answer ing a similar into parts." Hence, it follows that the prohibition
question. Since we have hundreds of new readers "Swear not at all" refers only to the kind of oaths
since then, and since the former article thoroughly identified by the parts that follow. Such did not
answer s the above, I am submitting it, except for include judicial oaths — only the evasive oaths of
slight modifications for the sake of greater clar ity the Jews which were used in common conversation.
and brevity. T hus, our Lord condemned their per ver sion and
"Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by abuse of God's original law on swear ing. Such use of
them of old time, T hou shalt not forswear thyself, oaths is forbidden altogether!
but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But J. W. McGarvey says, "T he universal prohibition,
I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by 'swear not at all,' is distributed by the specification
heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; of these four forms of oaths, and is, therefore, most
for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for strictly interpreted as including only such oaths ...
it is the city of the great king. Neither shalt thou What we style the judicial oaths of the law of Moses,
swear by thy head, because thou canst not make then, wer e not included in the prohibition."
one hair white or black. But let your communica- An oath is a solemn affirmation with an appeal to
tion be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is God for its truthfulness and imprecating his ven-
more than these cometh of evil" (Matt. 5:33-37). geance if it be untr ue.
"But above all things, my br ethren, swear not, If Chr ist condemned judicial oaths and those
neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither made on solemn and important occasions, I find it
by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and impossible to reconcile such with the following facts:
your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation" 1) Jesus answer ed under oath in Matt. 26:63.
(James 5:12). Whether or not he answered using the particular
I n the Sermon on the Mount our Lord corrects expr ession "I swear " has nothing to do with the
many per versions advocated by the scr ibes and fact that he answered under oath — and that with-
Pharisees and generally received by the Jews. T he out modification. 2) God swore by Himself (Gen.
contrast was primar ily between their perverted and 22:16,17; Heb. 6:13-18; 7:21). 3) Paul often called
traditional views and the law in its purity. T hus, the God to witness the truthfulness of his statements,
Sermon on the Mount may well be r egarded as a which is what is meant by an oath ( I I Cor. 1:23;
recall to the righteousness of God and Foundation Rom. 1:9; Gal. 1:20; Phil. 1:8).
pr inciples upon which His kingdom was to stand. James 5:12 may be regarded as a parallel passage
Notice that Jesus continually r eferred to what they and the above observations apply with equal force.
had heard "said by them of old" — not what Moses When James says, "lest ye fall into condemnation"
said. For example, they quoted Moses in matters of he would have them know that swear ing by the
judicial law ( Matt. 5:38; L ev. 24:20) to be used things mentioned ultimately involved God; that he
by the elder s in the administration of justice and who engages in such, thinking "it is nothing," and
made individual application so as to justify revenge. who swear falsely is guilty of per jur y and br ings
Jesus corrects this abuse and sets forth the truth himself under condemnation.
so far as individual application is concerned, which Swear ing is a solemn, ser ious thing. All oaths
teaching harmonizes wonderfully with the law of are in reality unto God. He who at any time makes
Moses (Lev. 19:16-18). oath lightly or uses one in common conversation is
T he same train of thought prevails concerning His in violation of the New Testament prohibition. T he
teaching on oaths. God's or iginal law on swearing Chr istian's life and conduct should be such that a
Page 6

simple "yes" or "no" should suffice in order for him their childr en about God and his word, and what
to be believed. I f mor e than this is r equir ed "it life is all about. When children are reared under an
cometh of evil" — it is because of untruthfulness influence of parental negligence and hypocrisy, you
on the part of a world full of falsehood. T hen, it may can't expect too much of them.
be necessary to make oath, but only on solemn and
important occasions. All oaths are unto the Lord and In a recent issue of this paper. I called attention to
imprecate His vengeance if what we affirm be false. an unscr iptural expression which we often see and
hear among br ethren these days. I'm glad to note
that others are expr essing concer n about it. For
example, in the FIRM FOUNDAT I ON of February
22. 1972. M. Norvel Young said:
"One gets a distinctly denominational r ing out of
the expr ession. 'Congr egations of the Church of
Christ.' T he New Testament does not use such an
expr ession. I fear the use of this grows out of a
sectarian view of the Church. Some sincere people
have never grasped the Scriptural concept of the
non- denominational nature of the Br ide of Chr ist.
T hey contend for the church as the 'true' sect or
denomination — the right denomination; the correct
party."
"Scientists say earth's moon doesn't fit usual pat-
tern." So reads the heading of a recent article out of
San Diego. T he sub- heading says, "T hey feel our
planet may have lacked it at the start." T her e was
SHORT SWORD SWIPES
a difference of about one day between the time of
separation of the dr y land from the seas and the
A church T E ACHING dancing? T hat's right! T he cr eating of the "lesser light," but that is certainly
following announcement appeared in a local news- not what they were speaking of. T he article says:
paper r ecently: "T wo University of California at San Diego pro-
"T he Greek Orthodox Church at 15th and Center fessor s reported T uesday they had worked out a
Streets will offer 'Greek dancing lessons' today in 'normal' pattern of evolution of planets and their
the Church auditorium beginning at 3:30 p.m. for satellites — and that the earth's moon doesn't fit
anyone inter ested in learning." the patter n."
All churches which believe and teach the truth T heir problem is a typical one for all evolutionists
OPPOSE dancing. Per haps there are other s which and other unbeliever s. Notice that they didn't say
say little if anything about it, but you don't find that the moon doesn't fit into God's pattern as re-
many which actually T E ACH people how to engage vealed in the Bible, but rather that it doesn't fit the
in "revelings, and such like" (Gal. 5:21). pattern "they had worked out." To many people,
baptism doesn't fit into the patter n of salvation, but
According to a recent Gallup Poll, 51 per cent of it is because they, like the scientists, r efuse to be-
the college students in Amer ica have used mar i- lieve the Bible!
juana at least once. I n 1967 the figur e was 5 per How was the moon formed? How did it get into
cent! its present position? According to the article, they
Why are so many young people turning to dope? don't know! And yet they scoff at the faith of a
Well, for the most part, they have been reared by Chr istian.
dopey par ents. T hat's like the little boy's answer
when another asked him why the little animals in A br ief news item in the newspaper said, "Oral
the cage were called wild cats. He said, "I guess it's Roberts, the evangelist, said at Los Angeles that
because their mothers and daddies were wild cats." after seeing a production of the rock opera 'Jesus
T he average parent begins and ends each day with Chr ist, Superstar,' he approved of about 70 per cent
a pill of some kind, then all through the day he or of it."
she must rely upon nicotine, caffeine, alcohol and So what? I would be willing to eat 70 per cent of
other drugs in order to make it. At least they think the ingr edients of most rat poison. But the balance
they must have them. A par ent with a cigar ette in of it is rough!
one hand and a glass in the other is not in a good Or al has changed positions many times, and it
position to counsel a child on the dangers and evils now seems that he is about to join the hippies. You
of drugs! can say one thing, he has made mor e money than
In an affluent, enlightened, and progressive so- the aver age hippie.
ciety, why is it that so many of our young people
turn to drugs in an effort to escape reality? Maybe According to the television commer cials, a sure
I've just descr ibed the cause; they have had ever y- cur e for Amer ica's divor ce problem is to let all
thing they want and need except guidance and dis- women take Ger itol. I n ever y case they show, the
cipline. Par ents have been so busy in their search man whose wife takes the tonic says, "I think I'll
for fame and fortune that they have failed to teach keep her."
 Page 7

he had for elder was the "desire. " I feel the same way
about some congregations over the land--the only
scr iptural qualification they have of being the New
T estament church is the name on their building!
Brethren, in the past, we have had people with the
name Church of Chr ist on their buildings who have
used instruments of music, taught Premillennialism
and tolerated all kinds of ungodliness. What does the
sectarian mean when he asks the above question? I in-
sist he means the group in his town or another town
who wear the name. I maintain that many who wear
the name will be lost.
Pardon a personal exper ience. I walked into a home
a few weeks ago to discuss the Bible. After I had
made a few opening remar ks to the woman of the
"THE ONLY ONES SAVED" house, her husband, a large husky sort of a fellow
walked through the door with a grin on his face. He
It comes from here, it comes from ther e and it said, in tones which could be heard next door ,
comes from ever ywhere. T he same old cr y, "I just "pr eacher I want to ask you one question." I r e-
can't stand the Church of Chr ist because they think plied, "that is fine what is it?" He said, "I have heard
they ar e the only ones who will go to heaven." We all my life, as a matter of fact my mother told me
may not want to admit it but many minds have been this when I was a small boy, that you in the Chur ch
closed to the truth because they have heard this old of Chr ist teach that you ar e the only ones who will
song. T he statement itself makes all of us sound go to heaven, now is it so?" I replied quickly, "No
egoistical, belligerent, arrogant and self centered. The nothing could be further from the truth." T he smile
statement has made it impossible to even start a Bible left his face and he looked puzzled. He then said,
discussion with some people. My experience is that "Well I am glad to hear you say that because all the
sooner or later most sectarians will get around to this members of your church with whom I have talked say
question. T hey sneak up and in a subtle way say, "Is they are the only ones who will make it." I replied
it true that you folks in the Chur ch of Chr ist think "Friend, I've got news for you, many of us will never
you are the only ones who will make it? make it!" I went on to say, "I believe you and I are
What is the Bible answer to this question? Is this agreed on this saved business because I believe that
what we really believe the Bible teaches? Is the word- the only people who will be saved are the ones who
ing correct? Or do we have a problem in the field of obey the Bible, isn't that what you believe?" He re-
semantics? I want to go on record saying that I do not plied, "Yes sir, preacher I will go along with you on
believe or teach the above affirmation. Now, if the that." T his seemed to ease the tension and we got
question were worded another way I could concur. down to business in discussing what the Bible act-
For example, if one were to say, "Do you teach that ually teaches on certain subjects. Oh yes, I baptized
one has to be in the church of the Bible in order to his wife last week and he has promised to visit us
have hope of going to heaven?" I would say amen! soon.
T hat I do believe and teach, but all the sting and bite Gentle reader, the time has come for us to remove
has been removed from the question. However, to say this yoke from our backs. I have heard my brethren
that I believe the only ones who will go to heaven stutter and sputter when asked this embarrassing
are in the Chur ch of Chr ist — I do not believe. L et question. I cannot speak for the brother hood; but I
us analyze the question. say without reser vation that I do not believe or
First, the question implies that everyone in the accept the above charge. If the question were worded
Church of Christ will go to heaven. Nothing could be something like this, "Do you believe ther e is only
further from the truth. Jesus said, he would take out one chur ch in the Bible?" I would say, yes sir! But
of the kingdom all that offend and do iniquity. T he now the burden of proof is on the Bible and not on
Bible is filled with examples of people who have personalities. It doesn't have the egoistical r ing that
fallen from grace such as Simon and Demas (Acts 8; the other question embodies. Most of the time when
2 T im. 4:10). T he aver age sectar ian who has been the question is asked the Bible is left out. E ven if it
told this fabr ication, actually believes we teach that wer e worded in this manner, "Do you believe the
one has to get into a little clan called the Church of Bible teaches that the group today known as the
Chr ist and presto, he has it made to heaven. I know Chur ch of Chr ist ar e the only ones who will be
that is what they believe because they have told me. saved?" I could still say NO! Because many wear the
We need to correct this by saying we do not believe name but do not practice Bible doctrine.
such a thing. Brethren, I admit that this question in times past
My second reason for denying the above charge is in gave me no little trouble in the flesh. But a new day
name "Chur ch of Chr ist." Just what does the aver- has dawned. I now find that a negative answer act-
age person mean by the term "Chur ch of Chr ist?" ually opens up many opportunities to teach on other
Well, it is a little group on a certain street in a certain matter s. Some fear that if they answer in the neg-
town with the name "Chur ch of Chr ist" stuck on ative, people will think they endorse the doctrine of
their building! Fir st, it takes more than some paint saved in all churches. T his might be assumed by your
and the ability to spell, Church of Christ to make a quer ist but is just another opportunity to teach. I re-
group scriptural. When I was a boy up in Oklahoma, call several years ago a Baptist preacher who lived in
a certain man wanted to be an elder and another Oklahoma challenged me for a debate. T he proposi-
brother told him publicly that the only qualification tion he wanted me to sign was unique. He brought
Page 8

the proposition to my office and it read as follows:

"T he scriptures teach that the only people who will
make it to heaven are in the Church of Chr ist." He
handed me the proposition and insisted that I sign it.
He then began to chide me and say "that is what you
teach all over the countr y isn't it?" Now, why don't
you sign?" I turned around in my chair and said, "No
that is not what I teach, but I tell you what I will
do; I will sign that proposition if you will sign the one
I have her e that you teach all over the countr y. He
said, "What is that?" I said, "T he scr iptures teach
that a man who is saved can join the church of his
choice, live by their doctrine and will go to heaven
when he dies." I handed it to him and said, "Sign!"
His face turned as pale as bleached flour, and he re-
plied, "No sir." I then chided him and said, "I sn't
that what you teach all over the country?" He said,
"Yes, but I couldn't afford to sign that." I said, "It
is strange indeed that you were so intent on getting
me to sign what you thought I believed and you
won't even sign what you admit you believe." You
know, that was fifteen years ago, and I haven't seen
that Baptist preacher since.

ABOUT THE REPRINT OF VOLUME ONE

OF THE GOSPEL GUARDIAN
Brother Robert L. (Bob) Craig of Austin, T exas
plans the expensive and time-consuming task of re-
producing the first volume of the Gospel Guardian.
I f enough inter est is manifested in the project
brother Cr aig intends to bring back into pr int the
first five volumes.
T he Gospel Guardian began as a weekly on May 5,
1949. T he change from The Bible Banner, edited by
Foy E . Wallace, Jr., to the first issue of The Gospel
Guardian closed with the April, 1949 issue of The
Bible Banner car r ying a format of the front page
of the new Gospel Guardian. The issues that were
necessar ily dealt with by able men from the begin-
ning of the Gospel Guardian will provide valuable
mater ial for young pr eacher s and sincer e students
of the Bible. I have the full set from the first issue
and would not sell them.
While I do not shar e the view that present day
wr iter s of religious jour nals ar e infer ior in quality
to the wr iter s of the early year s of The Gospel
Guardian, I do believe the issue of church supported
colleges and other r elated issues that developed
later were dealt with mor e dir ectly and for cefully
than present day wr iters. Per haps one reason is the
lack of men today who will attempt to defend their
unscr iptural positions on such issue. T he material
on these issues alone will be worth your money for
this pre-publication price of this first volume of The
Gospel Guardian. I urge you to order your copy at
once. You will never regret it. You may order from
brother Craig at Dixie Pr inters, 410 L ightsey Rd.,
Austin, T ex. 78704, or order from Phillips Publica-
tions, P.O. Box 17244, Tampa, Fla. 33612. We would
appreciate your order. Send your check or money
order for the pre-publication price of $7.50 and your
copy will be mailed to you immediately upon release
from the printer s.
H. E . Phillips
 Page 9

SINGING IN SPIRIT
1. Determination to do our best: T he offer ing of
the best is a basic pr inciple of true wor ship. Under
the Old T estament economy, a Jew was not to sacri-
fice an animal that was no good for anything else, and
keep the finest for himself. When it comes to singing,
our best may not be much sometimes, but it's all God
requires.
2. Recognition of Spiritual Blessings: "Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Chr ist, who
hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ."
Many do not sing with fervency because they have
no appreciation for the reasons, he probably has no
reasons.
3. Appreciation of Purpose: The purpose of singing
SINGING IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH is two- fold. By it we wor ship God and edif y each
other.
T his is an area in which most of us have been guilty As an avenue of worship, singing praises is unsur-
of emphasizing the negative to the almost utter neg- passed by any other. Words can create feelings, but
lect of any positive exhortation. Our teaching on sing- when music is added to words the force is multiplied.
ing has been pr imarily against the unauthorized use Advertisers learned long ago the value of melody,
of mechanical instruments of music. In this article we rhythm and harmony in selling a product. God, in His
shall examine some positive instruction from God's infinite wisdom put singing in the church.
word on this subject. Singing can be and should be an instructive exer-
WHAT'S THE TRUTH ABOUT cise. Children learn the names of the apostles by a
SINGING IN WORSHIP? little song. Many know such passages as 2 T imothy 1:
1. The New Testament reveals who is to sing in wor- 12, Col. 3:17, and Isa. 1:18 through songs that con-
ship. E phesians 5:19 says, "Speaking to yourselves in tain these passages.
psalms, hymns, and spir itual songs..." T his doesn't THINGS THAT WILL HELP
mean that each person is to speak to himself, but that 1. Acceptance By Church Members: By the very na-
we all ar e to speak to each other. The ASV brings ture of true Chr istian wor ship, we must accept the
this out more clear ly. Also Col. 3:16 commands us to fact that we're not going to have music that will meet
teach and admonish one another in singing. professional standards. Obviously, no congregation
So all are to sing. He who opposes instrumental will sound like Fred Warring and the Pennsylvanians.
music in worship because it is unauthorized, and yet Neither is congregational singing going to sound like a
fails to do what is author ized and commanded is in well balanced and polished denominational choir.
an inconsistent and precar ious position. In denominational circles there are professional
ministers of music whose exclusive job is to develop
Some seek to be excused on the ground that they the musical programs. T hey go from group to group,
"can't sing." What does one mean by such a state- often even from denomination to denomination.
ment? Does he mean that he can't sing like Bing Cros- I feel that we should realize that like other elements
by or Frank Sinatra? Does he mean that he can't sing of scr iptural worship, our singing will never have a
like George Beverly Shea? Does he mean that he can't great appeal to those who demand worldly standards.
sing like E arnest Tubb or Roy Acuff? Does he mean T his is not to say that most of us cannot vastly im-
that he can't sing like Grandpa Jones or Stringbean? prove.
Ability to sing is a relative thing. God doesn't tell us 2. Participation By Members: All need to be con-
to sing like someone else. He does command us to cerned about the quality of singing. We should sing,
sing. not mumble and whisper. We should sing out — make
2. We are also told what to sing: "Psalms and a joyful noise! Our singing would improve about
hymns and spiritual songs" (Eph. 5:19, Col. 3:16). 100% if people would start making a noise.
In order then, for a song to be suitable for wor- We should take advantage of opportunities to learn
ship, it must contain a scr iptural and spir itual mes- to sing better. When special services or classes are
sage. We should not be primar ily interested in the arranged, take part.
melody and parts. This is secondary. We should place 3. Emphasis By Church Leaders: E lders in the
our greatest interest in the message. churches do not need to be song birds themselves to
Some songs contain doctrinal errors and should not recognize the importance of good congregational sing-
be used in worship. Most of the songs in our books, ing and do some planning and execution of plans to
however, contain wonderful and powerful messages. effect improvement. T alent should be encouraged and
3. When should we sing? We should certainly en- used and further trained.
gage in singing when we assemble, for here we have Money spent in special classes and training is not
opportunity to "speak to one another in psalms, money wasted, but wisely invested.
hymns and spiritual songs" (Col. 3:16). Worshipping
God in song, however, should not be limited to the HAVE YOU RENEWED YOUR SUBSCRIPTION?
assembly. James wrote: "Is any merry? let him sing
psalms" ( Jas. 5:13). Paul and Silas sang at midnight DO IT TODAY!
in the inner prison (Acts 16:25).
Page 10

two blocks off U. S. 31 just South of Indianapolis.

MILLER-WOODS DEBATE A building progr am is planned for this year .
James P. Miller of Bowling Green, Kentucky and
Guy N. Woods of Memphis, Tennessee met in a three SABBATH-DAY DEBATE
nights discussion at the Cleveland Avenue building
in Montgomery, Alabama February 28, 29 and March L ake Wales, Fla.— May 1-4, 1972
1, 1972. T he first two nights Miller affirmed the un- 7:30 each evening L ake Wales
scripturalness of human organizations supported by church building — Wetmore Street
the chur ch for child car e and other benevolence to Propositions
be done by the church. The last night Woods affirmed
the scr ipturalness of the Her ald of T r uth Radio 1. RESOLVED: "T he scr iptures teach that the
and T .V. Program. first day of the week commonly called Sunday,
Brother Carrol Puckett, preacher for the Gay Mea- is the day to be obser ved through wor ship by
dows church who endorsed brother Miller in the de- Chr istians."
bate, is to wr ite a r eport of the debate for a later Affirms: Don R. T aaffe
issue of this paper. Brother Miller had a prepared Denies: Isaac N. Cramer
statement which was r ead in his first speech, set- 2. RESOLVED: "T he scr iptures teach that the
ting forth the issue and how it developed. Several seventh day of the week, commonly called Satur-
hundred copies were prepared and handed to all who day is the only weekly Sabbath that Chr istians
wanted one. We hope to run this in part or in full should observe as a special day of worship today.
in James P. Miller 's column soon. Affirms: Isaac N. Cramer
Denies: Don R. T aaffe
KETCHERSIDE-TURNER EXCHANGE
ON MOVING EXPENSES
T apes of the near ly three hour panel type answers
to questions from the floor following two 30 minute From time to time, as gospel preachers move from
speeches by Ketcherside and Turner is available for one place to another in the work of the Lord, both
any who may want them. T he 7" and 5" LP open they and the churches involved are interested in the
reel tapes are $5.25 each. One reel contains the en- subject of moving expenses. Per haps to these, and
tire program. Cassette tapes ar e $4.95 each and it even other s, the following report will be of some
will take two tapes for the full program. 8-T r ack value.
cartridge tapes are also available at $4.95 each and Probe, monthly publication" of "Consumer United
it will take three for the full program. Program", Wichita, Kansas, included a notable tip
Send your orders to: Phillips Publications, P. O. in its issue for Feb., 1972. Responding to an ear lier
Box 17244, T ampa Fla. 33612. article, a reader offer ed: "Your article on moving
men failed to mention the use of 'Car Loaders' (list-
ed in the Yellow Pages, sometimes under 'Freight
Handling'). They are commercial shippers who load
Glenn L. Shaver, P. O. Box 2052, Gary, Ind. 46409. whole carloads full of merchandise and ship them by
I'm leaving the Calumet Area after pr eaching here railway cross-country very inexpensively. T he draw-
for 13 years of my 29 year s of public pr eaching. I back is that you have to put all your belongings into
have resigned the work of preaching with the church cartons, but we r ecently made our seventh cross
at Portage, I ndiana, effective the end of June this country move — from Indiana to California — and a
year. We desire to move farther south. Our daughter, whole household of furniture, books, china, etc.,
Glenna, will be enrolled in Florida College this fall, cost well under $300."
and we desir e to move "South" and work with a Having recently moved from California to Mis-
chur ch by the end of June this year. My telephone souri by moving van, as well as having experienced
is (219) 884-2678. two previous moves by the "U-Haul" route, I can
certainly say the above cost report compares better
Tom Wheeler, 371 West Main St., Greenwood, than favor ably. Such being the case, it seemed
Ind. — I recently moved here from Poteau, Okla- worthy of being passed on to other s.
homa. T he work here looks very encouraging. The Calvin C. E ssar y
brethren have a mind to work. T wo meetings are 300 N. E . 83rd T er r ace
planned for this year. Del Wininger will be with us Kansas City, Mo. 64118
April 17-23 and Johnie Edwards will be with us Sept.
25-Oct.l. Sever al her e ar e active in per sonal work. HAVE YOU RENEWED YOUR SUBSCRIPTION?
If you know of someone moving to this ar ea, write DO IT TODAY!
me and they will be contacted. Our meeting place is
 Page 11

printed page, radio, and in public preaching. He was

instrumental in establishing the Athens Bible School
and was on the board of directors at the time of his
death. He built a large publishing business and wrote
many workbooks used all over the nation.
His funer al was conducted at 2 p.m. at the meet-
ing house of the E astside church in Athens on Mon-
day, Februar y 7. Sewell Hall, Irven Lee, A. J. Roll-
ings, R. L. Andrews and Doyle Banta conducted the
services. T here was congregational singing at his re-
quest, made sometime before his death.
I personally feel the loss and share the sorrow of
his beloved family. I am sure I speak for the entire
staff of Searching T he Scr iptures and many thou-
sands of its reader s when I extend heartfelt sym-
pathy to his wife, Sibil, his five sons: Edward, Henry,
Robert, Benjamin and Paul, and his daughter,
Nancy. We also r ejoice with them in the hope we
have in Chr ist Jesus our Lord.
H. E . Phillips

A T RE AT F OR T HE ME MPHIS ARE A
Don Bassett

T here is no idea more welcome than one "whose

time has come," and none such better received than
when articulated by just the right man.
Bennie Lee Fudge is dead! It is hard for me to be- James R. Cope recently spent three days with the
lieve that he is gone. Only ten days before his death E ast Memphis church of Chr ist presenting his ser ies
we had lunch together and discussed some of our of lessons on family living. He was, indubitably, the
business affairs for nearly two hours. For nearly a right man with the right idea— in its time.
Brethren from northern Mississippi, eastern Ark-
quarter of a century I have had business dealings ansas, and all points in T ennessee came to share with
with brother Fudge and his good wife in the publi- us who live and worship in the Memphis area in this
cation and sale of books. Not once through these fine series.
years has there been the slightest evidence of dis- Young parents, of whom this writer is one, were es-
honesty or unfair ness. I remember no unkind wor d pecially grateful for the ver y helpful and practical ex-
or discord of any kind that passed between us dur- position of God's word on family responsibilities. But
ing these year s that our f r iendship and brother ly all who came, young and old, left each session with
love for each other grew to be one of the finest I greater determination to seek and pursue our Father's
have ever known. My personal respect for him as a way in our homes.
man, a wr iter, a teacher and pr eacher, and a per - Brother Cope is a gospel preacher of wide ex-
sonal friend is the highest. perience, a father of three fine young people whose
On T hur sday, the last day of the lectures at Flor- lives have been a great source of encouragement in a
ida College, Bennie Lee and I ate lunch together and very personal sense to this writer, a successful college
made some ar r angements about publishing some administrator and teacher, and an able wr iter of gos-
books and selling some already in print. He assured pel center ed liter ature. Above all, his fruits have
me that full arrangements would be made upon his bor ne testimony to a sincer e desir e to do what is
arrival home. I shook his hand and told him goodbye right and go to heaven someday. The right man— with
for the last time. the right idea— well presented.
I received a note from sister Fudge on Fr iday,
February 4, probably written on Wednesday before,
telling me that he had been quite ill with influenza Connie W. Adams, 4724 E. Manslick Rd., Louis-
which he had developed upon leaving Flor ida. She ville, Kentucky, 40219 — In my report of the Smith-
said he would wr ite when he got better. His condi- Lacuata debate held in M'land, Cotabato, Philippines,
tion grew worse until he was hospitalized with dou- I made this statement: "T he Amer ican 'missionaries'
ble pneumonia. He was placed under oxygen and deserted him. T hey came to M'lang the week before
seemed to be improving when he suddenly passed the debate and then r etur ned the day after we left,
away about 6:45 p.m. Saturday evening as the result but they did not come to give Lacuata support. T hey
of a cardiac arrest. His wife was at his bedside when are unwilling themselves to engage in such debate."
the end came. Near midnight I received a call telling I have learned only recently that a part of this state-
me of his death a few hours before. ment is in error and therefore wish to make a correc-
Brother Fudge was a man of great energy, and tion in the inter est of truth. It is true that they wer e
most of it was dir ected in serving the Lord by the in M'lang the week before the debate and preached in
Page 12

the public plaza. T hey were not there the week of the life and customs, etc. I would like to retur n to
debate as I reported. But I have learned that they did Canada and preach the saving gospel in this much
not retur n to M'lang the day after the debate. T hey neglected field.
had a permit to conduct meetings in the plaza the day T he apostle John wrote "thou wilt do well to set
after we left. T his was common knowledge in M'lang forward on their jour ney worthily of God: because
and was discussed by various ones during the week of that for the sake of the Name they went forth"
the debate. We left assuming they were coming back, (3 Jno. 6- 7). This will be our primar y pur pose in
as planned, to use the permit they had obtained. going to Canada: T O SAVE SOULS.
I have now been told in a letter from Eusebio M. For per sonal refer ences, you may contact the
L acuata that "because of the r ain" he advised them following men who know me: Connie Adams, Hoyt
to go on back to Manila and they left for Manila be- Houchen, Homer Hailey, Marshall Patton, Har r y
fore the debate began. I don't know how he knew it Pickup, Jr., Robert F. Turner, Lowell D. Williams,
was going to r ain the day after we left (so that he
could prophesy the weather a week ahead of time), James W. Adams, and in Canada: G. A. Corbett,
but anyhow that is what he said. T he cause of the Jordon, Ontar io.
liberal brethren is in bad enough shape without any- OUR GREATEST NEED IS REGULAR MONTH-
one having to misrepresent them. I hope this clar i- LY SUPPORT. Can you help . . . any amount? If you
fies this matter. cannot promise monthly support, can you contr ibute
******** a "one-time lump sum" to our travel expenses? (Any
amount we might receive over necessar y travel ex-
penses would be applied to a working fund.)
DONALD R. GIVENS TO CANADA Our tentative departure date is JULY 1, 1972.
Dear br ethren in Chr ist: Please give our needs consider ation, now.
T he Lord willing, my family and I are moving to May the gr ace of God be with you. Pr ay for us.
VANCOUVE R, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA. I n Chr ist,
We are going to preach the gospel, sow the seed of Donald R. Givens
the kingdom, and tr y to win souls to Christ. In 4349 Vassar
company with Connard Estes family (presently of Port Arthur, Texas 77640
Bridge City, T exas) we will be starting a congrega-
tion of the Lord "from scratch." Wayne E arnest, 1916 Rockford Lane, Louisville,
Canada offers much opportunity to preach Chr ist. Ky. 40216 — I was recently in a gospel meeting with
T here are ver y few Chr istians in all of Canada. We the 13th and Main St. church in Blytheville, Ark.
anxiously desir e to teach and pr each Chr ist to the Feb. 7- 15 and we baptized 14 and saw 3 r estored.
many lost souls in Br itish Columbia. Bro. Connard Olin Kern of Blytheville, Ark. is to be with the
E stes and I will be working together in teaching and Shively Church here in Louisville in a gospel meet-
preaching, publicly and "from house to house." We ing April 24-30.
will start a chur ch with just our two families and I'm to be in a meeting with the Hardinsburg, Ky.
then diligently sow the gospel seed and water it, and church Mar. 20-26 and at Roundhill, Ky. April 16-21.
leave the incr ease to God (I Cor. 3:6-9).
I ask for your financial help. We will need moving A.W. Goff, 1007 Chestnut, Morrilton, Ark. 72110-
expenses to British Columbia and MONTHLY SUP- A small group of brethren have put up a nice build-
PORT while in the Vancouver area. Can you brethren ing at 1218 West Childress St., Morrilton, Ark. built
(individually or collectively) fellowship us "in the and paid for without begging for outside help, and I
matter of giving and receiving" (Phil. 4:15)? Can have been employed to do the preaching.
you help us, in any amount, with our travel expenses Morrilton is located on 1-40, between L ittle Rock
or monthly support? L iving costs are slightly higher and Fort Smith. For the benefit of traveler s, we
in B.C., Canada than they are in T exas. We will have would appreciate it if you would put this announce-
to supply ever ything including: our own house or ment in Searching the Scriptures.
apartment, utilities, car expense (which ther e will
be much of in starting a brand new congregation),
rent on a worship hall, advertising, correspondence
cour ses, tracts (we will need plenty of these items
in starting a new wor k), teaching supplies, Bible
class mater ials, and ever ything else essential in a
new field — these expenses will all come out of our
pockets.
Why should I go? To answer that good question,
let me give a few facts concerning myself: I am 30
year s of age, and have been pr eaching continually
for ten years. I started preaching in Canada in 1961,
and have been thoroughly familiar with gospel work
there since that time, having gone back several times
to preach and visit. My wife is a Canadian; born
and raised in Ontar io, Canada; and her people still
live in Canada. T herefore, I already have exper ience
in Canada and am familiar with their good way of
 Page 13

FOR WHOM SHOULD WE PRAY?

T he New T estament teaches that we should pray
for many individuals in different circumstances. L et
us note some of them. (1) Paul pr ayed for his lost
kin (Rom. 10:1). (2) T imothy was instructed to pray
"for kings, and for all that ar e in author ity" (I Tim.
2:1-3). (3) Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies
(Matt. 5:44). (4) Paul encourages the Roman saints
to pray for him (Rom. 15:30). We should likewise
pr ay for gospel pr eacher s today. (5) Paul pr ayed
for the brethren (Phil. 1:9-10) then and we should
pr ay for our brethren now. (6) Paul admonished
the Colossians to pray for the work of the Lord in
gener al to the end that opportunity would be given
WORSHIP IN PRAYER to preach the gospel ( Col. 4:2- 4). (7) We are r e-
Pr ayer is the avenue through which the childr en minded by James to pray for the sick ( James 5:14-
of God talk with the One who rules the univer se. 15). (8) Jesus taught that we should pray for our-
I n the midst of great tribulation the pr ayer s of selves ( Matt. 6:11- 13).
saints come before God on the throne of the universe FERVENT PRAYER
(Rev. 8:4). If one could talk to the head of his na- T he power of fervent prayer is seen in James 5:17-
tion at any hour, he would consider it a great privi- 18. E lias pr ayed ear nestly for it not to rain, and it
lege. T he Ruler of the univer se can be approached did not. He then prayed for rain, and God sent the
by any of his subjects any hour of the day. What a r ain. Pr ayer from such a r ighteous per son avails
gr eat pr ivilege that we so often take for granted. with God.
CHURCH PRAYS
As we pray we need to be as fer vent as E lias. I
believe that Brother Homer Hailey has circulated
Acts 4 records how the apostles, Peter and John, among brethren enough to know what he is saying
were threatened and when they were let go to their when he says that generally one of the gr eat faults
own company, they prayed unto God. T heir prayer of the chur ch is that we do not pr ay fer vently
was that God would give them boldness to speak the enough. When some brother leads in pr ayer, that
word of God (v. 29). If these apostles needed to pray prayer should be made the sentiments of my heart.
for such then, sur ely the chur ch needs to pray for Prayer should not be just a ritual with God's people.
all those that preach the word to have that same When things confront us as the people of God,
boldness today to speak the word. we should fer vently pray to God instead of leaning
In time of persecution a disciple was killed by a so much on the "arm of flesh."
ruler ( Acts 12:1- 2). Herod sought the life of Peter Since Paul said to "pray without ceasing" ( I T hes.
but during the passover the chur ch was making 5:17) now that we have finished this article, let us
prayer on his behalf "without ceasing" (Acts 12:5). stop and pray fer vently.
T he result was the deliver ance of Peter (vs. 7-17).
T he same God that heard fervent prayer then of his
childr en will hear us today when we pray.
NIGERIA — A CLOSED OR OPEN
PRAYERS UNTO GOD COUNTRY — WHICH?
Prayer is our thanksgiving and r equests dir ected Fred A. Shewmaker
to God (Matt. 6:6). Prayer is not directed to some-
one in the audience to impr ess them, to "tell them In a recent letter to brother Wayne Payne in Niger-
off" or to preach a sermon. We need to under stand ia I wrote, "It is my understanding that the Niger ian
the purpose of prayer. government is now allowing short visits by gospel
Prayer is not only dir ected to God, but it is ad- preachers. Does it look like they will in the future
dr essed through Jesus Chr ist. Paul affirm ed that allow preachers to enter for longer periods?
ther e is "one God" unto whom we pr ay and that In reply to this inquir y brother Payne wrote, "It
ther e is "one mediator between God and men, the does seem that the immigration may be loosing the
man Chr ist Jesus; who gave himself a r ansom for strings a little on visas, but just what the future holds
all" ( I T im. 2:5-6). From this passage we learn sev- on r esident permits I don't know. I do wish that
eral lessons: (1) there is one mediator, not many someone would try to come though and see what the
mediators. (2) The mediator is between God and action will be. We will be coming home in June if all
man, not between Jesus Chr ist and man. (3) T his goes as planned. I wish that someone could be here
before the year is out but nothing in sight."
mediator is a man, not a woman or a dead saint. It may be that the Niger ian government will not yet
(4) Our mediator Christ Jesus was able to become issue a r esident permit but unless one is r equest-ed
such after he gave his life a ransom for man; thus, it is certain that none will be issued. Who will
those who have not died for men can not be man's "try...and see what the action will be?" ********
mediator . T her efore, our prayer is to be dir ected
unto God in the name of Chr ist or through Christ
Jesus our mediator.
 (which we have already done), let us move on in our
deliber ations to consider how to solve the problem
and to win r espect for duly established authority.
ESSENTIALS OF THE AUTHORITARIAN
T her e ar e certain fundamental and vital qualities
that must be possessed by one who exercises au-
thority, be it God or man, if respect is to be won.
All of these qualities ar e possessed to the superla-
tive degree by God, but men in author ity can and
often do br ing author ity itself into contempt be-
cause of their disregard for the pr inciples that win
respect. (1) T her e must be competence, the ability
to understand and discharge the responsibilities and
functions required of the position occupied. For ex-
RESPECT FOR AUTHORITY — HOW IT IS WON ample, the gover nment that literally cannot conduct
the affair s of state will neither have the r espect of
Jere E. Frost its citizenr y nor long survive. It may have had a
"Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not r ight to exist, but it is doomed to be disr egarded
tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand and to fail if it is impotent and incapable. (2) There
for the bound of the sea by a per petual decree, that must be character, particularly in the context of self-
it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss r espect (not pr ide, but the r especting of one's own
themselves, yet can they not pr evail; though they laws and rules). Let us now use parents as an
roar, yet can they not pass over it? But this people illustration. T hey may not be perfect (and in fact
hath a r evolting and a r ebellious heart; they ar e are not) but they must be fair and honorable in the
revolted and gone. Neither say they in their heart, making of rules and in their own respect for those
L et us now fear the Lord our God . ..." (Jeremiah rules if they would win Johnny's and Susie's respect.
5:22-24). T hey cannot forbid swear ing and vulgar ity if they
T he prophet speaks of an incredible condition and themselves speak profanely and obscenely; they can-
attitude. God in his majesty and might controls all not for bid smoking if they themselves ar e ser vants
the forces of nature, and upon his mercy the ver y to tobacco; they can scarcely cr iticize the taking of
existence and well-being of puny man depends. But mar ijuana and hallucinogens if they themselves im-
they do not fear. They do not tremble at his pr es- bibe alcohol. No, if they would win respect, they must
ence. Israel instead, as it were, yawned indifferently have the character to genuinely respect their own
in the Almighty's face, disdained His per son, re- principles and rules. T his implies that their rules
jected His statutes, trusted in their own wisdom, and have been issued from conviction and integrity, and
declar ed that they wer e r ighteous and justified in not from an arbitrar y desir e to restrict and domi-
so doing. T heir swift destruction and calamitous nate the child. Hypocr isy cannot be respected, not
consequences at the hands of the Babylonians ar e even in one who has an authority, and will produce
not a surprise. But our own gener ation evidences ultimately a resentment against both the per son in
this same galling disr espect for divine authority, author it y and the author it y itself that he r epr e-
and much of the contempt in Israel then can be seen sents. Char acter is essential to winning r espect.
in the chur ch now. It is one thing for author ity to (3) Enforcement, including both the ability and
exist. It is quite another thing for author ity to be necessar y will, is imperative. "Because sentence
r espected. But rather than emptily jawbone about against an evil work is not executed speedily, there-
the obvious problem in this area, or spend our ener- fore the hearts of the sons of men is fully set in
gies in establishing the r ightfulness of author ity them to do evil" ( E ccl. 8:11). Permissiveness on the
Page 2

part of gover nment or par ents is ther efore not a

persuasive deterrent. It is r ather an exhibition of
weakness of conviction. It declares that the au-
thor itar ian does not really respect the law himself,
and hence it should not have been a law in the first
place. Or else he is unable to enforce it because of a
lack of ability, wisdom or will. In the nation or in
the home, when this condition prevails, "the hearts
of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil"
and author ity is despised rather than respected. T he
same principles can be applied with equal force and
par allel r esults to discipline in the church.
One of the r easons the author ity of God is not
more generally r espected is that many of us who
possess small measures of authority on lower levels
have brought author ity itself into a kind of disr e-
pute. We present obstacles. Let us therefore resolve,
as par ents, to not simply declar e our r ights to rule
but to take the steps necessar y to win r espect. L et
us, as citizens, evaluate honesty in office above
political postur e, and urge the just enfor cement of
law. L et us, as lights in the wor ld, preach the r ight-
eousness and wisdom of our God, and warn men that
God will judge the wor ld. He will not be mocked.
"I will recompense." "It is a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God."

"THE BED IS TOO SHORT — THE

BLANKET IS TOO SMALL" (Isa. 28:20)
Elvis Bozarth
In Greek mythology we can read of a giant named
Procrustes. He was a ver y hospitable fellow, but he
had a strange way of taking care of the needs of his
guests. He welcomed all travellers and offered shelter
to all who needed it. But, he fitted his guest to the
size of his bed! If the guest was too short for the bed,
he just stretched him out to fit it, - if the guest was
too long, he just cut off his legs!
When I first read this some years ago I immediately
thought of a sermon I had heard Brother C.R. Nichol
preach several times as I was growing up. It was based
on our text, Isaiah 28:20: "T he bed is too short on
which to stretch out, And the blanket is too small to
wrap oneself in" (NASB). He made the historical others by removing them from their contexts. T hey
background of the people of God trusting in their are making strange and new arguments on familiar
own wisdom and cunning to protect them from their passages to sustain positions already assumed.
enemies apply ver y clearly to the disposition of var- To cite just a few examples of this behavior we can
ious denominations to reject the counsel of God and note the claim that no pattern exists to show the
follow their own wisdom in seeking to please God. He
showed that the "bed" --any denomination or lodge -- arrangements by which congregations may cooperate
was too short because they did not measure up to the in pr eaching the gospel and in providing for the
divine standard. He showed also that the "blanket" - needy; the building and maintaining of human in-
safety and salvation offered by human religious bod- stitutions through which churches may do their work;
ies - was too small to cover the sins of mankind. the promotion and support of fun, frolic, and social
As the years have past I have noticed that most of life from the churches' treasuries; and taking scrip-
my br ethren have made the same mistake of the tures commanding individual activities and applying
children of God in Isaiah's day, and of the various them to work of the collective, the church. L ike
denominations of modern times. T hey have rejected Procrustes, they stretch them out or cut them off to
the author ity of God, i.e., "ther e is no patter n," — fit their theological beds of digression.
"we do many things for which we have no authority" ********
— and have sought safety in their own wisdom and
vain reasonings. T hey disregard some scriptures as if 5 Mohawk Dr.
they wer e not in the Bible at all, and they per vert Glen Burnie, Md.
21061
 Page 3

the city of Cincinnati. It met on T uesday, October 23

in the old meeting house on the cor ner of Walnut
and E ighth Streets with L. L. Pinkerton as Chair-
man. T his convention was called for the express pur-
pose of starting a Missionary Society through which
congregations could pool their resources in preaching
the gospel. Brother E ar l West makes this comment
on page 196 of "T he Sear ch For T he Ancient Or-
der," vol. 1, "Scarcely had the Amer ican Missionary
Society been organized when a wave of opposition
began sweeping over the brother hood."
I n the same volume, page 197, there is a state-
ment of what Benjamin Franklin wrote in the Amer-
ican Chr istian Review in which he says:
We ar e per f ectly awar e that if we wish to put the
Chr istian communities into the power of men,
to control them, wield them, and make them
CURRENT ISSUES AND THE DEEPER MEANING engines to honor man, we need some kind of an
James P. Miller organization beyond the simple organization of
the New T estament; but the simple, independent
When we look at the problems that face us, no church, for keeping the ordinances; r eligious
informed man will deny that the church of our Lord instruction, and saving the wor ld, is all- sufficient
has been torn asunder and lies bleeding before the for the good of the saints and the glor y of God.
world in 1972. Division is upon every hand and the I ndeed, one of the pr incipal r easons why this
prayer for unity entered by Chr ist in John 17 goes question of organization has perplexed the minds
unheeded. T his terrible state is not the fault of the of so many is, that they ar e looking for, and
Lord nor of his New T estament, for only perfection trying to make out of some- thing unknown to
can be found in them. T he blame must be placed the whole New T estament. T hey over look the
upon those who claim to be Chr istians in this age simple, easy and common- sense ar r angement of
and who should love the truth with all their hearts. the New T estament, and complain that we have no
T he pur pose of this paper will be to call attention ar r angement. T he men who opposed the
to the pr esent divided state and to point the way Missionar y Society, as does my opponent tonight,
back to the unity of the Word of God. used ever y argument they knew to show the
T he support of institutions from the treasur y of breakdown of author ity and autonomy without
the church or the pooling of resources to preach the avail. Society advocates were wedded to their
gospel is not the main issue. T hese things are the idol and meant to have it at any cost. T hese
outgrowth of an attitude that began long ago in the tragic events of 125 year s ago have a dir ect
history of the restoration. It stems from a liber al par allel in our time. T he Her ald of T r uth,
position in regard to the all-sufficiency of the scrip- pooling thousands of dollar s under the elder s of
tures and a disregar d for the silence of the Bible. Highland in Abilene, is the old Missionar y Society
Both all-sufficiency and respect for silence are taught story all over again. L iber al br ethren ar e going
in the Word of God. In II T imothy 16:17 we are told down the old, old path to division and sectar ianism.
that the scr iptures will furnish the man of God unto Just as the introduction of the Melodeon at Midway
all good work and in Hebrews 7:14 the wr iter argues violated the all-sufficiency of the scriptures and their
that if nothing was said about an earthly priest com- silence, the introduction of human institutions to
ing out of Judah, it would then be impossible in be supported by the church robbed the church of its
God's sight. It was upon these principles that the author ity, responsibility, and autonomy.
New T estament Church was restored to mankind. A Br ethren who stood against these innovations
disregard for one or both has brought brother Wood's warned their more liberal fellows of the danger of
people to the sad plight where we find them tonight. these departures. It was pointed out time and again
It was T homas Campbell who said in the "DE C- that a failure to recognize the all-sufficiency of the
LARATION AND ADDRESS" "No human authority scr iptures and the doctrine of divine silence would
can make new laws for the church where the Scrip- open the floodgates for digression of every kind. T he
tures are silent." "Nothing ought to be received into brethren who opposed the society and organ were
the faith or worship of the chur ch; or be made a called anti- missionar y and anti- music and ever y
term on communion amongst Chr istians, that is not other name that would br and them in the eyes of
as old as the New Testament." This cry was sounded the brotherhood. It is now a matter of history that
from the housetops that WE SPEAK WHERE THE the br ethren who opposed these departures wer e
BIBLE SPEAKS AND ARE SILENT WHERE THE r ight. After the flurry of excitement had died away,
BI BLE IS SILENT and upon its noble sentiments one innovation came after the other until, in many
the blood- bought chur ch was r estored (Page 150, places and in many situations, the digressive church
T he Disciples of Chr ist. Garrison and De Groot). not only goes along with the sects but far too often
One of the thinkers of yesterday has declared that is found leading the par ade.
the man who disregards the history of the past is When the present parallel arose, exactly the same
bound to repeat it. T here never was a more true thing took place. T he same division occurred, the
statement or thought when it is applied to the res- same names wer e hur led, and br ethren who stood
toration. T he fir st convention was called in 1849 in on the ver y same ground were ridiculed. T hey were
Page 4

called anti- orphan because they did not want to you wer e pr esent and can bear witness that a host
support a human institution from the chur ch treas- of sound preachers were present from all over Amer-
ury, and anti-television because they would not sup- ica. When he says we have no respect for truth or
port the unscr iptural arrangement of Highland and fair ness, he impugns the motive of ever y sound
the Herald of T r uth, and ever y kind of misrepre- brother in the wor ld. He br ands as hopeless that
sentation that could be devised and charged with host of venerable men who have lived and died stead-
emotionalism was put upon them. T he institutional fast in their belief in the all-sufficiency of the church
br ethren wer e wedded to their idols and meant to of our Lord: Great and good men like Curtis Porter,
have them at all cost. T hey represented the con- Cecil Douthitt, and in the last few days, I. A. New-
ser vative brethren as dead when they had not at- man, Seminole's oldest elder: W. A. Bingham, her
tended the funer al or even signed the book at the esteemed deacon; Bennie Lee Fudge, Alabama
funer al home. Brother Woods in a letter published preacher, and that great roster of mature and ex-
in the Philippian Chr istian, wr itten just last year, per ienced men who stand before the great judge of
September 9, 1971, had these shameful things to all the earth.
say to E usebio M. Lacuata. How can he expect even r easonable tr eatment
after such statements as made in his letter ? T he
"You, too, have experienced what all of us in fact that we are outdoing the liber als in the Philip-
this countr y long ago lear ned, that the "Antis" pines gives forever the death- knell to the idea it
are wholly undependable, using misrepresenta- takes unscr iptural machiner y to do the work of
tion without compunction. I have been the tar- evangelism, whether it be on the radio or in the field.
get of such for years. Long ago, I learned it is T he tr uth, tonight, is that brother Woods' posi-
useless to appeal to them on the basis of truth tion and those who stand with him ar e in gr eat
and fair ness since they have no r espect for jeopardy. T hey are finding out that they cannot just
either. have the institutional orphan home and the Her ald
"T he situation here is this: Some years ago, of T r uth, but that they have let down the door to
when the anti-movement was sweeping the land, ever ything else. He has already spent one week this
many chur ches and pr eacher s wer e disturbed. month at the lectures of Freed-Hardeman College
I was in the midst of the fight, engaging in more trying to save what he can out of the mess his posi-
debates than all the other br ethren combined tion has brought him to. T he subject of the lectures
in refuting their hobbies. I n so doing, I met all was T HE BIBL E VS. L I BE RALISM. E ducated at
of their representative men, some of them sev- the feet of the sectar ian teachers, or by those who
eral times. Some of these debates wer e pub- were taught by sectarian professors, the young men
lished, and ar e yet available. E ventually, the of the liberal movement today have little in common
issues wer e cr ystallized and known to all. As with him. In a class at Harding Graduate School, it
the r esult of our debates, the anti- movement, was r eported by one pr esent that when a new stu-
in this country, is not only dormant, its own dent asked about brother Woods' commentar y on
followers are confused and fighting among James, a good part of the class was heard to snicker
themselves. Seldom do I hear of any agitation out loud. Brother Woods is out of step with these
in faithful churches thereon. One reason they younger liberals to which he gave birth by his lack
have gone to your land is because they have of respect for the authority and silence of the scr ip-
virtually lost their ability to distur b chur ches ture. Many of these young men are opposed to any-
here. thing and ever ything established. T hey could care
"Occasionally, one of them challenges for a less about the institutions he is here to defend. T hey
debate yet. T he purpose is to obtain an audience do not want the meeting house for it has been there
which they cannot get otherwise. T he last dis- too long and represents the formal past. T he organ-
cussion I conducted with them, they had a little ization of the chur ch means nothing to them for
handful of anti preachers sitting in one corner, they want to meet in small groups on the river bank,
and those who stood with me filled the house. hold hands and dance around a hollow tree with a
T he chur ch which sponsored the debate (for candle in it and have a dialogue with Jesus. Although
the antis) had perhaps less than 35 or 40 mem- he may deny it, he is bewildered tonight by this turn
bers. Under such circumstances they would be of events. T he brotherhood of which he is a part is
willing to be "walloped" every night in order to divided over things not clear ly defined. Without an
get an audience they cannot possibly assemble accepted standar d with which to judge, they are at
otherwise. We met them fully when the need sea. What man among the liberals would admit he
existed. T he arguments still stand. It is absurd was not sound on the Holy Spir it, speaking in
for them to contend that any of us are afraid of tongues, or the necessity of formal church member-
them. Afraid of a pygmy? T he idea is absurd. ship. Yet, these are their problems, all brought about
T hey know this; but they noisily wr ite about it by the wrong attitude towar d the Word of God.
to impr ess their r eader s." T heir big splurge is over. The city-wide meetings,
We not only challenge the truthfulness of these merging of chur ches to make a big congr egation,
statements, but for the sake of thousands of churches the ballyhoo and fanfare of great accomplishments,
and hundreds of able preachers, raise some ques- etc. has run its course just as it did 125 year s ago.
tions. Was it this debate in Montgomery in 1966 to I am not here to tell this intelligent audience that
which he makes reference? If it were, he knew bet- the brethren with whom I stand have not had prob-
ter than to wr ite such statements as "a little hand- lems. We have difficulty converting an indifferent
ful of anti pr eacher s sitting in one cor ner." Most of wor ld, but in even the county seat a new start has
 Page 5

been made. Congregations dedicated to the all-suf-

ficiency of the scr iptures can be found ever ywher e.
To say that we are dead and of no consequence, is
to make him look foolish this week. I f I am a
"pygmy" and the cause I r epr esent "is dead and I
have no respect either for truth or fair ness," he is
beating a dead horse, ridden by a midget he should
have destroyed six years ago, representing brethren
Who do not exist.
Brethren, the lesson is clear, brother Woods and
those who stand with him, are not only wrong on the
propositions before us in this debate, but have, un-
consciously perhaps, spawned the giant of modern-
ism which they now seek to destroy. History alone
will tell what can be salvaged from their cause. It
would have been far better just to sound the words
of T homas Campbell again: "We speak wher e the QUESTION: Was John the Baptist the E lijah of
Bible speaks, and ar e silent wher e the Bible is Mal. 4:5? If so, why did he deny it before the priests
silent." and L evites of Jerusalem (John 1:21) ? Can his de-
nial be made to harmonize with our Lord's state-
ments in Matt. 11:14; 17:10- 13? — R. L.
ANSWER: Before attempting to answer the above
"I HAVE DREAMED, I HAVE DREAMED" questions let us read the ver ses cited above.
L. A. Mott, Jr. "Behold, I will send you E lijah the prophet
before the coming of the great and dreadful day
Some people claim that God has spoken to them of the Lord" ( Mal. 4:5) .
in a dream. Such claims are not "a new thing under "And they asked him, What then? Art thou
the sun." Jeremiah ran across such folk in his day. E lias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that
T hus runs Jer. 23:25-28: prophet? And he answer ed, No" (John 1:21).
I have heard what the prophets have said, that "And if ye will receive it, this is E lias, which was
prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have for to come" ( Matt. 11:14). . "And his
dr eamed, I have dr eamed. How long shall this be disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the
in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies, scr ibes that E lias must first come ? And Jesus
even the prophets of the deceit of their own answered and said unto them, E lias truly shall
hear t ? that think to cause my people to for get fir st come, and restore all things. But I say unto
my name by their dreams which they tell ever y you, T hat Elias is come already, and they knew
man to his neighbor, as their father s forgat my him not, but have done unto him whatsoever
name for Baal. T he prophet that hath a dr eam, let they listed. L ikewise shall also the Son of man
him tell a dr eam; and he that hath my word, let suffer of them. T hen the disciples understood
him speak my word faithfully. What is the straw that he spake unto them of John the Baptist"
to the wheat? saith Jehovah. Which is to say: If ( Matt. 17:10-13).
you have a dr eam and want to tell it, go ahead. But John the Baptist was the E lijah of Mal. 4:5. T he
do not pretend it is a revelation from God. T ell the appar ent contradiction between John and Jesus
folk, "Now this is just a dr eam; it is not the word grows out of a failure to distinguish between a lit-
of God. It is only the straw, not the wheat. I n fact, eral and a figurative application of the prophecy.
compar ed to the wheat (God's word), my dream is Since E lijah had long since passed from the earth
only chaff, and entirely worth- less. Come to think at the time of Malachi's prophecy, the use of his
of it, it was not worth telling in the first place. Just name should have been understood by the Jews in
forget it." the light of prophetic language — as symbolizing
T hat is the way you will have to tell your dream one who in some way would be similar to the literal
. . . if indeed you must tell it! E lijah.
Box 155 T hat this is the true meaning of the prophecy is
Romulus, Mich. 48174 evident from the statement of the Angel Gabr iel in
announcing to Zachar ias that he was to have a son:
"But the angel said unto him. Fear not, Z achar ias:
for thy pr ayer is heard; and thy wife E lisabeth
shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name
John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and
many shall r ejoice at his birth. . . . And many of
the childr en of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their
God. And he shall go before him in the spir it and
power of E lias, to turn the hearts of the father s to
the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of
the just; to make r eady a people prepar ed for the
Lord" ( L uke 1:13-17). Notice the angel explained
that "he shall go befor e him in the spir it and power
Page 6

of E lijah." E lias (Greek form), or Elijah (Hebrew

form) perhaps did more to call the people of God to
repentance in per ilous times than any other prophet
of Old T estament fame. John's work as well as the
day of his preaching was beautifully prefigured by
E lijah and his time. T he Pharisees, pr iests, and
L evites of our Lord's day had missed the true mean-
ing of Malachi's prophecy. T hey wer e expecting
E lijah in person.
John's denial (John 1:21). in answer to the ques-
tion of the Jews, was from their point of view. He
was not E lijah in per son, hence, he told the tr uth
when he said in answer to their question, "I am
not." Furthermore, he told the truth again when he
gave a negative answer to their question, "Art thou
that prophet?" No doubt, they referred to the proph- THE WEATHER IN PALESTINE
ecy of Deut. 18:18,19: "I will raise them up a A general rule to follow with regard to the weather
Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, in Palestine is that as one moves from north to
and will out my words in his mouth; and he shall south and from west to east the r ain decr eases and
speak unto them all that I shall command him. And the temper ature incr eases. Westerly winds pr evail
it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not harken in this r egion throughout most of the year. During
unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I the winter months they br ing rain clouds in from
will requir e it of him." It seems that the identity of the Mediterranean Sea and drop moisture along the
this prophet was not clear to some. However, John western slopes of the Central Highlands. During the
must have under stood that it referred to the Mes- summertime the northwester ly winds ar e cool but
siah, which is the correct interpretation, according br ing no rain. As the winds pass through the Jordan
to Peter's application in Acts 3:20-23. John knew he Valley they once again become ladened with moisture
was not the Messiah, hence his negative answer. that in turn is dropped on the wester n slopes of
Our Lord made his comments (Matt. 11:14; 17: the hills of Trans- jordan. I n other words, the sea is
10-13) from the viewpoint, of truth, namely, that the predominant influence on the western side of the
John had come "in the spir it and power of E lias." mountain and the desert on the easter n side.
T hus, the harmony between the statements of John Palestine has an annual r ainfall as gr eat as that
and Jesus is to be found in recognizing the different of many other places. For instance, Accho's r ain-
viewpoints from which they answered the question fall (24"-26") compar es favorably with London's
under consideration. (23.5") and Upper Galilee's (47") with that of New
York City (41.6"). The chief difference, however,
is that in Palestine all the rain falls dur ing one brief
season.
In fact, it may be said that Palestine has only two
seasons: the rainy season ( including the "ear ly" and
the "later " r ains) and the dr y season (from the
middle of May to the middle of October). T he farm-
er s eagerly await the "early" r ain in October that
makes it possible, to plow their fields and sow them
in November before the heavy rains come between
December and Febr uar y. T he r ains cause the grain
to grow and r ipen for the har vest in May and June.
T he two crucial periods are between April and May
and between September and October when the hu-
midity is the lowest. It is in the latter period espe-
cially that the terrifying "sirocco" ( east wind)
threatens the land with famine (Psalms 103:16;
E zek. 17:10; 27:26; I sa. 27:8; Hos. 13:15). E ight
major periods of famine are recorded in the Old
T estament (Gen. 12:10; 26:1; 43:1; Ruth 1:1; II
Sam. 21:1; I Kings 18:2; II Kings 6:25; 7:4; 25:3).
Palestine frequently is called the "land of milk and
honey" ( see E xod. 3:8; Deut. 6:3), a land that re-
ceives abundant rain from heaven (Deut. 11:10-12),
but actually it is precariously balanced between fruit-
fullness and famine. T he Bible makes it clear that
Jehovah providentially controlled the rain in r ela-
tion to Israel's faithfulness to His covenant (Deut.
11:13-17). T hus periods of famine are sometimes re-
corded as acts of divine judgment (I Kings 17:1;
18:1).
 Page 7

T he famous Gezer Calendar, probably nothing

more than a schoolboy's exercise for lear ning the
seasons of the year, was found in 1908 by R. A. S.
Macalister during the excavations at Gezer. The
type of wr iting is in the form of good biblical He-
br ew and dates back to the tenth centur y B.C. It
reads as follows:
His two months ar e (olive) har vest,
His two months are planting (grain) ,
His two months are late planting;
His month is hoeing up of flax,
His month is har vest of bar ley,
His month is har vest and feasting;
His two months ar e vine- tending,
His month is summer fruit.
T his little mnemonic ditty follows the pattern de-
scribed above for the seasons of the year, for plant- Paul said, "Ye observe days, and months, and sea-
ing and harvesting. sons, and years. I am afraid of you, lest by any means
I have bestowed labor upon you in vain" (Gal. 4:10,
11). We might make a moder n par aphr ase of this
by saying, "Ye obser ve Chr istmas, and E aster, and
Lent, I am afraid of you, lest by any means I have
bestowed labor upon you in vain."
E aster is supposed to be the beginning of the
Jewish passover, but this is the thing that E aster
does not do. T he year 1825 is the last time E aster
fell on the first day of the passover. The two dates
will not coincide again until after the year 2000.
T he obser vance of Chr istmas and E aster was begun
by the Roman Catholic Church, and a few years later
some of the denomination churches began to observe
this pagan holiday. But what puzzles me, how any-
one can observe anything that was begun by the
Pope of Rome who in years past has claimed to be
God on earth.
T her e is nothing in the Bible that would give a
man excuse for using the name of a pagan goddess
in speaking of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus
Chr ist. As men are known by their gods, so the
character of their religion is maintained by their
festivals, and these festivals had their beginning in
a corrupt age of the Catholic Church. T he E ncyclo-
pedia Br ittanica says, "T her e is no indication that
the observance of Easter is found in the New T esta-
ment, or in the wr itings of the apostolic fathers. T he
idea was absent from the minds of the first Chris-
tians" (Vol. VIII, P. 828; 14th ed.). T he same au-
thority says, "T he Lord nor his apostles enjoined
the keeping of this or any other festival." We have
fallen away from the L iving God, Lent, E aster, and
Chr istmas, then, are evident tokens of apostasy.
In the early days only a few observed these pagan
days, but now the Methodists, Presbyter ians, Bap-
tists, and most all observe the pagan holidays vigor-
ously. But like Lot who pitched his tent too close to
Sodom, these religious bodies have camped too close
to the gates of Roman Catholicism. Consequently,
they ar e drifting back into the ways of the Mother
of Har lots. And so-called protestants practice that
which they claim to protest, they may as well make
complete surrender to the devil. As a matter of fact,
all chur ches ar e coming closer and closer to the
teaching of the Mother of Har lots.
T her e ar e member s of the church of Christ who
ar e falling into the same r ut. It is time that Elders
withdr aw from them. Paul told T imothy: "T hem
that sin r eprove in the sight of all" (1 T im. 5:20).
Page 8

T here are also ungodly preachers in many churches age or matur ity inherent in the word elder may be
today. E lder s, Paul told us what to do, withdr aw ignored. Character traits listed and skill in teaching
from them. Don't ship him off to some other church may also be lacking. People who respect the Bible as
with a letter of recommendation. Withdr aw from the revelation of God's will know that, in the age of
him. woman's liberation movement, or in any other age,
T he only thing that Chr istians ar e told to do is the elder is to be "the husband of one wife."
meet around the Lord's table on the First day of the One would think the Roman Catholic church would
week and remember his death until he comes again. pay some attention to T itus 1 and I T imothy 3 in
But one thing we can be sure of, He will destroy evil their sharp contention over the question of marr iage
in ever y high place of idolatry both in denomination- for their church officials. T heir practice and doctrine
alism and Catholicism. in this regard are exactly opposite to the instruction
for bishops in the Lord's church. T his is just one
example of their conflict with the scr iptures.
E ver y man who is a Chr istian is to br ing his
children up in the discipline and instruction of the
Lord. Since an elder is to be an example to all of us,
he is to be "one that ruleth his own house, having
his childr en in subjection with all gr avity." His
childr en ar e "not accused of riot or unruly." In
dr iving this truth home the inspired man asked the
question: "For if a man know not how to rule his
own house, how shall he take care of the church of
God?" His home failures are demonstrations of his
inability to be a successful overseer in the Lord's
chur ch. It is also true that his failur es would be
called to his attention ever y time he, as a shepher d.
would seek to counsel others. Let elders take their
work ser iously because they must give account to
God. In like manner their wives and children should
For any man to be his ver y best self, and to do his be assets and not liabilities. T he welfare of the king-
work with the greatest effectiveness, he needs a dom and the r ighteousness of God are far above our
good family. Failure on man's part in meeting the selfish and wor ldly desir es.
r esponsibilities that are his by virtue of his being An elder is to have faithful children. His children
the head of the home is a ser ious and shameful fail- ar e to be in subjection with all gr avity. Does the
ure. Success at home is basic to success elsewher e. word childr en, as used in the Bible, necessar ily
He is r esponsible for the family's good or der and r equir e mor e than one child? It is the plur al form
well being, and their godliness upholds him in his of the word child, and many excellent people ear-
worthy endeavors elsewhere. Whoso findeth a wife nestly contend that an elder must have two or more
findeth a good thing. If she is a virtuous woman children. Is the plural form of the word child (child-
her price is far above rubies. Children are an her i- r en) used in the Bible in r efer ence to one or more,
tage of the Lord (Prov. 18:22; 19:14; 31:10; Ps. or does it always refer to two or more in the Bible?
127:3-5). Faithful Chr istians would always like to agree with
"A bishop then must be blameless, the husband the Lord.
of one wife,..." ( I T im. 3:2) . T her e is a negative "And Abr aham was a hundr ed year s old, when
to this. He is not to be a polygamist, nor a man his son I saac was bor n unto him. And Sar ah said,
whose ear lier marriage or marriages ended in di- God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear
vor ce. But is it not also taught her e that he needs will laugh with me. And she said, who would have
a good wife if he is to undertake the gr eat work of said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given
an elder? How could he be "the husband of one wife" children suck? for I have borne him a son in his old
if he is unmarried ? He, especially in this great work, age" (Gen. 21:5- 7).
will need a wife meet for him. He is to have but one T hen Sar ah did give childr en suck, did she not?
wife, but he is to have one wife. It is not good that I s that what she was talking about? She had only
this man should be alone. one son.
Any member of the church should remember that "T hen came to him certain of the Sadducees,
his or her conduct reflects honor or dishonor' to the which deny that there is any resurrection: and they
holy name and the cause of truth. T his would cer- asked him, saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If
tainly be true of women whose husbands are elders. any man's brother die, having a wife, and he die
T hey should be honorable, temperate, trustworthy, without childr en, that his brother should take his
and serious minded (See I T im. 3:11). An unworthy wife, and r aise up seed unto his brother " ( L uke
wife can disqualif y a man for this good work. 20:27, 28). If there had been one child before the
Many religious leaders of our day ignore the Bible man's death, would he have had children in the Bible
on many points wher e clear instruction abounds. sense in regard to this counsel? Did the Sadducees
This grows out of the modernistic break down of misquote the passage? T he Old T estament passage
faith on the part of some who claim to be leaders that deals with this matter is Deut. 25:5,6: "I f
among Chr istians. Such church leader s may select br ethren dwell together, and one of them die, and
some woman as an elder or bishop. E ven the idea of have no child, the wife of the dead shall not mar r y
 Page 9

without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall

go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and per-
form the duty of a husband's brother unto her. And
it shall be, that the first born which she beareth shall
succeed in the name of his brother who is dead,
that his name not be put out of I sr ael." It seems
obvious that the plural form of this word is used in
the Bible in r efer ring to one or more.
In the listing of genealogies in I Chronicles the
plural of son (sons) is used to refer to one or more.
Notice such ver ses as I Chron. 1:41a; 2:7,8. We
are all aware, of course, that instruction to children
concerning obedience to parents applies when there
is only one child, and a father is to bring one or more
up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Parents of one child should say yes if the census
taker asks: Do you have children ? the number and
other details can then be given.
T hose who under stand the Bible uses the plur al
form of the word child (children) to refer to one or
more certainly should not disturb, disrupt, and des-
troy a congr egation in demanding that a man be
an elder who has only one child. The unity is precious,
and he cannot lead if they are unwilling to follow.
This is wr itten in the inter est of truth. T he Bible
is r ight.

T here is an ever increasing problem that is plagu-

ing the Lord's church in this century. It is the prob-
lem of hatr ed and bitter ness between br ethren.
T he problem centers around various issues in the
church. It has become more of a name calling, mud
slinging and slander battle r ather than a search for
truth. . . . No one seems to be interested in studying
the Word (II Tim. 2:15). That is a little too old fash-
ioned for some. Have you ever bothered to see if you
are correct on the particular issue you are studying?
You might be wrong (II Cor. 13:5) !
No one should ever compromise truth, but that
does not give a license to you for personal hatred or
bitterness toward your brother. Why did Paul con-
demn these attitudes (Eph. 4:28-32) ? He condemned
them because all they do is cause strife and division
in a local church.
I n the midst of our spir itual battles we cannot
afford to become bitter and hateful. If we develop
this attitude God says we are no better off than a
murder er ( I John 3:15- 18) .
L et's plug this gap and fight the good fight of faith
that we might lay hold on eternal life. We need to
work and serve God with an humble mind so that we
do not develop these soul plaguing attitudes.
We need to stand firm against the devil and his
allies, but we should not become bitter or hateful
towar d br ethren or anyone for that matter (Luke
6:27; Rom. 13:10).
1110 Simpson Tupelo,
Miss. 38801
Page 10

paid for by the Trilacoochee congregation where Jim

DOING BIBLE THINGS IN BIBLE WAYS Daniel preaches regular ly. T he literature, newspaper
WITH EMPHASIS ON DOING aids, P.A. system, etc. as well as this wr iter 's ex-
Kenneth T homas, Brooksville, Fla. penses were paid for by the Broad Street church in
Brooksville. Each congregation took care of the ex-
For years now this wr iter has listened to "great" penses of the men whom they sent to labor with us
men of God par r ot the statement which serves as in this gospel effort.
the title of this article and r eport. T he sad fact is The church on Silver Blvd. in Ocala, Florida where
that not a few of God's people "say and do not." brother Colin Williamson preaches supplied the new
We often talk a good fight and pr ay a good work congregation with a communion set and song books
for the Lord and fail to put into pr actice that for (brown back) in good shape. Sister Smallr idge pre-
which we pray and about which we speak. Brethren, par ed the communion ser vice during the meeting
these things ought not so to be! and we picked it up at their house on the way to the
T he chur ch is the pillar and support of the truth services. T his wr iter opened the meeting on the first
(1 Tim. 3:15; Matt. 28:20). We must spr ead the Sunday and closed on the last Sunday. We had visi-
gospel to those who know it not and the church is tors for all but about two services dur ing the two
the organization with which this responsibility lies weeks. By visitors I mean those not members of the
(Phil. 4:15-16; T hess. 1:7-8 etc.). Likewise individ- church of Chr ist. At present there are about twelve
uals who make up the Lord's church have personal who live in the immediate ar ea of Inver ness who
r esponsibilities along this line to bear the "good may or may not become a part of this church. We
News" of the gospel to others (Acts 8:4; Heb. 5:12- have not tried to proselyte members for this con-
14; 2 T im. 2:2; Eph. 4:15- 16). gregation, but have asked those who were Christians
With such understanding of their responsibilities living in the area to decide for themselves whether
as Chr istians and as congr egations, recently there or not they wish to become a part of this chur ch.
was an outstanding effort begun which indicates to Sadly we r eport that some who indicate a desir e for
me that finally more Chr istians and congregations a church closer to where they live, have been dis-
ar e awakening to the fact that we can, and must couraged from working permanently in the new
do what we have been pr eaching for year s: "Do congregation by those of other congregations of the
Bible things in Bible ways," but above all DO! Lord's people. T his I cannot understand. You would
Sever al who saw the need for a congregation in think all would be happy for a city the size of Inver-
the near by city of Inver ness. Fla. began to talk to ness to have a congr egation wher e the need is so
others of this need. T hese included preachers, elders gr eat and the ar ea is growing so fast.
and saints of God, as to the possibility of doing such Brother Ray Smallr idge who is the pr eacher for
a work. Immediately the response to that end was the Cove Bend congregation near Floral City, Flor ida
good and enthusiastic and the word spread like wild is presently labor ing with the new congregation as
fire from Florida to Illinois. T here were discussions well as his regular work at Cove Bend. He preaches
on the matter in business meetings of churches and Sunday evenings in I nver ness and teaches the
among individuals from var ious places as to what Mid-week Bible class. The Cove Bend church have
each could do. changed their Bible study per iod to T hursday and
Several congregations simply supported "their" they meet with the br ethr en at Inver ness for Bible
preacher to come and labor with us who were com- study, as many as are able to go. On the Lord's day
mitted to the task of preaching the gospel during the in the A.M. different preachers are filling the pulpit.
two weeks from Januar y 23rd to Februar y 6th. T he So far since the meeting these include brother Dug
place of the meeting was the women's club building Black from Trilby, Florida, and Colin Williamson.
in I nver ness, Florida. Other s have said they would help also.
Two congregations from I llinois sent "their " We should mention also that in the course of the
preacher s who labor ed for over a week with us in meeting brother Williamson pr eached one evening
door to door invitations and passing out literature. as did Steve Hudgins, each of these men are from
E ach of us preached on the local radio station and Ocala presently. Brother Williamson is with the
publicly in the parking lot of the plaza shopping Church on Silver Spr ings Blvd. and brother Hud-
center over a P.A. system. With the P.A. system we gins the Pine Street church there.
also drove up the streets and through the sub-divi- Several congregations of the Lord's people were
sions encouraging people to come to the meeting. repr esented throughout the meeting and we ap-
T he preachers from Illinois were Jeff Kingry from preciated this so much. We were blessed also with
Kirkland, Illinois and Dennis Shaver from Rochelle, several capable song leaders who did a fine job in
Illinois. leading the singing from night to night. T hese in-
T he radio program which was air ed for 15 min- cluded brothers Jim Johnson from the Trilacoochee
utes daily from Januar y 17th to Februar y 6th was congr egation, Jack Hill from Silver Spr ings Blvd.
 Page 11

congregation and Jeff Thomas the son of this writer. May 8th through 11th. It will be at 7:30 each eve-
Also it was necessary for brother Dennis Shaver, Jim ning. Both the church and my personal phone num-
Daniel and I to lead one night each in the course of ber are the same, A.L. 5-3440.
the meeting.
T he rent on the woman's club building was paid Len Spencer, P.O. Box 16113, Houston, T exas
for by brother Char les Phillips, a member of the 77022 — A new congregation was formed to serve
Lord's church at Brooksville. A member of the newly the subur ban areas along the North Freeway. We
formed congregation has accepted the responsibility leave Greenwood Village with the goodwill and best
of the treasur y and we under stand that a sign is wishes of the brethren there.
being pr epar ed by another of the member s there T he congregation in Greenwood Village is small
which will soon be displayed in the lawn of the meet- and the five families living in the North Fr eeway
ing place. It looks as if the contr ibution will be ar ea ar e all that could be spar ed for this work. So
sufficient to pay the expenses that will be incurred we ar e starting with few in number. Among us,
as they continue to meet. T his is also encour aging. though, are abilities to preach, to teach classes (both
While the preachers from other areas and out of publicly and in homes), and to lead singing. And we
state were in our home we wer e aided by sever al do have a will to work. We hope that others of like
other Chr istians with monetar y contributions which mind who live in the general area will soon cast their
took the shock off of the Thomas' budget. We had a lot with us.
wonderful time together day and night. We sat up On Februar y 13, we begin meeting at the Field
until 3:30 A.M. on occasions talking and visiting. Inn, North, in the Her itage Room. T his is at the
We made two trips daily to I nver ness, during the intersection of the North Freeway and FM 525-A1-
day to work and teach, and each evening to the dine Bender on the west side of the Freeway. Lord's
ser vices from Januar y 23rd through February 6th. Day Bible class begins at 9:30 a.m.; worship at 10:30
Brother s Jim Daniel, Ray Smallr idge and I intend and 6:00. T he midweek meeting will be at 7:30 p.m.
to continue working in the area as time permits in on T hursday. T his will per haps encourage brethr en
teaching those of the community and helping the and others to visit with us who could not otherwise
new congr egation with teaching, etc. do so.
In a business meeting this week, the Broad St. For further information about the work or to tell
church where this writer preaches have decided that us of someone we may contact, please call any of the
they will have fellowship with the new I nver ness following: Len Spencer, 694-9795; John Fertig, 448-
church of Chr ist in helping to support the preacher 0442; Mike Murphy, 447-0855; Jack Brooks, 448-
who is decided upon to come labor with them. T his 7782.
would be subject to their approval of the man, cer-
tainly. We hope and pray that those of you who read William C. Sexton, 2804 Lafayette, St. Joseph, Mo.
this will be moved to do whatever you have the abil- 64507— After 5 years with the 10th and L incoln
ity to do to cooper ate in this effort until such time Street congr egation in St. Joseph, Missour i, I re-
as the Inverness church of Christ may become self- signed my full-time relationship with them effective
supporting. September 1, 1971. T here was no dissatisfaction, I
just thought that a new man could move them a
If you desire more information, we will be happy little better than I. My expectations have been ful-
to put you in contact with the br ethren there, or filled. Brother Mike Rogcas moved to work with
you may contact brothers Jim Daniel, Ray Small- them, October 1, and attendance has incr eased,
ridge or myself. We give you these names simply along with the contribution. Also, we have put a new
because they are awar e of the situation. T her e is a roof on the building, put a new ceiling in, and pan-
dir e need for this city to have someone able and eled the auditorium. Mike has done a commendable
willing to preach and teach publicly and from house job.
to house. T his is the county seat of Citrus county When I resigned, I fully intended to move to work
and is the third fastest growing county in Flor ida with another congregation on a full-time basis. I was
according to the information I have received. in touch with sever al congregations to that end, and
Brethren, here is a golden opportunity, here is an- I even made an appointment to speak at the Stiles-
other "Macedonian call." What will you do, or the ville, Indiana, congregation. However, my family be-
congr egation wher e you labor ? (James 4:17) gan to persuade me to stay in St. Joseph until my
daughter, Geneva, finished high school in June of
1973. E ven though I wanted to continue my full-
DEBATE time work, I consented to stay and seek work in the
Harold V. Trimble, 19404 S.E. 196th, Renton, secular field and preach part time until she finished
Wash. 98055 — I will meet Don Cornish, a physicist, school. So, I am working for Rockwell Manufactur-
on the following propositions: Resolved: "T hat the ing Company in Atchison, Kansas, taking 12 hours
theory of E volution as originally enunciated by Dar- of schooling at Missouri Western College, and preach-
win, and modified and held by many scientists of ing three Sundays a month at Worth, Mo.; Gilman
today, is true." Resolved: "T hat the Biblical accounts City, Mo., and Bar nard, Mo. T he other Sunday, I
of the cr eation of the earth are hot true." He is1 in teach an adult class at 10th and L incoln.
the affirmative all four nights and I shall have the However, I do plan to r e- enter the field of full-
negative. T here will be two thirty- minute speeches time preaching in JUNE of '73! I would like to work
each night and the debate will be held in our build- with a congr egation that is self- supporting and has
ing located at 2527 N.E. Twelfth St., Renton, Wash., as many teaching opportunities as possible, per haps
Page 12

a radio program, a bulletin, and sever al classes to West Knoxville Church of Chr ist seeks a full-time
teach as well as a good personal work program. Yet, minister to work for the spr ead of the kingdom in
I'd be glad to talk to brethren with less systematic this ar ea. T hough few in number, the saints her e
activities but ample opportunities. have a gr eat love for God. For further information
contact Nelson Roark, 804 Chateaugay Road, Knox-
Bob McClung ville, T enn. 37919.
It is with deep r egr et that we make known the L. Bruce Taylor, 23 Margaret St., Joliet, Ill. 60436
death of our brother in Christ, Bob McClung. Brother — On Sunday, April 2, 1972, thirty-three who were
McClung was found dead in his apartment in Louis- formerly member s of the Margaret Street congre-
ville, Kentucky, where he resided, on Friday, March gation began meeting in Lockport, Ill., some approx-
10, 1972. For a number of year s he pr eached in imately ten miles northeast of Joliet on state route
T exas and Louisiana. However, in later years he had 171. T his effort has been in the minds of some for
been working with an insur ance firm in Houston, a couple of year s and definite planning began late
T exas. He was one of my dear est friends and a last summer. The present meeting place will be Lud-
faithful member of the Gardiner L ane Chur ch of wig grade school in Lockport. Please address all
Christ in Louisville, where he preached the Sunday correspondence and information to either: E lmer
before his death. He will be missed by all who knew Gunchin, 115 S. Washington St., Lockport, Ill., or
him. Our sympathy to his good family. — J. T. Smith Kenneth Tolbert, 415 Scott Dr., Lockport, Ill. 60441.
These brethren have the best wishes and complete
Preacher Needed encouragement from the Margaret St. congregation.
There is no strife, contention, or lack of co-operation
Small congregation in North Carolina needs full- among us now that is causing a so-called "split." We
time preacher. Support is arranged. Contact E ugene believe that this is a field r ipe unto har vest and that
E dwards, P.O. Box 936, Aberdeen, N.C. 28315, or the laborers should look unto the work. T he Lock-
call collect 944-1315 dur ing the day, and 944-1409 port, Romeoville, Bolingbrook area has been called
at night. the fastest growing in the state of Illinois and we
feel a need to see Chr ist established in this commu-
DEBATE nity that the chur ch may flour ish.
We ask your prayer s for these br ethren in their
Dick Blackford, repr esenting the Willow Glen endeavors ahead and that you encourage them by
Church of Chr ist, Central City, Ky., and Robert your presence when you ar e in the ar ea and have
Daugherty, representing the Apostolic Church of the the opportunity. Pr ay for us all that our labor s
Lord Jesus Chr ist, Central City, Ky., will discuss: might br ing forth fruit for the Master 's sake.
Water Baptism Formula, Holy Ghost Baptism, T he
Duration of Miracles, on May 17-19, 1972. T he de-
bate will take place at the Apostolic Church of The A CANADIAN NEWS REPORT AND
Lord Jesus Chr ist, Central City, Ky. A PLEA FOR PREACHERS
Ken Green, Louisville, Ky., and Edgar Tetrick, Dave Bradford
Jeffersontown, Ky., will moderate.
T hr ee and one- half year s ago my family and I
Preacher Available moved to Calgary, Alberta, Canada to establish a
congregation in this city of 400,000 people. Prior to
I am available for part-time or full-time preach- this time, the one chur ch in the city was dr ifting
ing work, preferably in Alabama or Tennessee. Con- mor e and more into a liber al way of thinking and
tact Barry Hudson, P.O. Box 209, Florida College, this was leading to things being done which some
T emple T errace, Fla. 33617. were questioning, but not energetically. T hough we
had in mind starting with just my family and felt
David Pratte, 5415 South Hanna, Lot 18, Ft. we would likely be alone for quite some time before
Wayne, Ind. 46806 — I have a brother-in- law sta- conversions would lead to much increase, our coming
tioned at DaNang, Viet Nam. I would appreciate ver y presented the opportunity to some open- minded
much knowing of any other faithful Chr istians who brethren to see the local situation in light of a broth-
might also be stationed ther e that he might work er hood trend that had digr essed much farther. We
and wor ship with. If anyone has friends or rela- met with immediate opposition from others and after
tives they know of stationed at DaNang, please send futility attempting to promote brotherly discussions
the names and addresses to David Pratte, 5415 South of these problems, sever al families felt compelled
Hanna, Lot 18, Ft. Wayne, I ndiana. to leave the congregation where a trend to liberalism
was becoming more prominent and where opposition
Clarence R. Johnson, Springhill, La. — T his is to to the truth was toler ated and upheld.
inform you that the Lord's church that meets at 405 During the passage of time a few have been bap-
Butler Street here in Spr inghill, La. will conduct a tized, a few have come here from other places in
ser ies of gospel meetings June 12-18 with brother Canada to worship with us, and we presently have
John I ver son of T yler, Texas preaching. T he ser v- approximately 60 in attendance each Sunday morn-
ices will be at 7:30 nightly. I would appr eciate it ing.
if you would pass this information on to Searching We began by having our services in a Community
the Scriptures r eader s. Cent r e and in our home, but after one year the
 Page 13

church bought a residence which with some remodel- needed field of labor? If two preachers whose fam-
ing served as our place of meeting for another IV2 ilies were close friends could plan to come at the
year s. After this, we began r enting a building that same time to each of these cities, they could be a
we were able to buy six months later. We r ejoice source of encouragement to each other. Or perhaps
that as of last fall the church now owns its own a long lost friend of mine would consider coming?
building, but we rejoice even more in a recent bap- I n a field of this nature, the distances of 140 and
tism and the recent increase in opportunities to teach 180 miles are very small, and we could find many
the gospel in home Bible studies. occasions to encour age each other in the work.
Since my coming her e I have been supported in L et me br iefly add that this is not the frozen
this work by four (presently three) churches in northland that some might pictur e it. While winter
Alabama and one church in Flor ida. T his arrange- is longer and colder than in my home state of Ala-
ment continues, but the local church has completely bama, because of the moderating influence of the
borne the burden of making the financial arrange- warm "Chinook" winds in the winter, the climate is
ments for purchase of the building. milder than in many places in the states further
Calgar y is in the province of Alberta in Western south. Both myself and my family have found this
Canada, just north of the state of Montana. 140 to be a beautiful and enjoyable place to live and a
miles to the south is Lethbr idge, a progressive city great part of this enjoyment comes from the wide
of 40,000 people with a recently opened university, var iety of winter sports that character ize the ar ea.
and 180 miles to the southeast (100 miles east of The Canadian Rockies just west of both Calgary and
Lethbridge) is Medicine Hat, a city of 27,000 people Lethbridge offer a unique, rugged beauty and excel-
which is enjoying a recent flourish financially in con- lent recr eation for both the summer and winter va-
nection with a newly opened Jr. College and other cationer as well as the resident who desires to "get
development. T hese are the only two cities in the away just for a day."
province with churches that are opposed to the in- It takes approximately 3 months after filing appli-
novations related to church support of human organ- cation with the Canadian Government to receive the
izations and sponsoring church arrangements. T here approval for moving to Canada. However, one can
are probably only five other churches of Chr ist in visit here without even secur ing a passport. If you
Alberta, a province about the size of Texas in land are interested in this work, you may contact me for
area and having a population of approximately l 1/2 further information or write to: Mr. Oliver Nerland
million. Mr. Marvin Noble
T he chur ch in L ethbr idge has an attendance of 918 8th Avenue South 23 Colter Crescent N.W.
about 30, owns a ver y comfortable building and a Lethbr idge, Alberta Medicine Hat, Alberta
nice four-bedroom house which they would furnish Canada Canada
to a pr eacher. Since last fall they do not have a T hese men could also dir ect preacher s to churches
pr eacher working with them, but they ar e doing that would be likely sources of support for this work.
quite well as the men ( including 3 teenage boys) Are YOU interested ? — Dave Bradford, 4804 Niven
have been pr eparing and pr esenting the lessons. I Road N.W., Calgary 47, Alberta, CANADA
feel that with good sound preaching and energetic Richard W. Terry — T here will be a public
personal work, several restorations could be made in relig-ious Discussion with the Church of Jesus Christ
a short time that would lead to the attendance run- of Latter Day Saints and the church of Chr ist. T he
ning 40 or better. Someone is needed as soon as pos- Discussion will take place on April 18, 1972, at the
sible and I believe that a capable pr eacher would Grandview chur ch of Chr ist building. Participants
find this a rewarding work because of the fine char- will be Mr. William H. Day, president of the Ken-
acter of the brethren you could begin working with. tucky-T ennessee Missions of the chur ch of Jesus
T he church in Medicine Hat has an attendance of Chr ist of Latter Day Saints and Richard W. T erry,
about 25, rents an I.O.O.F. hall for a meeting place, minister of the Gr andview chur ch of Chr ist. The
and presently has Mar vin Noble working with them time will be at 7:30 p.m. E ver yone is invited to at-
as a preacher. One difficulty here is that a division tend. Brother T homas G. O'Neil of the North Mead-
took place a few years ago and the few that would ows church of Christ in Murfreesboro, Tennessee has
not stand for t he truth on the issues mentioned consented to moder ate for me.
above, retained the building, and this evident divi-
sion in a city of this size is some hindrance. Marvin
Noble, after working with the chur ch about four
year s, has r eluctantly but definitely made the deci-
sion to move from Medicine Hat, feeling that both
the work there and he and his family can profit by a A ONE TIME OFFER ON ECONOMY CASSETTES
change. T herefore, a preacher is needed in Medicine These ar e not Living Voice tapes. Good for r ecor ding
Hat as well. T he brethren there have put forth some sermons, lectur es and other such pr ogr ams. When this
effort toward securing a permanent meeting place, supply is gone ther e will be no mor e.
both by searching for and saving financially toward Packed in blue and white mailing carton.
an initial payment on a building. I believe the pur- One dozen ( 1 2 ) C-60 (1 hr. playing time) ........ $7.00
chase of or building of a permanent meeting place One dozen (12) C-90 (1 1/2 hrs. playing time) .. $10.00
should be a matter of top prior ity in view of their
local situation. Include 5 % for packing and postage
Is it possible that a capable preacher reading this
article would be interested in moving into this much
 it did not come up for a vote until Monday, Nov. 8,
1971. T his was fortunate because it gave to those
who love freedom of worship and were willing to do
something to save it time in which to mar shal the
opposition. Since the bill was a proposed amendment
to the United States Constitution, its passage re-
quir ed a two-third's r ather than a simple major ity.
It was stopped by 28 votes. Close! Close!
Fortunately! E xamination of two portions of this innocent-
No, I'm not one of today's r ebels ranting against sounding resolution will show the ver y great danger
the "E stablishment" ( euphuism for society). Nor to the freedom we love. Notice, ". . . public building
am I presently concerned about these. I am writing which is supported in whole or in part through the
about the Nov. 8, 1971 vote in the United States expenditure of public funds . . ." and ". . . non-
House of Representatives which brought about the denominational prayer." Any building which accepts
(temporar y) defeat of the so-called "prayer amend- direct or indirect subsidy from any governmental
ment." unit (in-cluding church buildings provided police and
T he "establishment clause" of the Fir st Amend- fire protection without payment of taxes or an
ment to our marvelous Constitution reads, "Congress equivalent for such protection) would fall under
shall make no law respecting an establishment of the control of public officials to the extent of
religion, or prohibiting the free exer cise thereof;" requiring "non-denominational prayer" be allowed
House Joint Resolution 191 (the "prayer amend- in it. It would take the courts some year s to produce
ment") reads, "Nothing contained in this Constitu- a clear-cut decision as to what this meant, but the
tion shall abr idge the right of persons lawfully as- ultimate would be that prayer determined to be "non-
sembled in any public building which is supported denominational" by the controlling public official in a
in whole or in part through the expenditure of particular place would be the author ized and
public funds, to participate in non-denominational required one. E lders, preachers, saints, are you ready
prayer." to have some public official tell you what pr ayer
Many have been needlessly confused over the Su- you can, and even more importantly, can not have
preme Court decisions of 1SS2 and 1963 concerning within the four walls of your building ? T his is
prayer s in public schools, believing pr ayer s have establishment of religion! And I'll give you one
been forbidden. T his did not happen; r ather, they guess as to which religion swings enough political
did prohibit required prayer, and any prayer directed "clout" to have the deciding voice in what is, and
by gover nment officials. Since that time, var ious what is not "non-denominational pr ayer."
groups have foolishly pr essed for "the r ight of
prayer in public schools" as if this right no longer Brethren, I have correspondence from national
existed. It does! Among the most vocal and effective legislators openly proclaiming their support for
has been the "CITIZENS FOR PUBLIC PRAYE R," this, or a subsequent effort to authorized "non-
a Roman Catholic front group led for the last eight denominational pr ayer " in "public buildings." It has
years by Roman Catholic pr iest Robert H. Howes. been said that all that is requir ed for evil men to
T he "prayer amendment" was sponsored by Rep. triumph is for good men to do nothing. T his is
Chalmers P. Wylie of Ohio. After being successfully especially true as far as this "pr ayer amendment"
bottled up in committee for a long time, it was is concer ned. I am not saying our r epr esentatives
finally forced out for floor action by a Petition of and senators are evil, but willingly or otherwise,
Discharge (which requires 218 signatures of House many ar e submitting to political pr essur e from
members). Due to a fortunate combination of holi- men who are.
days and House of Representatives rules on when I am not urging chur ches to involve themselves
bills petitioned out of committee may be considered, in politics, but individual Chr istians in some cir-
cumstances must. As long as we ar e in the wor ld,
Page 2 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

though not of the world, we need to do what we can

to keep this old ball livable. Peter twice ( Acts 4 and
5) indicated the only limitation to a Chr istian's
obedience to government was when such placed one
in opposition to God. Paul, in Romans 13 said gov-
er nment was for our protection. I n Matthew 22
Chr ist told us to render to Caesar ( civil gover n-
ment) that which is Caesar 's. T his specifically ap-
plied to paying taxes but in pr inciple teaches us we
have an obligation to the government under which
we live, to help it maintain its God-ordained course
and purpose.
Do not think because this attempt has been beaten
back Roman Catholicism will give up. T his group is
extremely persistent, sometimes devoting centuries
to achieve its ends. It will not stop trying to take
away our pr ecious freedom of wor ship, our legal
r ight to ser ve God after the New T estament order
until it is made so clear that Catholicism cannot fail
to under stand we will not put up with it. I suggest
a strong letter to your congressman and two sena-
tors would go a long way toward helping them resist
the pressure of the emissar ies of Rome. I have no
objection to Roman Catholicism requir ing its own
prayers in its own facilities of its own people. I have
severe Scr iptural objections to it imposing such on
others, especially on me and mine.
I am appalled little or nothing has been said or
wr itten among br ethren on this obvious danger to
our privilege of worshipping God unmolested in
spir it and truth. If we are not careful, we may some-
day find this taken from us or our childr en, and
going the route of Northern Ireland to Spain, won-
der ing all the time, "What happened?" If we value
what we have, we need to wake up, and soon.
Or per haps, judging from the unconcer n of so
many indicated by lack of devotion (failing to as-
sembly, etc.), the loss of such freedom might be ex-
actly what we need to shake us out of our apathy.
Historically, the church has always prospered spir i-
tually during persecution, and this might be the ver y
thing for us now. How about it, is this the goad for
us? I f not, if you ar e alr eady spir itual, better get
with the letter wr iting.
John 4:24 will never be so precious to us as when
we are forbidden by law from doing it.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________Page 3

I AM GRATEFUL "PAUL'S TRIP TO CORINTH"

I wish to expr ess my sincer e gr atitude to all of On the nights of October 25th and 26th of 1971, it
you who have sent financial aid in helping clear up was my pr ivilege to meet F. I. Stanley in a debate at
some of the accumulated indebtedness of twelve the DeSota congregation in the Dallas area. T he
year s publishing Searching T he Scr iptures. Nearly 14 discussion was motivated by the divergent views of
of this debt was cleared by the generosity of many of brethren within the confines of the congregation.
you who have shown an interest in our efforts to spread Brethren of what is commonly called the liberal
the word of God. By the gr ace of God and your persuasion asked F. I. Stanley of Houston, T exas, to
continued help in sending subscr iptions we shall represent their position and brethren who are some-
continue to spread the gospel of Chr ist and smite times known as conservative asked me to represent
error wher ever it may be found. them. It was a r ather informal type discussion.
Sever al young men have pr epared good mater ial to Many preachers and brethren from the Dallas area
be published and offered the profit, if any, to aid in attended.
publishing Searching T he Scr iptures. Others have I would like to take up the main points of controver sy
promised to send one new subscription each month. in this short discussion: Brother Stanley took the
This is of great help. position that since both evangelism and benevolence
By the purchase of literature, Bibles, books, song came out of the same treasur y based on I Cor. 16:1- 2,
books and other equipment and supplies used by that the pr inciple gover ning them is the same. He,
churches you can help us continue with this good therefore, pointed out that since churches sent to
work. T he sale of tapes of debates, lectures, sermons churches for benevolence the same could be done for
and the New T estament also provides necessar y evangelism and thus the sponsoring church concept.
funds to meet the ever climbing cost of publishing T his was refuted by showing that acts of worship are
Searching T he Scr iptures. found in Acts 2:45 — apostles' doctrine, fellowship,
breaking of bread and prayers. T hat according to the
DO THIS ONE THING FOR US logic of brother Stanley since all of these acts are in
Many have wr itten and asked, "What can I do to one ver se and have to do with worship, the principle
help?" T her e is one easy job that you can do with governing them would be the same. If that be so, we
little cost and effort: Send just one subscr iption to a could eat the Lord's Supper on Thursday night since
f r iend or r elative. T his will accomplish two things at we can pr ay at that time! This seemed to upset
the same time: help the one to whom the paper is Brother Stanley, since his main argument was
sent, and help us in doing a better job in sending forth predicated on the above pr inciple. No attempt was
the truth. We need your help. Why not do this today? made to refute the Acts' two arguments.
Again, I sincer ely thank each of you for your Brother Stanley also took the position that the Greek
financial help and encouragement over the past three words "eis logon-dosis" and "lepsis" in Phil. 4:15 sorta
months.
H. E . Phillips put the church at Philippi into the bookkeeping
business. T hat they took money from other churches
and paid Paul. I replied by quoting from Vincent in the
I.C.C. When he said, "T he matter is expressed in a
AN EXPOSITORY DICTIONARY mercantile metaphor." He means that the question of
OF NEW TESTAMENT WORDS money given and received did not enter into his
by W. E. Vine relations with any other church. T he Philippians, by
T his standar d work originally appeared in four volumes, but their contribution, had opened an account with him.
now available in one volume. A valuable aid to any serious
student of the New T estament. Price $13.95 Others like L ightfoot dismiss the metaphor and render
eis logon as "regards" or "with reference to." T his has
classical but not N.T. precedence" Page 148. He then
quoted T hayer who said, "Here Paul, by a pleasant
euphemism, refers to the pecuniar y gifts, which the
church bestowing them enter s in the account of
expenses, but he himself
Page 4 __________________________________________________________________________________________________

in the account of receipts" (Page 157). These quota-

tions from Vincent and T hayer seemed to disturb
brother Stanley even more. He replied in his next
speech that some of the scholars like T hayer were
prejudiced in their rendering of words and could not
always be accepted. He remarked on how few people
under stood the Gr eek and that it was best to stay
with the E nglish. I pointed out that it was Stanley
and not Hogland who introduced the Greek.
Brother Stanley also took the position that the
Gr eek words hote ekselthon which ar e r ender ed
"when I departed from Macedonia" meant that Paul
had left Macedonia and arrived all the way down at
Cor inth in Acaia. He then tr ied to join II Cor. 11:8
"I robbed other churches" to Phil. 4:15-16 and came
up with the incredible idea that a number of churches HEARTFELT RELIGION
were sending to Philippi and Philippi in tur n sent
money to Corinth and Corinth in turn paid Paul! I Many have accused those of us who just claim
replied by pointing out that brother Stanley had at to be Chr istians, nothing mor e than Chr istians, of
least three assumptions in his affirmation. Fir st, not believing in hear t f elt r eligion. I t seems that
that Philippi collected money from other churches. the reason this is true is because we do not believe
Second, that Philippi sent to Corinth. T hird, that in a bench- jumping, floor-rolling, hysterical type of
Corinth paid Paul. I then told the people that brother service. T he tr uth of the matter is, we DO believe
Stanley would make a fine debater if we would let in heartfelt religion — but we also believe in doing
him get away with assumptions. I also pointed out things decently and in order, as per I Cor. 14:40.
that scholars were divided over hote ekselthon, that FROM ONE EXTREME TO ANOTHER
some felt he was still in Macedonia and others felt
he might have left. I emphasized that even if Paul Many churches of Christ today are involved in
had left one couldn't get him down at Corinth from "meeting, eating" (the Lord's Supper ) and going
this text to save his life. home to live their lives of rushing about until time
I t r ied to impr ess on the audience that no man for them to stop the rush for a few minutes the
has the author ity to tie the two above scr iptur es next week to meet, eat, and start the vicious cir cle
together without some Bible evidence to do so. all over again. Seemingly, they could care less about
Brother Stanley also asserted that in sending di- the fact that God is not in their lives, in the ser vices
rect to a preacher, a preacher could become a church etc. that they engage in. Many times they ar e so
boss and dictator. He said according to Hogland, tired from all of the rushing, tr ying to get all of
E . R. Harper could have collected several million the material wealth and worldly comforts they can
dollars for a television program himself. T his asser- acquir e, they sleep through the lesson. T hen one
tion was turned into a tail- spin by going to Phil. day, their conscience begins to bother them and
4:15-16 and pointing out that a preacher didn't have they get all excited because they have not been
the r ight to collect one dime from a church except worshiping God as they should, they begin to blame
for his needs. Paul called this need wages. It was ever yone else because there is no "spir it" in the
pointed out that a television progr am was the need services and do as Pat Boone and others have done,
of the chur ch and not the need of the pr eacher . go off the deep end in the other direction, to the
T his is not intended as a complete review of the other extreme — casting away "truth" in favor of
debate, but it does cover the main points discussed. "spir it". T he thing we need to r emember is that
Jesus included BOTH "truth" and "spirit" in John
4:24. "God is a Spirit: and they that wor ship him
must worship him in spir it and in truth." I n this
study we want to deal with four aspects of the Bible
heart. (1) What is the heart. (2) The char acter of
the heart. (3) The exer cise of the heart. (4) The
change of heart.
WHAT IS THE HEART?
T he Bible "heart" is not the little, throbbing,
muscle located on the left side of the chest whose
function it is to push the blood through the body.
T he heart, morally and religiously speaking, is the
affections of the mind. I n Matt. 6:20-21 we r ead,
"But lay up for yourselves treasur es in heaven,
wher e neither moth nor rust doth cor r upt, and
where thieves do not break through and steal: for
wher e your treasur e is, ther e will your heart be
also." Of the Greek word kardia, that is here trans-
lated "heart", Mr. T hayer says, "the soul or mind,
 Page 5

as it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, pas-

sions, desires, appetite, affections, purposes, en-
deavor s" ( T hayer 's Gr eek- L exicon, Page 325).
Hence, Jesus said, though we must live here, our
affections are to be in heaven. We are, in fact, so
commanded by God. "Set your affections on things
above, and not on things of the earth. For ye ar e
dead, and your life is hid with Chr ist in God." It
was said of Absalom that he stole the "hearts" of
the people. We see immediately that he stole their
affections, cf. II Sam. 15:6.
T he word "heart" is also used in a more compre-
hensive sense. It means, "the mind, the understand-
ing, the whole moral, inner man." Cf. Luke 24:38;
Rom. 10:10.
THE CHARACTER OF THE HEART "FORSAKING THE ASSEMBLING OF OURSELVES"
T he Bible draws a ver y dark picture of the un- I n the early days of Chr istianity, the inspir ed
converted heart. In Jer. 17:9 we read, "T he heart is apostles had to exhort br ethren to assemble and
deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: r ebuke those who wer e negligent.
who can know it?" And, Jesus said in Matt. 15:18- "And let us consider one another to provoke unto
19 "But those things which proceed out of the love and to good works: Not forsaking the assem-
mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile bling of ourselves together, as the manner of some
the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, is; but exhorting one another: and so much the
murders, adulter ies, fornications, thefts, false wit- mor e, as ye see the day approaching" (Heb. 10:
ness, blasphemies;" Hence the char acter of the 24,25).
heart is exhibited in the conduct of a per son. In What ar e some of the sins and danger s involved
Matt. 12:34-35 Jesus said, “O generation of viper s, — directly and indirectly — in forsaking the assem-
how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out blies of the saints?
of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
A good man out of the good treasures of the heart 1. You disobey a divine commandment. Brethren
br ingeth forth good things: and an evil man out of should be less concer ned about what "the day" was
the evil treasure br ingeth forth evil things." T his (whether the destruction of Jerusalem, the Lord's
teaching of Jesus was demonstrated in the case of day, or the judgment) and mor e concer ned about
Simon the Sorcer in Acts 8. When Simon thought he what the apostle enjoined upon them. I 've known
could buy the gift of God with money we learn that some who were very concerned about the "day" men-
he was told that he had "neither part nor lot in this tioned in the ver se, and yet they wer e not too con-
matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of cerned about assembling on any day! The command,
God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and stated negatively, was to assemble with the saints.
pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may And the word is not assembly, as having r efer ence
be forgiven thee" ( v. 21- 22). Thus, the words of to one particular service, but the "assembling of
our mouth tells other s what is in our heart. If we ourselves together."
fill our hearts with good things, good things will 2. You fail to meet your appointment with the
come forth. If we fill our hearts with evil things, Lord. "For wher e two or three are gathered to-
evil things will come forth. T herefore the character gether in my name, there am I in the midst of them"
of the heart is demonstrated by the words of our (Matt. 18:20).
mouths. (Next month, T he E xer cise of the Heart.) 3. You disr espect the Lord's will that you break
bread on the Lord's day (Matt. 26: 26,27; Acts
20:7).
4. You neglect your spir itual development ( John
6:53; Heb. 5:12-14).
5. You fail to engage in other items of scr iptur al
wor ship ( John 4:23,24).
6. Gener ally speaking, those who forsake the as-
semblies fail to contribute as they have prospered
(I Cor. 16:2).
7. You fail to assist the chur ch in its gr eat mis-
sion.
8. You fail to stay prepared to meet Chr ist should
he come or should you die (Matt. 24:44; Heb. 9:27).
9. You may lead other s astray by the influence
you have over their lives ( Matt. 5:13- 16).
10. You "crucify the son of God afr esh, and put
him to open shame" (Heb. 6:6).
11. You count the blood of the covenant where-
with you wer e sanctified an unholy thing (Heb.
10:29). (Note this ver se in context and how it is
Page 6

connected with the line of thought which began in

verse 23.)
12. You are on the road to complete apostasy as
descr ibed by Peter: "For if after they have escaped
the pollutions of the wor ld through the knowledge
of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Chr ist, they are en-
tangled therein, and over come, the latter end is
wor se with them than the beginning. For it had
been better for them not to have known the way of
r ighteousness, than, after they have known it, to
turn from the holy commandment deliver ed unto
them" (II Peter 2:20,21).
I have often suggested that an effective safeguard
against such apostasy is to study the Bible daily,
pr ay to God often, and attend all services of the
church. When a Chr istian begins to neglect any of AN AD HOMINUM ARGUMENT DEDICATED TO
these, he is in danger of spir itual death. THE "BRILLIANT, CONSECRATED,
THE LORD WAS THE RE , WE RE YOU? QUESTIONING" STUDENTS OF FLORIDA
"I came to the services Sunday. COLLEGE WHO MAY ADMIRE
I walked up and down the aisle; BROTHER KETCHERSIDE
I noticed your seat was vacant." When I picked up my mail last week, much to my
Said the Master, with a smile. surprise, ther e was a gift volume from brother Car l
"Yes, I was at home," I answered, Ketcherside, plus the April 1972 issue of Mission
"Some folks from up the way, Messenger. I surmised correctly that the single issue
Drove down for a week-end visit, must contain a report of his recent visit to Flor ida,
So we stayed in the house all day." and since I was away when he spoke at the invita-
Or, "I had an awful headache." tion of the congr egation wher e I worship, being
Or, "I had a roast in the pan." given the opportunity both to state his views and
Or, "We overslept that morning, to be cr iticized by brother Robert Turner and others,
But we go whenever we can." I read the article "Flor ida Lectureship" (pp. 61, 62)
"I went to the morning service with interest. My surprise was quickly transformed
Not over two months ago, into indignant rage when I read impersonal descr ip-
But so much work must wait till tions of myself (I must have been included since no
Sunday, there's no time for exceptions were made) as a "dogmatic" preacher and
church, you know." instructor, a "legalistic" ethicist whose morals are
Looking upon me sadly, determined by "financial rope-holders," a teacher of
T he Master began to speak, "casuistry," a compromiser of conscience, a con-
"My child, are there not tender for the "like precious prejudice," and so on.
Six other days in the week? Soon, however, reason took control of my emotions,
If all the other children while brother Ketcher side let Har r y Pickup Jr.
Should treat me the same as you; "have it" (under the impersonal designation "the
T he assembly would be deserted, brother"), accusing him of using the " 'guilt by as-
T hen what would lost sinners do?" sociation' technique" in his lecture. Brother Ketcher-
I saw I had grieved my Master, side says, "He equated my position with neo-ortho-
As slowly he turned away, doxy, existentialism and situation ethics, linking
And I vowed He'd not find me absent, my rather obscure name with such important figures
Again on His holy day. as Char les Clayton Morrison and Kar l Barth."
— Author Unknown T hen I r ecalled Paul's words, "T hou ther efore
which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself"
(Rom. 2:21) ? Hurriedly I scanned the article again
and noticed some interesting "guilt by association"
techniques used by brother Ketcherside himself. He
equated my positions (supposedly mine, since again
he made no exceptions) with partisanism, faction-
alism, dogmatism, racism, legalism, monasticism,
lack of conscience, and casuistry. I do not know all
the intr icacies of logic, although I have taught it
before, but all of the catch-words used by brother
Ketcherside repr esent a fair ly clear example of
sophistical reasoning. At least I trust, since the fu-
ture of Florida College, according to brother Ketch-
er side, "lies not with the administration or faculty
but with the students, some of whom are br illiant,
consecrated, questioning, and fed up with the casuis-
try essential to maintain any monastic-type struc-
ture," that these brilliant young people know enough
 Page 7

logic to detect loaded words that seem to imply

"guilt by association."
T her e is something else I should add. It is true
that many of the rules enforced by Flor ida College
are those that appear to be acceptable and desirable
to the major ity of the par ents of our students, i.e.,
to the brothers and sisters who are the "financial
rope-holders" of the institution. I see no shame in
this; in fact, God help us when our br ethren no
longer influence our code of conduct on campus, for
then we will have betrayed their trust.
Brother Ketcherside concludes with this open-
door policy, "Since the only kind of brethren I have
on earth are 'brethren in error' I intend to go among
all of them — r egardless of var iety." Just what is
he implying here ? I doubt that he means to say that THE LORD'S SUPPER
ever yone else is in error except himself, since he One of the acts of worship that is peculiar to the
has so much "love" and "humility." If all brethren New T estament and to the New T estament chur ch
are in error, then certainly his own teaching on fel- is the eating of the Lord's Supper .
lowship is worthy of cautious examination as a pos-
sible error. As for myself, I might go among all my INSTITUTED BY CHRIST
br ethren — regardless of var iety, but quite obvi- Jesus instituted his supper at the passover feast
ously conscience ( I pr ay God mine is not sear ed (Mt. 26:17-30). At that feast "as they were eating,
yet!) demands that I go for many different reasons: Jesus took br ead and blessed it, and br ake it, and
sometimes I go to exhort and encour age them; gave it to the disciples, and said, T ake, eat; this is
among others I go to take issue, even in debate if my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and
necessar y; or else I go among them to lear n their gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this
point of view. My conscience, despite the many com- is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for
promises brother Ketcherside seems to think I make many for the remission of sins." (Mt. 26:26-28; see
as a teacher at Florida College, not only will not per- also Mk. 14:22-25; Lk. 22:17-20). When the pass-
mit me to participate in many things which some over was obser ved, leaven was not to be found in
br ethren call wor ship or which they engage in as their houses ( E x. 12:14- 15). The br ead used by
the Lord's work, but also incites me not to asso- Jesus was therefore unleaven br ead, and thus the
ciate myself with them when such matter s are reason for unleavened bread on the Lord's table to-
pressed. If by taking this stand I am linked with a day. He used "the fruit of the vine" ( Mk. 14:25)
"sect" which is ever ywhere spoken against as being also. T he "fruit of the vine" is also called "the cup"
narrow-minded, then so be it. (I Cor. 11:25).
BY REVELATION
SEND A CLUB TODAY! Paul "received of the Lord" that which he deli-
Three Subscriptions For $10.00 ver ed unto the Cor inthians ( I Cor. 11:23). When
we eat the Lord's Supper we (1) remember Christ,
I Cor. 11:25; (2) show the Lord's death till he comes
again, I Cor. 11:26; (3) examine ourselves, I Cor.
11:28; (4) discer n the Lord's body, I Cor. 11:29,
Living Voice Tapes and (5) eat when we "come together" I Cor. 11:33.
of T hese matters were delivered to Paul (I Cor. 11:23)
THE KETCHERSIDE-TURNER EXCHANGE and he revealed them to Corinth and we are to fol-
low them also.
in Tampa, Florida
Januar y 25, 1972 FIRST DAY

The full exchange between Carl Ketcher side and We learn the time the Lord's Supper is to be eaten
Robert Turner and the panel discussion including Ferrell from the approved apostolic example of the brethren
Jenkins and Har r y Pickup, Jr. with questions from the in Troas (Acts 20:7), the time being the "first day
floor which lasted nearly thr ee hour s ar e now available of the week". Other passages tell us concer ning
on open r eel, cassette or 8-track tapes. other matter s as they r elate to the Lord's Supper
7" or 5" r eels ar e $5.25 each for the full discussion
but we rely entir ely on one approved example for
on one r eel.
the time of eating. Brethren have recognized this
important point and taught it through the year s.
Cassettes ar e $4.95 each and two tapes contain the Brother Roy E . Cogdill said, "We have in the
full discussion. T otal price for cassettes: $9.90. scr iptures an express command for its obser vance,
8- track cartridges ar e $4.95 each and it takes three for Jesus said, "T his do in r emembr ance of me."
for the full discussion. T otal price for 8-track cartridges: I Cor. 11:23, 24. He did not expr essly stipulate,
$14.85. though, in the r ecord given to us, the specific day,
if any, upon which this institution was to be, or is
to be, obser ved. We lear n that from the pr actice of
Page 8 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

a congregation assembling for such worship in the By necessar y infer ence from this approved ex-
New T estament. Acts: chapter 20 and ver se 7— ample we lear n that we may eat the Lord's Supper
"And upon the first day of the week, when the dis- at any time on the Lord's Day. The sum total of New
ciples came together to break br ead ..." Her e we T estament teaching is that it was eaten only on
have the church at Troas assembling to break bread, the Lord's Day and this becomes the exclusive
obser ve the Lord's Supper, on the first day of the patter n for the chur ch on when to eat the Lord's
week. Paul was pr esent and took part in that wor- Supper. Recently, we have heard of those eating on
ship. T his is New T estament example. T he church days other than the first day of the week. Such is
of our Lord under apostolic approval and guidance disobedience and does not constitute the Lord's
assembled on the fir st day of the week to br eak Supper since it is not eaten with his approval on any
bread. T here is no example of them ever assembling other day than the Lord's Day.
upon any other day of the week for this pur pose. FAILURE TO EAT
T hey assembled only upon the first day of the week
to break bread. Hence, we lear n that breaking bread To fail to eat the Lord's Supper r esults in (1)
in the assembly of the saints, in the worship of God, some being weak; (2) in others being sick; and (3)
can be done with divine approval only upon the first still others being asleep or dead spiritually (I Cor.
day of the week." (Cogdill-Woods Debate, pages 11:30). For this cause ever y Chr istian should ar-
14-15.) r ange to be pr esent ever y Lord's Day to eat the
Brother N. B. Hardeman, said in some sermons Lord's Supper unless hinder ed beyond his control.
in the Ryman Auditorium, from Oct. 16-31, 1938, A Chr istian will not plan to absent himself from the
"Br ethren, does the Bible teach Chr istians to ob- assembly of the saints to eat the Lord's Supper in
serve the Lord's Supper on the first day of the week ? or der to engage in his own desir es and pleasur es.
You answer, "Yes." Now, have you stopped to think
just how that is done, and how the Bible teaches
it? Chr ist told the disciples, and so did Paul, "T ake
and eat" and thus we ar e commanded by dir ect
statement to eat of the br ead and to drink of the
fruit of the vine. But I just want to ask some of you
"old-timers" where did Chr ist ever say, "E at of the
Lord's Supper on the first day of the week?" Had
you ever stopped, brethren, to meditate upon a thing
like that? Wher e is the command to partake of it
on the first day of the week? I can find you a com-
mand to eat of it, and to drink of the fruit of the
vine, but wher e is the direct statement to do that
on the first day of the week ? And do you know that
the fellow that knows wher e that is not present
tonight and has not been her e and is not going to
come? Now why? Because ther e is no such state-
ment in the Bible, and I trust none of you brethren,
will get shaky over Brother Hardeman's announce-
ment of the fact. Yet, the Bible teaches — mar k it
— the Bible teaches the obser vance of the Lord's
Supper on the first day of the week. But how does
it teach it? Now here is the way: By giving us an
approved example of the brethren at Troas meeting
on the fir st day of the week to break bread. T here-
fore, that example of their doing it under the direc-
tion of the Holy Spir it comes with all author ity.
Now, if I would meet with God's approval, as did
they, I will do likewise, and on the first day of the
week partake of the supper of the Lord. What is my
authority? A heaven- inspired example!" (Harde-
man's Tabernacle Sermons, Vol. 4, pages 53-54)
Brother Gus Nichols said in 1950, "L ikewise,
ther e ar e approved examples author izing certain
things for which ther e ar e no commands. T her e is
no command, as such, for Christians to observe the
Lord's Supper ON THE FIRS T DAY OF THE
WE E K; but we have approved examples of the
ear ly Chr istians doing this ( Acts 20:7; 2:42). T hese
examples have all of the authority of a divine com-
mand; for whatever the early Chr istians did by
apostolic sanction or authority, is equal to a com-
mand." (Sermons by Gus Nichols, Vol. 3, page 79)
 Page 9

Science may r epr esent man's sear ch f or objective

r eality ... and philosophy his quest for metaphysi-
cal truth . . . but scientists and philosopher s ar e just
men. L et's not forget it.
3. Parents, Husbands, Wives — Are Human: We
must honor our par ents but obey them in the Lord
( E ph. 6:1- 4). Wives ar e to submit to their husbands
but when conflict ar i ses, we must obey God r ather
than men.
T o f ollow loved ones into error and sin is not to
honor them or their memory. True honor and con-
cern demands that we do what we know is right and
then beckon them to follow the mor e noble ex-
ample.
4. Preachers are just men: T hat is the lesson
that Peter taught Cor nelius. T hat is what Paul and
JUST A MAN Barnabas cried out in the city of Lystra when men
wer e attempting to honor them as gods (Acts
"And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, 14:15).
and f ell down at his f eet, and wor shipped him. But False teacher s ar e men. One may possess the gift
Peter took him up, saying, "Stand up; I myself also of gab and be described as "A super- salesman f or
am a man" (Acts 10:25,26). the L ord" but if he does not speak as the or acles of
It has always been customar y to heap pr aise and God. he is a minister of Satan. He is a man, and a
honor upon certain men. Within limitations, this is blind leader of the blind ( Matt. 15:13,14).
right. T he word teaches that some should be hon- T r ue pr eacher s and teacher s ar e just men. Paul
or ed for their work or office. But we must never asked, "Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but
lose sight of the fact that men are just men. minister s ( servants) by whom ye believed ..." and
1. Government Leaders are Just Men: We must again ". . . lear n in us not to think of men above
r ender to them their dues ( Matt. 22, Rom. 13:7). that which is written ..." ( I Cor. 3:5; 4:6). Gospel
We must be subject to them to be subject to God pr eacher s are men. They ar e not inf allible. They may
(Rom. 13:1- 5). But they ar e men. T hey do not con- err in many ways. They may become discour aged.
stitute the ultimate authority. T hey may be over t aken in f aults. T hey may f all
Her od Agrippa I received with gratification the away.
sycophantic shout of the people, "It is the voice of When this happens, they who have their eyes on
a god, and not of a man." As r esult, he was smitten the pr eacher will likely fall away too. I n ever y ar ea
by the angel of the L or d and gave up the ghost of life, let's keep our eyes on God and r emember
(Acts 12:22,23). I n the most dr amatic manner pos- that men ar e just men.
sible, it was demonstrated that he was just a man.
When the apostles in Jerusalem wer e given the
ultimatum "not to speak at all nor t each in the
name of Jesus," Peter and John boldly answered,
"Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken
unto you mor e than unto God, judge ye." And later,
"We ought to obey God r ather than men" (Acts
4:10,19; 5:29).
2. Scientists, Philosophers, Educators are Just
Men: C. S. L ewis wrote in a 1967 article ( published
posthumously) "Faulting the Bible Critics" .. .
"while I respect the learning of the gr eat biblical
critics, I am not yet per suaded that their judgment
is equally to be r espected."
In every area of learning, one will find if he in-
vestigates, that a gr eat many conclusions ar e based
on presuppositions, not on r eal evidence. And since
the modern mind tends to leave God out of the pr e-
suppositions, it usually winds up leaving Him out
of the conclusions. But these men ar e just men.
Francis A. Schaef f er expr essed it well in his r e-
cent book, "The Chur ch At The End of The 20th
Centur y": "T h e problem is that you cannot tr u st
the scientist just because he wear s a white coat. It
is as simple as that. Inside the coat he is still a man.
And he is still a f allen man."
Jer emiah expr essed it best: “O L ord, I know that
the way of man is not in himself: It is not in man
that walketh to dir ect his steps" (10:23).
Page 10

George E. Smysor, Mulvane, Kansas — T he Mul- Gary D. White, 4620 Preston Highway, Louisville,
vane, Kansas, Church of Chr ist will have a change Ky. 40213 — After laboring with the Preston High-
of minister s ef f ective June 1, 1972. Brother Ross way congr egation for over thr ee year s I will be
O. Spears, who has faithfully served as minister for leaving the first week in July. Anyone interested in
the past four and a half year s, is taking a short rest the work here should contact the elders at the above
from active r egular preaching to recuperate from address or by phone. T hey are Carl Peterson, 969-
r ecent illness, after which he will r esume r egular 5532; and Harry Perkins, 366-3639.
work again. Brother Richard A. Holloway, who has I will begin laboring with the Br andon Ave.
been with the church in McAlester, Okla., is moving church of Chr ist, Columbia, S. C. T his work just
to Mulvane to ser ve the chur ch ther e. started in the middle of Januar y. T hey ar e r ight in
the middle of churches which teach the false doc-
H. L. Bruce, Colorado Springs — Four were re- trines of centralization and institutionalism. I will
cently baptized at Northeast in Colorado Spr ings. need outside support since these brethren are not
T here is a real fine dedicated couple here who would presently in a position to fully support a man. Any
like to adopt a child. If any of you readers know of one or church interested in this work please call me
one that is now, or, that soon will be available for at 969-0110, or write me at the above address for
adoption you can contact me at P. O. Box 9071, Colo- complete information.
rado Spr ings, Colorado 80909. Phone (303) 597-
6375. I will put you in touch with the couple who
wants to adopt the child. Donald G. Collins, 2005 Wisconsin Ave., Joplin,
Mo. 64801 — The new congregation in Sheldon, Mis-
Robert W. LaCoste, Cooper, Texas — The church souri is progressing in a fine way. T he brethren are
in Cooper, Texas is happy to report that within a planning to have a gospel meeting May 8-14, and I
week 28 souls were restored to the Lord. These 28 am to do the preaching. We would like to take this
had become lukewarm and indifferent like the church opportunity to invite all in dr iving distance of Shel-
at Laodicea. We ar e gr ateful to God for the power don to come and be with us in this gospel effort.
of His gospel. When in Cooper, worship with us. Your presence and encouragement will be greatly
appr eciated by those br ethren.
Herbert L. White, elder Eastside church of Christ, James L ynch is working with this congregation
2930 Avon Road, Louisville, Ky. 40220 — We are a and doing an excellent job. He is in need of about two
new congregation of about 125 people and growing. hundr ed dollar s ($200.00), a month's support. If
We would like to contact a preacher of a few years you are in a financial condition and disposition to
experience to work with us. Address correspondence help in this difficult area, it would be money well
to the above address. spent in the Master's Cause, and it would be greatly
appreciated. You may contact: James L ynch, Rt. 1,
Sheldon, Mo. 64784. Phone 884-5272.
DO YOU WANT TO HELP A GOSPEL Earl Gene Bailey, Johnson City, Tenn.— T he mem-
PREACHER IN MEXICO? bers of the congregation here are presently looking
I am needing "Visualized Bible Study Ser ies" for a man to work full time. We are desperately in
(personal work film-strips) by Jule Miller, Spanish need of leadership and have a will to work and grow.
edition. Also Spanish sound recordings or manual We are self- supporting and have approximately 70
and projector. Can any chur ch or individual help in attendance. Our present preacher, brother Joe
me ? Please write in E nglish or Spanish to: Armando Flemming, is having to relocate for reasons of bad
Ortega Mata, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz No. 1905, health. He will be leaving about May 1.
Chihuahua, Chihi, Mexico. If there is any way you might help us, due to your
vast circulation, in finding someone we would deeply
Don and Diana Davenport, 2800 Ridge L ot 106, appreciate it. We will look forward to hearing from
Springfield, Ill. 62702 — We have recently moved to you.
Springfield, Ill., from Montgomery, Ala. There is not a
sound congregation here. T here are two liberal THE LORD'S WORK IN JAPAN
congregations. We have been told that there was a
small group of Chr istians meeting here a few years Char les Gentry
ago, but have moved, been transferred or stopped C.P.O. Box 179
meeting. Anyone knowing of Chr istians living here, Nagoya, Japan 450
or moving to Springfield, please have them contact T he work here continues to be encouraging. T he
us at the above address or phone 544-2679. Japanese people continue to show an interest in learn-
ing the truth. Our Bible classes are progressing both
 Page 11

in attendance and inter est. In the month of Januar y one of two forms — specific or generic. Bonner then
we had five visitors. Four of them had never hear d argued that anything the church can support a man
a lesson taught from God's Word. Our Bible study in to do, the chur ch can do; in fact is doing, as the
Osaka has been most encouraging. T his month there chur ch acts through its over sight, treasur y, and
were eight present. Four of these were university agents. He pointed out that the chur ch supported
students who desire to study the Bible. T he next Paul to teach the word both publicly and from house
Sunday there were eleven present at the wor ship to house, then concluded that the church was teach-
service in Osaka. T his number included four men, ing the word both in the assembly and out of the
three women, two children and two university stu- assembly. He then pointed out that relative to as-
dents ; one of these heard her first lesson from God's sembly teaching he and Gage wer e pretty much
Word the evening before. agreed, but that Gage made a mistake in tr ying to
We want to express our sincere appr eciation for apply assembly r egulations to teaching situations
your continued help and interest in the Lord's work out of the assembly. He showed that the classes as
in Japan. Your many cards and letters of encourage- used by 4th and Meredith were private, informal, out
ment continue to come. Some of those sent by sea of the assembly teaching arrangements.
mail in early December are just now arriving, if you Bonner showed that the term teach includes a
are wonder ing why you have not received a r eply. teacher, student, mater ial, time, place, and arrange-
We continue to solicit your pr ayer s. ment. He pointed out that God has bound the teacher
(a Chr istian), the student (mankind), and the ma-
ter ial (the gospel) but that He has not bound the
RELIGIOUS DEBATE time, place, or arrangement. He concluded that God
T her e will be a debate between br ethren Joseph had gener ically authorized the church to select the
Cox of Louisville, Kentucky and J. T. Smith of Con- time, the place, and arrangements for its teaching.
way, Arkansas. It will be held in the Iroquois High He showed that there is authority for a gospel meet-
School Auditorium in Louisville on May 22, 23, 25, ing, a bulletin, a debate, a radio program, or a Bible
26, at 7:30 each evening. T hese brethren will be class in the teaching work of the chur ch.
discussing the scripturalness of the local church ma- I n r esponse, Gage argued that the chur ch can
terially helping those who are non-members. Brother only teach in the assembly. He denied that the
Smith will affirm that the local church may mate- teaching was in "congregational capacity" if not in
r ially help only those who ar e saints. Brother Cox the assembly. He even said that if elders, acting as
will affirm that the local church may materially help elders, went to the home of negligent members to
saints and other s. For those coming from out of admonish them, it would not be "congregational
town, the Iroquois High School is located on T aylor capacity." However, he said the church could teach
Blvd. south of Watter son E xpr essway. the word over radio. When Bonner pointed out that
r adio pr eaching was not "in the assembly," Gage
came up with a corker. He argued that radio teach-
PREACHER NEEDED ing was "assembly" teaching. He said that the as-
Blue Ash, Ohio sembly was called by turning the radio on and tuning
in the station, and that there was one man speaking
We will be in need of a gospel preacher 1st of July. to one great radio assembly. He compared radio
Anyone interested please call 1-513-791- 3527 or preaching to an overflow crowd, with some in cars
write to Church of Christ, 4667 Cooper Road, Cin- on the parking lot listening over a loud speaker.
cinnati, Ohio 45242. Bonner then asked him if the Lord's Supper could
be taken in the "radio assembly" if it was on Sunday.
HIGH LIGHTS OF THE BONNER-GAGE DEBATE Gage said that it could not, as it was not "that kind
of an assembly." Bonner then pointed out that his
Jesse G. Jenkins r adio pr eaching was not parallel to his over f low
David Bonner, preacher for the 6th and Meredith crowd, for Gage would admit the Lord's Supper
congr egation in Dumas, T exas and Ralph Gage, of could be taken by the overflow crowd! Gage never
E l Dor ado, Arkansas, met in public discussion on would give up this silly argument, but I don't think
the nights of Februar y 28, 29 and Mar ch 2 and 3. even his folks believed it.
T he debate was in Dumas, with two nights in the Women Teachers
6th and Mer edith building and two nights in the
14th and Meredith building. T he subject of Bible I n Bonner 's second af f irmative he dealt with
classes and women teachers was discussed the fir st women teachers in some of the classes. He showed
two nights, and the subject of congregational be- that the work women were doing in the classes was
nevolence was discussed the last two. first a work that God had author ized a local chur ch
to do, and second that it was a work God had author-
The Class Question ized a woman to do. He used teaching younger
Bonner had the first affirmative speech on the women to illustrate. Since God has author ized both
class question. Recognizing that the basic error of a chur ch and a woman to teach younger women, it
the anti-class folk is relative to Bible authority, he is r ight for the church to use a woman in this work.
spent some time clearly showing that Bible author- Bonner showed that I Cor. 14:35 teaches "it is a
ity is derived by command, example, and necessar y shame for a woman to speak in the assembly," and
infer ence; and that Bible author ity comes to us in pointed out that he and Gage wer e agr eed on that.
He insisted that we are as strict as Gage on woman's
Page 12_____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____

1
part in the assembly of the whole church come to- saints in Jerusalem and for all men other than saints
gether. Bonner then introduced I T im. 2:11- 12, who were in need. Bonner showed that in connection
showing that it teaches a woman to be subject to with this r elief Paul stated seven times that it was
a man in any Bible teaching situation. He pointed for the poor saints at Jerusalem. T herefore, to have
out that woman could not usurp authority over man used the funds for any other purpose, no matter how
even in a pr ivate, home Bible study. worthy, would be misappropriation. He pointed out
In response, Gage argued that Bible class teaching that the funds from Gentiles wer e "not only to fill
is "congregational capacity," and that in "congr e- up the measur e of the wants of the saints" (poor
gational capacity" women are to be silent. Bonner Jewish saints), but beyond mer e car nal r elief to
agreed that the Bible classes are congregational ac- poor Jewish saints, "is abundant also by many
tion, but pointed out that they are pr ivate, group thanksgivings unto God" on the part of "all" Jewish
arrangements and not "assembly" teaching. He tried saints for the Gentiles' "professed subjection unto
to show Gage his inconsistency in maintaining that the gospel of Chr ist." Simplified, he showed that
the only "congr egational capacity" teaching is in the money was r aised for poor Jewish saints, sent
the assembly, yet trying to make pr ivate, group ar- to poor Jewish saints, and that this exhausted the
rangements "congregational capacity" teaching. It use made of the physical funds. But that in addition
seemed clear enough, but I think prejudice kept to relieving the poor Jewish saints, the other Jewish
Gage from ever seeing the point. Relative to I T im. saints were also befitted in that the relief created
2:12 Gage argued that "I suffer not a woman to good will and thanksgiving on their part for the
teach" meant in the assembly, and that "nor to Gentiles who had taken thought of the poor Jewish
usurp author ity over the man" meant anywhere. br ethren. He concluded that only in this manner
He could not explain how he determined that half could it be under stood that the gift went to any
of the ver se was specific (limited to the assembly) other than poor Jewish saints.
and half was gener ic ( applicable anywher e). He In his affirmative on the benevolent question, Bon-
tried to dr aw a par allel by changing two words in ner read the nine passages in the New T estament on
I T im. 2:11-12, making it read as follows: "Let the
women ride in silence with all subjection. But I the subject, showing that in each passage saints
suffer not a woman to drive, nor to usurp author ity were the object of the relief and that the local church
administer ed the relief. Needless to say, Gage was
over the man, but to be in silence." He then said: not able to deal with his ar guments.
"Does that mean she can dr ive anywher e except One of Gage's most glar ing inconsistencies was
over a man? T hat means she can not drive any- the fact that he argued the first two nights that no
where." Bonner then pointed out that Gage's "paral- action was "congregational capacity" unless in the
lel" taught more than Gage was willing to accept. If assembly, but the last two nights he ar gued that
the sentences wer e indeed par allel in meaning, and benevolence was "congregational capacity" if one
if Gage's sentence meant that a woman "can not man picked up food out of the store room and took
dr ive anywhere," then Paul's statement meant that it to a needy family. Bonner pointed out that if the
a woman can not teach anywhere. Gage did not re- chur ch can act through its agent in r elief work, it
cover from this. Of course, the sentences are not can act through its agent in teaching; ther efore,
par allel in meaning, as ther e is not the same r ela- some teaching out of the assembly can be congrega-
tion between "dr ive" and "subjection" as there is tional action. But Gage never would admit the point.
between "teach" and "subjection." T hen too, ther e
is the conjunction "nor" (Oude) which is of great Conduct During The Debate
importance in determining the meaning of I T im.
2:11-12, that is not even a factor in Gage's sentence. T he conduct of both disputants was the best. I
moderated for Bonner, and Gage's brother moder-
Benevolence ated for him. Neither of us had to call a single point
Gage affirmed that the church has obligation to of order. On the class question, Gage was about as
help all the needy people in the world as it has op- good as any man they have. T his was his 25th de-
portunity and abilit y. But he used about one half bate on that subject. But on the benevolent question,
of his time in his affirmative speeches talking about he was ver y weak.
the class proposition of the pr evious night. When Attendance was good with crowds ranging from
he did get to his proposition on benevolence, he about 200 to 300: T here wer e 24 gospel pr eachers
started by saying he never had studied the subject who came to stand with Bonner on the issues dis-
"until two days ago." And, believe me, it was evi- cussed.
dent that he was telling the truth. In his first speech Will There Be More Debates?
he hur r iedly mentioned Matt. 5:44-45, Luke 10:30-
35, Romans 12:20- 21, James 1:27, and Galatians Gage stated that either he, one of his two sons,
6:10. I n Bonner 's first negative, he showed that his brother, or his son would meet anyone in debate
none of these passages touched on the subject of on these subjects where endorsements could be had
church benevolence. Gage must have got the point, by both disputants. He was invited to come to Den-
for he pretty well left them alone for the rest of the ton with or without endor sement from the anti-
debate. Nine minutes before Gage's second affirma- class people, but refused. I then asked him to invite
tive was over he finally mentioned the first scripture me to come to E l Dorado and assured him I would
on congregational benevolence. He read II Cor. 9:13, come whether I got endorsement from some congre-
and ar gued that the contr ibution was for the poor gation there or not. But he evidently is not too in-
ter ested in debating at home; at least no invitation
 Page 13

was extended. But if any of you preachers are in a T imothy gave this war ning to those that would
town where there is a congregation that will endorse desire wealth "But they that will be r ich fall into
Gage and want to engage him in debate, you might temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and
contact him. hurtful lusts, which drown men in perdition" (I Tim.
1813 Carlton Denton, 6:9) . T hen in verse 10 Paul declar es: "For the love
T exas 76201 of money is the root of all evil: which while some
coveted after, they have E RRED from the faith,
and pier ced themselves through with many sor-
rows." It is easy to err from the faith if r iches is
Olen Holderby sent the following poem which was foremost in our minds.
composed by a 14-year-old girl who has spent many In this area we need to be very careful and guard
of her recent days in a hospital bed or days of re- our thoughts. Desir ing material abundance must not
covery at home. be foremost in our thoughts and actions. If it is, we
THINKING cannot be pleasing to God (cf. I John 2:15-17). Chil-
dren of God cannot love the world. Love of God and
I was lying around, the keeping of His commandments is number one in
I n the stillness of the night, ever y Chr istian's life; it must be to a Chr istian!
T hinking of the Saviour I've found, Paul said, concerning his mater ial welfar e: "Not
E ven though He is out of sight. that I speak in r espect of want: for I have lear ned,
I know all about Him, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content"
To me He shines ver y br ight, (Phil. 4:11). Paul is simply telling us, that no mat-
To non-Chr istians He is ver y dim, ter what our mater ial status, we should be content,
But, for Him I shall fight. happy, with it, under standing that whatever we
have is the gift of God. In the next verse, verse 12,
I was thinking of the cr eation, Paul says: "I know both how to be abased, and I
And of the judgment, know how to abound. . . ." Too many of us know
All the things for me He has done, only how to abound. When we see financial prob-
To be the Saviour of the wor ld lems, our service to God is hindered. We worry about
He was meant. mater ial things instead of ser ving Him. Again we
can gain knowledge from the wr itings of Paul. "I
Thinking of Jesus' wonderful love, can do all things through Christ which strengthened
T o me He has shown, me." Whatever may beset us, we can count on the
T he Father I am reminded of, st r ength that Chr ist can give.
My heart and soul He does own. Paul counted himself as privileged to have been
I want Chr ist in me, selected, and able, to proclaim the gospel of Chr ist.
E ver y day of the week, all seven, Although he had before been a persecutor, when he
I want the key from T hee, obeyed the gospel he gave his life to ser ve Chr ist.
T o the Kingdom of Heaven. He completely understood that material wealth is
Susan Gar vin unimportant. Paul, by his life, shows us the true
meaning of Matt. 6:33: "But seek ye first the king-
dom of God, and His r ighteousness; and all these
things should be added unto you."
L et us as childr en of God remember the things
that ar e important. T hose spir itual gifts from God
that make us truly wealthy. Let your light shine so
that we may show the wor ld that spir itual blessings
in Chr ist ar e far more rewarding than all the mate-
r ial possessions of the world. We need to give more
Our society is based upon free enterprise. A man of our mater ial possessions to God, that we might
can obtain as much mater ial wealth as he has the not covet that which we have. It will help us to be
ability and opportunity. T her e ar e those in the more spir itually minded, and work harder in His
wor ld that look upon a prosperous man as a suc- kingdom. Remember, the things we have been given
cessful man. It is as though the words successful of God are given to us as stewards. T here will come
and wealthy are synonymous. People find it hard to a day of r eckoning, and then you and I must give
under stand how one without great mater ial wealth an accounting for everything we have done with that
can be considered successful. which has been entrusted to us. If Chr ist wer e to
Chr istians need to be car eful concer ning their come this ver y instant, would He say to you, "Well
views toward material abundance. T here is certainly done, thou good and faithful ser vant."?
nothing sinful in being wealthy, but there is the Route 3, Box 49
possibility of being led away following after riches. Rochelle, Ill. 61068
T he wise man Solomon said in E ccl. 5:10 "He that
loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor
he that loveth abundance with increase: this also is
vanity." HAVE YOU CHECKED YOUR EXPIRATION DATE?
What Solomon said then applies now, and will al- RENEW TODAY
ways be applicable. T he more we have, the more we
want. We are Never Satisfied! Paul in his wr iting to
 the proper emotional response, the r ight attitude.
Unless one knows what is r ight, and has the r ight
attitude toward what he knows, he cannot be r ight
or have a correct relationship with author ity. T hus
the word of God has much to say about hearing and
knowing the truth, and voluntarily humbling one's
self to it.
Recognition of author ity is not an inbor n qualit y
of infants. T hey are utterly unacquainted with the
idea of authority, much less with an idea of who
possesses it. Respect must be learned. And since re-
spect is ultimately based upon the rights and legiti-
macy of the lawgiver, that must be lear ned too.
Parental control is their introduction to author ity,
WHO RESPECTS AUTHORITY? and the knowledge of God is an early need for it is
T he author ity of God would be univer sally re- the cornerstone to a perpetuated respect for parental
spected and admired if the only conditions necessary (and all other) authority in the heart of the develop-
wer e the qualifications of the lawgiver. After all, ing juvenile who begins to question the values and
God possesses all of the needed attributes to the standards applied to his life. T his knowledge of
super lative degree. As creator, sustainer, and the God's role as creator and owner of the universe, and
absolute owner of the earth and all the univer se of his righteous laws and certain judgment, not only
(Gen. 1:1; Col. 1:16-17; Psalm 50:10-12) he has an generates greater respect for author ity but also sup-
undeniable and unchallengeable right to rule. He plies meaning and hope to life. T hese is no substitute
epitomizes excellence of wisdom and competence, for knowledge, that is, for Bible knowledge. God's
pur ity of character and integr ity, and justice of natur e and per son is not revealed in the study of
enforcement and punishment. As the power and any physical science, but only by divine revelation
position of God declare his r ight to rule, so his wis- in the word of God (Rom. 10:17; Jer. 10:23; I Cor.
dom, goodness and fair ness declar e that all men 2:10-11). If a man does not recognize God's position
ought to love and respect his author ity. and r ights it is impossible for him to appr eciate
But God is not universally respected, and certainly God's authority, and it will be difficult for him to
many of the earthly authorities he has delegated are genuinely or long appr eciate any human author ity.
despised. T herefore something besides his rights and He will likely rebel against authority at the point of
qualifications are involved. Indeed, we who are sub- law with which he disagrees.
ject to law must possess certain qualif ications in Humility is a voluntary surrendering and submis-
order to properly evaluate and appreciate legitimate sion of one's will to what it recognizes as the r ights
authority, whether it be exercised by men (as dele- of another. Man needs a full view of the majestic
gated by God in the home or nation etc.) or directly rights and prerogatives of the Almighty in order to
by God through specific statutes in the New Testa- completely humble himself in respectful obedience.
ment. Respect for authority is as dependent upon But many they are who know enough yet who will
the subject being what he ought to be as it is upon not humble themselves, rather challenging and de-
the lawgiver. fying some laws of both God and man. (And these
T wo fundamentals the subject must have are (1) often boast of their humility.) T r ue humility is an
recognition of the r ights and position of the law- uncommon quality, and its test and proof is seen on
giver, and (2) humility to accept his place as one points of law where it is unpleasant to submit, where
under the rule of another. Recognition involves the the law contradicts one's own sense of pleasure or
r ight intellectual understanding. Humility descr ibes propriety, or wher e one's own under standing per -
Page 2 _______________________________________________________________________________________________

ceives a way it esteems wiser and better. In such

cases it is hard to submit. But humility does. It does
not insist on its own wisdom or way.
Who r espects author ity? He who recognizes the
fact of God's super ior ity and r ight to rule, thereby
under stands the legitimacy of author ity in men as
delegated by God, and empties himself of stubborn
pride so as to humbly submit. If we have knowledge
and char acter we cannot but r espect author ity.

Unthinking and uncr itical br ethren in great num-

bers have swallowed the notion that it is merely the
job of the sheep to give money; that what is done
with that money is the responsibility of the shep-
herds (elders) ; that the sheep cannot be held re-
sponsible for unscr iptural uses to which the money
is put.
T hat view is a hollow delusion, and the comfort
derived therefrom is baseless. Nowhere is its ground-
lessness made mor e appar ent than in connection
with the story of Abimelech's usurpation in Judges,
chapter 9.
When the people of Shechem agreed to accept
Abimelech as king they gave him 70 nieces of silver
from the temple tr easur y of their idol. Abimelech
used the money to hire an army of rascals and ex-
terminated his imagined competitors for the rule in
Israel, the sons of Gideon, except Jotham (vv. 4f.).
When Jotham made his speech to the men of She-
chem he charged them with the act of mur dering
his brother s ( v. 18). "Jotham imputes the slaying
of his brothers to the citizens of Shechem, as a crime
which they themselves had committed (ver. 18), be-
cause they had given Abimelech money out of their
temple of Baal to carry out his designs against the
sons of Jerubbaal ( ver. 4)" ( Keil) .
In the judgment of God the blood of Gideon's sons
was laid not only upon Abimelech "who slew them,"
but also "upon the men of Shechem, who strength-
ened his hands to slay his br ethren" ( v. 24).
One could hardly fail to recognize the gener al
principle under lying this case, but let me make it
impossible by stating it plainly: When you supply
the means of doing wrong you yourself are responsi-
ble for the wrongdoing.
No one will be able to excuse himself at the judg-
ment of God by shifting the responsibility to the
devil, a false teacher, or the elder s. Not E ve. Not
Flip Wilson. And not you!
Box 155
Romulus, Michigan 48174
 Page 3

I believe I am in accordance with God's word. But I

would be ver y happy to hear any further comments
you have on the subject.
In Chr ist,
T his is the type of letter I enjoy answer ing. It is
plain, wr itten with a fine attitude and the per son
seems to be desir ing the truth on the subject. Fir st,
if you ar e inter ested you might r eview my f ir st
article on this subject. By doing this it will not be
necessar y for me to repeat some arguments made
at that time. Since this lady r equested that I not
use her name I will refer to her as sister X. You will
note in her letter she did not believe in a dual treas-
ur y. T hat is, she did not believe that a congregation
was to have one treasur y for benevolence and an-
"THE CHURCH TREASURY AGAIN" other one for evangelism. So this point will not have
to be established.
Several weeks ago I wrote an article called "T he Now to her first question. She said, "But can you
Church Treasur y." As usual, I have received some prove to me there should be a church treasury when
comment on this subject. I insisted in my first arti- ther e is no need?" T his question assumes the point
cle that the New T estament teaches congr egations to be discussed. Notice the word "NEED." I believe
to have one chur ch treasur y and out of that one that I can prove a chur ch treasur y at all time be-
treasur y all the work enjoined upon a congregation cause I have never known a time when a church did
of God's people is to be accomplished. not have a NE E D! For example, sister X says she
I r eceived a letter from a Chr istian lady, who believes preaching and benevolence are to come out
r aised some questions about a chur ch tr easur y. of the same treasur y. Has ther e ever been a time
Since her position is espoused by a number of breth- since the inception of the chur ch on Pentecost that
r en I thought it appropriate to publish her letter we have not NE E DE D to preach the gospel? I f so,
with a reply. May I say that I enjoy receiving mail at what time? Jesus said, "T he harvest is truly
from brethren. T his stimulates our thinking and plenteous but the labor er s ar e few" (Matt. 9:37).
causes all of us to keep on our toes. T he letter is Would anyone argue that gospel pr eaching is
nice and self explanatory. I received permission to NE E DED more at one time than another ? If so, by
publish her letter but agr eed not to use her name. what author ity? T he need of pr eaching the old
Her e is the letter: Jerusalem gospel is constantly with us. It doesn't
Dear Brother Hogland: make any difference whether the congregation has
four member s or four hundred. T he need is ther e.
Have enjoyed your articles in Searching the Scrip- If the congregation is large enough to support a local
tures. Am wr iting concerning Februar y's article, preacher in its midst, then let it help to preach the
"T he Chur ch T r easur y." I have no disagr eement gospel in hard places. T his is what churches did in
with you as to what church money is used for. But apostolic times (II Cor. 11:8). Sometimes people in
can you prove to me there should be a church treas- small congregations do not feel the need to contrib-
ur y when there is no need ? I n I Cor. 16, there was ute into the tr easur y to preach the gospel. Why
a need — supporting needy saints. Paul said "L et should this be? Do people in large congr egations
everyone of you lay by him in store" — sounding as have a greater responsibility than people in small
though they hadn't done it befor e, and wer e doing ones?
it now for this special purpose. T he same would be Sister X says she feels that she is in accordance
true with all the other chur ches he had given order with God's will if she helps her friends and neigh-
to. bor s as the need ar ises. May I say such is fine and
the Bible teaches us to do this in Gal. 6:10. However,
As to Paul's support, can you prove that a collec- this is not all the Bible teaches us as individuals to
tion was not made just for Paul's support? I don't do. It teaches us to support the local congregation so
mean a separate treasury as you pointed out some it (the chur ch) can do its work of preaching the
believe. But knowing Paul needed support, why gospel, benevolence among the saints and edification.
couldn't they have done the same as they did in T he key which unlocks the door is in the word
I Cor. 16 ? What I am getting at is this: What makes NE E D. Notice the number of times it was used in
you so sure they laid by in store on the first day of the letter. T he word NE E D is a relative term and
the week when ther e was no need? It looks to me depends on how a person might look at it. For ex-
like they laid by in store when it was needed whether ample, one per son might look at a congr egation
for needy saints, supporting a preacher, or a widow and feel it had no NE E D and another might look at
indeed. I see nothing wrong with giving ever y Lord's the same congr egation and feel it has a DI RE
day when we come together, but can we make it a NE E D. So who is r ight? Does God leave our giving
binding law of the Lord? If I give to the chur ch to OUR judgment of a congregation? Certainly not.
when there is a need (we have no preacher to sup- If he left such matters to our judgment, one congre-
port, needy saints, widows indeed, or building to rent gation might have an abundance of money and an-
or maintain), and if I individually help my fr iends, other could not pay its light bill! T he truth of the
neighbors, widows, brethren, etc., as the need arises,
Pane 4

matter is God settled it when he said we are to give

"as we have been prospered." T his includes every
Chr istian on the face of the earth whether he is a
member of a small congregation or a large one. God
is no r especter of per sons but he would be if we
could decide personally whether a congregation has
a need. Some might think a ver y large congregation
had no need because it was large and another might
think a small one had no need because it was small.
I say this to show you that one could rationalize and
come up with the fantastic idea that NO congrega-
tion has NE E D. Remember, God has not regulated
my giving to his church by my opinion with respect
to the need of that congregation!
Another thing, elder s ar e to rule over the f lock
(I Pet. 5:1-4), but suppose in the opinion of all the SHORT SWORD SWIPES
member s, the church had no NE E D. If they all felt I have just finished reading Matthew, Mark, Luke
this way there would be no contr ibution, no work and John. Of course I had read these gospels many
could be done by the congregation. T here is a differ- times, but this time I read them with a different goal
ence in what an individual does and what a congre- — to see how many times Chr ist quoted from the
gation does (I Tim. 5). Old T estament. I found that he quoted directly from
Sister X said she felt like the contr ibution of the Old T estament at least thirty times, and from
I Cor. 16 was just started by Paul and they wer e the following books: Genesis, E xodus. L eviticus,
not doing it before. T his could be so, but remember Deuteronomy, I Samuel, I Kings, Psalms, Isaiah,
ever ything commanded for us had to get started Daniel and Jonah. In addition to these specific refer-
sometime! T he faith (Jude 3-5) had not been com- ences, we have such statements as these: "Search
pleted at this time. However, I know this contribu- the Scr iptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal
tion had been going on for a year at Achaia. Paul life: and they are they which testify of me" (John
said, "For which I boast of you to them of Mace- 5:39). "T hese are the words which I spake unto you,
donia, that Achaia was r eady a year ago" (II Cor. while I was yet with you, that all things must be
9:2). T hus, after he had given the command they fulfilled, which wer e wr itten in the law of Moses,
continued to do this for a year. It is true that a con- and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concer ning
gr egation might not have as much benevolence at me" ( L uke 24:44). T his proves that Jesus believed
one time as they do at another. But r emember as in r ightly dividing the Scr iptures; that we can make
Sister X says, both benevolence and evangelism application of them to our time; that they wer e
come out of the same treasur y and ther e is AL - written by holy men of God who "spake as they were
WAYS a need for preaching the word of the Lord. moved by the Holy Spir it."
T he NE E D is always with us and ther efore our
giving into the treasur y should not be erratic but According to a recent article by the Associated
constant as the Bible says "On the fir st day of the Press, we have these statistics concer ning a social
week." And ther e is a first day in EVERY week! "disease" which r esults from using the "choicest
product of the br ewer 's art":
"T here are 9 million people in the United States
with a ser ious dr inking problem, or about one of
every 22 persons, whose annual costs to the nation
Living Voice Tapes include $10 billion, half of all arrests, and 25,000
of highway deaths ... An estimated 200,000 new cases
develop each year."
THE KETCHERSIDE-TURNER EXCHANGE "Wine is a mocker, strong dr ink is raging: and
in Tampa, Florida whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise" (Prov.
Januar y 25, 1972 20:1).
The full exchange between Carl Ketcher side and Speaking of dr inking, a recent survey dur ing the
Robert Turner and the panel discussion including Ferrell evening hours in L ittle Rock revealed that "one in
Jenkins and Har r y Pickup, Jr. with questions from the every 25 cars on the road in Pulaski County is dr iven
floor which lasted nearly thr ee hour s ar e now available by a drunk per son, and one in ever y eight car s is
on open r eel, cassette or 8-track tapes. driven by someone whose driving ability has been
7" or 5" r eels ar e $5.25 each for the full discussion impair ed by alcohol." And yet they tell those of us
on one r eel. who have to dr ive the streets that it's none of our
Cassettes ar e $4.95 each and two tapes contain the business if they drink. When a drunk aims an auto-
full discussion. T otal price for cassettes: $9.90. mobile at me, I figure it is some of my business!
8- track cartridges are $4.95 each and it takes three Another interesting result of the sur vey was that
for the full discussion. T otal price for 8-track cartridges: 50.6 per cent of those who were dr iving under the
$14.85. influence of alcohol were Baptists. Do you suppose
they wer e just practicing what they pr each? T heir
 Page 5

preachers tell them that it doesn't make any differ- with the increased burdens placed upon them by
ence how they live; that once they are saved ther e Pharaoh:
isn't anything they can do, say or think that would "And the tale of the bricks, which they did make
cause them to be lost. I'm not charging that they her etofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not
deliberately encourage sin, but any honest person diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; ther efore
knows that such is the r esult of the doctr ine. they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God"
( E xodus 5:8).
Of all the appropriate words we have used to de- So when the faithful I sr aelite got off from work
scr ibe these hair y hippies, we can now add another he wanted to go worship God, but when many Chris-
one — lousy! A recent headline out of Washington, tians get off a few hour s or days they want to go
D.C. was the following question: "Nationwide body play. T he difference is in attitude toward life, this
lice epidemic?" T he article says that body lice were world, and duty to God. And remember, when the
discovered on several children in schools in Mary- unfaithful Israelites could consider nothing but eat-
land, and warns that there may be a nationwide epi- ing, dr inking and playing, Paul called it idolatr y
demic. T hey attr ibute the problem to "the birth of (I Cor. 10:7). Is it any less so today?
the hippie and the death of DDT ." Come to think
of it, I don't see how lice could live on some of them. According to a recent news report, some high
schools in Califor nia are offering courses or classes
In commenting on the recent Methodist confer- in pre-natal and maternal care. T his became neces-
ence in Atlanta, Dr. Alfred Knox, editor of Arkansas sary due to the percentage of the students who were
Methodist and Louisiana Methodist magazines, said, pr egnant. I sn't that ridiculous? T hat's the fruit of
"Starting within the framework of belief in Jesus the permissiveness and "new morality" of our time.
Christ, the new statement (one adopted in the con- And according to the liberals in all walks of life, we
ference, E B) sets up fourfold guides for judging must not correct or condemn these young people, for
doctr inal matter s: 1. Considering what the Scrip- they must be left free to "do their own thing."
tures say. 2. Looking to our Christian tradition. 3.
Considering one's per sonal exper ience. 4. T he use
of reason and logic."
T he last three have not one thing to do with ascer-
taining the will of God! Jesus condemned any appeal
to tradition (Mark 7:7-9), and Paul took care of ex-
per ience and human r easoning (I Cor. 1; Acts 17).
If they want to please God, why not stop with num-
ber one? If they did, there would be no Methodist
Church!
James D. Bales' book, "MODE RNISM Trojan
Horse In T he Church" is worth reading. In the in-
troduction, there is an interesting quote from Carl
F. H. Henry:
"Jesus Chr ist alone is Head of the church. He has
no favored puppets, any more than he has a first-
lieutenant in Rome. And Jesus Christ assesses the
Chr istian community with scrupulous honesty. He
still walks among the churches, thr eatening to re-
move lamps from their candlesticks. If he can en-
dure the compromises of modern American Chris-
tianity no mor e than those of ancient Asia Minor,
all these lights that we consider so indispensable
soon could be blown out."
T here is much difference between the attitude and
conduct of the faithful Israelites and the modern
Christians. One of the real problems and spiritual
dangers to many in the church today is hedonism.
With the shorter work weeks and the longer week
ends, all some people can think about is pleasure.
Instead of working for the Lord, or doing something
else of a constructive nature, they take off to the
mountains, lakes, or other places of pleasure and
relaxation to have a good time. Absenteeism is a
serious problem in the Bible classes and worship
services.
But what about the I sraelites? An interesting
statement is made concer ning them in connection
Page 6

times they will consist mostly of thanksgiving. We

need to keep on praying.
It should be noted that the Chr istian may have an
audience with the Father for as long as he desir es.
God is never too busy. It would probably be impos-
sible for me to get an audience with the Pr esident.
It would not be easy to get one with the Governor of
my state. But the God of the univer se has liter ally
all the time in the wor ld!
I read of Daniel who bowed three times daily be-
fore the God of Heaven. When the going got rough,
the rough got going and he kept on pr aying! He
pr ayed without ceasing.
David prayed in the morning when he arose, in
midday and at nightfall.
T he Chr istian can pr ay anywher e he happens to
PRAYING IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH be whether in a church building, a factory, a car, bus,
Communion with God is a two-way street. God or airplane, or anywhere else.
communicates to us through His revealed Word. We C) Why should we pray?
are pr ivileged to speak to Him in prayer. 1) God tells us to. T hat's enough for the faith-
What does the word of faith teach on this impor- ful child of God. If it were no more than a command
tant subject of pr ayer ? What does it mean to pray and if no blessings wer e connected with it, this
in spir it and in truth? would be sufficient reason.
I. In Truth: T his implies that ther e may be some 2) It is a glorious privilege. In prayer we com-
false doctrines believed and practiced in regard to mune with God. With the saints of ages past and
pr ayer, and in fact this is the case. present and with the Heavenly host we are privileged
A) We need to know and believe the truth on to praise His matchless name.
WHO can pray acceptably. The popular notion is that 3) Prayer provides the opportunity to give
ever yone enjoys the pr ivilege of pr ayer . . . that re- thanks. If we feel gratitude for the gracious, bounti-
gardless of how wicked and unr ighteous a per son ful hand of God, we should be anxious to say, "I
may be, he needs only to get into a bind and he may thank thee, Father." We should desir e to thank God
call an the Lord to aid him. for our physical sustenance, His providential car e
T he Bible teaches that God is pleased to hear and for fellow Chr istians who encourage us.
prayers only from those who are pleased to hear His II. Praying In Spirit:
words. In the model prayer of Luke 11, Jesus in- This is an ar ea in which we fall short. Especially
structed His disciples to address God as their Father is this true in our public pr ayers. Not often do we
in Heaven. Quite obviously, a child of the Devil could hear real fervency expressed in our assemblies. You
not properly do this ( John 8:44; Rom. 8:14). and I can take steps to remedy this poor situation.
Cornelius was not a child of God and there is no T he first step is to recognize the need, the second is
indication that he prayed as such. But he was desir- to become mor e fer vent in our prayer s. Her e ar e
ous of Divine instruction and his pr ayer s ser ved as three suggestions:
a memor ial before Jehovah (Acts 10:4,31). a) Pray to God. When leading in pr ayer, we
"For the eyes of the Lord are over the r ighteous, should strive to do just that. T her e ar e matter s
and his ear s ar e open unto their prayer s: but the about which one might pr ay in the pr ivacy of his
face of the Lord is against them that do evil" (I Pet. closet that would not be appropr iate in the assem-
3:12). bly. We should speak loudly and clear ly enough for
"I f I r egard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will other s to hear and say "amen." But we should not
not hear me" (Psalm 66:18). forget that God is the object of our prayer, not man.
B) We need to be cognizant of WHEN we should b) Avoid Cliches. We should strive for more
pr ay. T he childr en's song says "It isn't any trouble freshness and or iginality of expression. It's not that
just to P-R-A-Y, pray. So whenever you're in trouble, ther e is anything unscr iptural about such phr ases
it will vanish like a bubble, if you'll only take the as, "Guide, guard and dir ect us;" "If we have been
trouble just to P-R- A-Y, pr ay." found faithful — "; "Go with us to our respective
T her e isn't anything wrong with the song, but places of abode"; "Bless those for whom it's our
that's not all of it. We are not to pray just when duty to pr ay"; etc. but these phr ases have become
we're in trouble. so repetitious that they tend to attr act attention to
I T hess. 5:17 says "Pray without ceasing." T hat themselves r ather than the concepts they r epr esent.
doesn't mean to pray all the time. I don't believe that T hey tend to make our prayers empty and boresome
it means to always have a prayerful attitude, though instead of fr esh, edifying and uplifting.
such is certainly a worthy objective. It means to A good rule to follow is to just be sincer e and
pray regular ly. Pray when it is easy and when it is natural when pr aying.
difficult. We need to have regular intervals of prayer. c) Live a godly life. T his is the secr et of true
We should pray when we need something and know fer vency. T he reason some cannot offer public pray-
it, and when we feel no urgent needs. Sometimes our er s is because they don't pr ay in pr ivate. T hey can't
prayer will be in the form of petitions — and at other pr ay fer vently that the work of the chur ch go for-
 Page 7

war d, because they'r e not concer ned enough about

it to help it go forward.
If we're really involved in the work, it will be easy
to pray in spir it as well as in truth. Jesus said,
"Wher e your treasur e is, ther e is your heart also."

T here is a great need for circumspect, godly living. HEARTFELT RELIGION #2

Obviously, one must live "soberly, righteously, and In our last article on this subject we pointed out
godly" for the sake of his own soul, (T itus 2:11; that the Bible Heart that we ar e wr iting about is
Heb. 12:14), but Scripture abounds with indirect in- the affections of the mind (Matt. 6:20-21). Also that
ferences and immediate statements which clearly the character of the heart is exhibited in one's con-
show that our behavior may lead to the salvation of duct. Our heart is either good or bad. T he words of
others, or at least it will influence their regard for the our mouth tells what is in our heart (Matt. 12:34).
gospel. Per haps the best known ver se is Mt. 5:16, I n this lesson we want to examine the:
"L et your light so shine before men; that they may
see your good works, and glorify your Father which FUNCTION OF THE HEART
is in heaven." T he Bible heart described above undergoes quite a
THE WIFE number of functions or exercises in obeying the gos-
"L ikewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own pel of Chr ist. Some of the things that are said of
husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also the heart in the New T estament ar e: (1) we think
may without the word be won by the conversation of with the heart (Matt. 9:4) ; (2) we reason with our
the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation hear t ( Mark 2:8); (3) we medit ate in our heart
coupled with fear " (I Peter 3:1,2). A wife will not (Ps. 19:14) ; ( 4) we imagine in the heart (Gen.
win her husband by faithful attendance to chur ch 8:21) ; (5) we purpose in our hearts ( I I Cor. 9:7).
services alone. She must reverently live in pure be- All of these things ar e attributes of the heart, and
havior, subject to her husband. Impatience, bitter- in accepting the religion of Jesus, which is preem-
ness, vengeance, and anger are sins which the wife inently a religion of the heart, we must exercise the
may be led into by a worldly minded mate, but she heart.
must restrain her impulses and refrain from "return- UNDERSTAND. BELIEVE. OBEY. LOVE
ing evil for evil. Women with husbands who are not
Christians should, above all people, plead before the All of the above expr essions ar e car r ied out by
throne of grace for wisdom, patience, and discretion the Bible heart. Jesus said in Matt. 13:15 that men
in word and deed. "should see with their eyes, hear with their ears and
PAUL'S EXHORTATIONS under stand with their hearts, and should be con-
Paul's writings are lined and laced with demands for verted and I should heal them." According to this
pur ity befor e unbeliever s. "But we exhort you, passage one must understand what he is doing (with
br ethren,...that ye may walk becomingly towar d a heart which thinks and reasons) before he can be
them that are without" (I Thess. 4:10,12). "Walk in converted. Jesus said, "No man can come to me
wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the except the Father which hath sent me dr aw him:
time" (Col. 4:5). "See then that ye walk circumspect- and I will raise him up at the last day. It is wr itten
ly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, be- in the prophets, and they shall be all taught from
cause the days are evil" (Eph. 5:15,16). T hese words God. E ver y man ther efore that hath hear d, and
ought to cause Christians to consider their degree of hath lear ned of the Father cometh unto me" (John
conformity to this world. Our behavior reflects the 6:44-45). So, we hear, we lear n, we under stand —
gospel. If there was a greater awareness of this fact, the Bible heart being involved in all of these. For a
our words and deeds would be kinder, our dress more person to say he is converted but doesn't know why
modest. T he jokes I tell or laugh at, the places I or how, is a violation of heartfelt r eligion.
frequent, and the clothes I wear (or do not wear) We believe with the heart. Paul said in Rom. 10:10,
affect someone's view of the gospel. T ake heed to "For with the heart man believeth unto righteous-
thyself. Consider your habits, personality, and general ness; and with the mouth confession is made unto
behavior before the lost with whom you associate. salvation." In Acts 8:37 we see this ver y point ex-
Strive to live a life that will "adorn the doctr ine of emplified in the conversion of the man from Ethio-
God our Saviour in all things" (Titus 2:10). "Only let pia. Philip told him (after he had reasoned with him
your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of about Jesus, and the man said he wanted to be
Chr ist" (Phil. 1:27). baptized) "If thou believest with all thine heart thou
******** mayest." E ven though we are accused of not believ-
Page 8

ing in heartfelt religion ( because we don't get down

on the floor and roll or show an uncontrollable amount
of emotions in shouting, etc.) the person who under-
stands, who believes, is the person who DOES HAVE
heartfelt religion.
We also obey with the heart. Paul told the Ro-
mans in Rom. 6:17-18, "But God be thanked, that ye
were the ser vants of sin, but ye have obeyed from
the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered
unto you. Being then made free from sin, ye became
the ser vants of righteousness." Obedience came
about as a result of the Bible heart believing and
obeying. I n fact, Chr ist became the author of eter-
nal salvation to all them that obey Him (Heb.
5:8-9).
We are to love with our hearts. Jesus said in Mark Clothing today is different in color, material, and
12:30, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with styles to those worn in ancient times. In fact, styles
all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy change for both men and women each decade, or
mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first shall we say, each year. Men make more gradual
commandment." T he word "heart" and "mind" are changes, probably, but they do make changes in
both -used in this passage. However, Mr. Henr y their clothing. Men of today would be unusual and
T hayer in his Greek-E nglish Lexicon says of this striking in appear ance on our streets even in this
passage that the word "hear t " is her e used of per iod of confusion, in the high stiff collar, shoe
things done "from the heart, i.e., cordially or sin- string tie, and the coat with long forked tail.
cer ely, truly (without simulation or pr etense) " Changes in dress are not necessarily sinful. T he
(Page 325). Lord has not bound any certain customs of dress
T r ue Love always expr esses itself in an action. upon His people. It is amazing how little is told in
John 3:16, with which we are all familiar, expresses the New Testament about how the men were dressed
this. God's love expressed itself in giving His Son. or how the women were dressed. By a study of secu-
We also are to make our love known as it expresses lar history of Roman life we might come to have a
itself in an action. Remember ing that love is an sort of educated guess as to how people dressed in
action of the Bible heart, we see an excellent illus- the day of the apostles. We would not be mor e
tration of this in Luke 6:27- 28. Jesus said, "Love r ighteous if we used the mater ials, color (or lack
your enemies." How is this to be done? Do we of color), and styles of garments of that day.
simply say we love them ? Jesus explains how this is Preachers of today would be less effective as gospel
done. (1) "Do good to those who hate you; (2) Bless pr eacher s if they stood in the pulpits in the dr ess
those who curse you; (3) Pray for those who mis- of the 1870s or in the styles of days of the early
treat you." Chr ist's love is exemplified in E ph. 5:25 chur ch. It seems that conformity in some things is
. . . "Chr ist loved the church, and gave himself for a matter of becoming all things to all men r ather
it". A way is also expressed in the Bible as to how than sinful conformity.
we may show our love for Him. "If ye love me, keep Many things can be shown by the way we dress.
my commandments" ( John 14:15). Chr istians, in T hose who are in rebellion can demonstrate their
the practice of Chr istianity, enjoy much with the rebellion by killing, burning, looting, but they can
heart. They enjoy its pleasur es, its comforts, and also show rebellion by non-conformity in dress. Men
its r ewards. Next, T he Change of Heart. may wear beads, make-up, wild mismatched colors,
and clothes that do not fit them. T hey may decide
not to wear shoes. T hey do the opposite to the ex-
pected from head to foot. T hey are in r ebellion and
it is wr itten all over them. T he man at the bank,
the personnel officer at the factor y, or the decent
young lady can, in one look, see that one who is thus
dressed is out of tune with, and in rebellion against,
society. He likely would show little respect for the
law, the foreman, the property of others, or for the
highest officials of gover nment. Young man, if you
do not want to be treated as a r ebel who respects
neither man nor God, then do not dress so as to
look like one.
T he Bible does not bind the styles of one genera-
tion upon another, but this good book does make it
clear that immoral people may advertise their lack
of character by their dress. Tamar knew how to dress
so as to leave the impression that she was immor al.
Judah, when he saw her, had no doubt that she was
a har lot (See Genesis 38). It does not describe her
appearance in detail, but it seems she was cover ed
 Page 9

beyond recognition. T hat would be different in our also.

day, but ungodly women can still indicate that they Hair styles may be signboards to advertise one's
are har lots by the way they dress. Would any deny emphasis or char acter, just as clothing may indi-
this? cate one's quality of character. The proud, ungodly
T he ungodly woman of Proverbs 7 was dressed in women of ancient times were given to the elaborate
the "attir e of a har lot" when she met the foolish and extravagant hair styles. T his extravagance and
young man who came to her door. How was she gaudiness ar e forbidden (See I T im. 2:9; I Peter
dr essed? We do not know, except that those who 3:3). It seems evident that men and women ar e to
saw her in that gener ation knew her char acter by have differ ent hair styles. T hink of these wor ds:
her dress. T he New T estament indicates that mod- "Doth not even natur e itself teach you, that, if a
esty or immodesty, discretion or indiscretion can be man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? but if
shown by attire (See I T im. 2:9, 10; I Peter 3:1-5). a woman have long hair, it is glor y to her: for her
Young lady, do you want to be considered to be a hair is given her for a cover ing" (Read I Cor. 11:1-
har lot by those you meet on the street? T hen do not 16). Why is there not more consideration of and re-
dress like one. spect for this passage? Should not woman at least
T he indecent often set styles. Chr istians should allow her hair to grow until it is definitely long as
not be slaves to the suggestions of these immor al compar ed with man's short hair? Should not man
people. T elevision commercials, and ungodly enter- have his hair cut until his is definitely short when
tainer s, have brought indecent attir e and conduct compared with her long hair ? It is unfortunate that
into the living rooms in Amer ica. T he style makers the so-called pictures of Christ have long hair. T here
admit that certain garments ar e designed to have is no picture of Chr ist. T he paintings of Chr ist that
sex appeal. Many seem to forget that this means have been given wide circulation were painted dur-
they must dress so as to provoke lust (See Matthew ing another "long haired" generation. Women with
5:28). This is sin. It is lascivious attire. Wise, dis- long hair may sin in their extravagant arrangements
creet children of God are taught to flee fornication and or namentation as suggested in I T imothy 2 and
r ather t han invite it ( S ee I Cor. 6:18). I P eter 3.
T hings ar e now in a state of radical change. It Neatness and cleanliness are nowhere forbidden.
would be hard for a woman to dress as none else The slovenly, uncouth appearance is nowhere com-
dr esses. T her e ar e those who ar e dr essed with mended. One may be out of place by conspicuous
dignity, neatness, and decency, and there are those dress regardless of why it is conspicuous. T he mod-
whose dr ess is most lascivious. T hose properly est woman who is beautiful is as God made her, and
dressed are not all by the same styles. T hose im- has no reason to be ashamed. Immodesty has no ex-
proper ly dr essed ar e not all by the same styles. cuse, but beauty is its own excuse for being.
T her e ar e many ways to be decent, and ther e ar e Long ago, in the law of Moses, God said: "T he
many ways to be indecent. T hen, why, oh, why, do woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a
not all good women dress so as to leave the impres- man, neither shall a man put on a woman's gar -
sion that they ar e good women? Why should any ment: for all that do so ar e abomination unto the
good woman object to dressing modestly? Lord thy God" (Deut. 22:5). We do not live under
Good people do not always fully agree as to the the law of Moses, so this is not binding on Christians
appropriateness of certain garments. T he more we because it is the Jewish law. It is true that it is an
study the Bible, pr ay, and meditate on what the unr ighteous thing for a man to be effeminate or
Bible says and what it does not say, the closer we womanish (I Cor. 6:9, 10). T he difference in hair
can get to perfect agr eement. T his unity is based length was mentioned in I Cor. 11. Why would man
upon a desir e to do His will and an under standing desir e to be a sissy? Why would woman desir e to
of His will. All people, young or old, men or women, be mannish? It is sometimes next to impossible to
should hunger and thirst after righteousness. T he identify one on the street. Is IT a boy ? Is I T a gir l ?
differ ence in judgment as to what is appropr iate T he unisex movement is for infidels and atheists.
in clothing is not so much a difference in age as it is It is cer t ainly not for Chr istians.
a difference in concern for God's will. T elevision- May women ever be dr essed decently other than
trained people know little or nothing of chastity and in a skirt ? Have good women always dressed as good
discretion which older women should be teaching women did a few year s ago? Have those patterns
younger women (T itus 2:3-5). T he so-called genera- been bound forever? Get your concordance and look
tion gap is a gap in training. Older women have not up the refer ences to the word skirt or skirts. Be
given the young the principles by which they are to impressed that in Old T estament times men's skirts
measure styles. T his failure is doing much to des- ar e ment ioned mor e often than women's skirts.
troy homes and mor als, which means the loss of T hey evidently were different, according to the law
souls in hell. T he failure is conspicuous and alarming. (Deut. 22:5) , but both he and she wor e skirts. Do
Women receive more instruction in the Bible you want to hunt in the Bible with the help of your
concerning dress than do men. God knows that her concordance for men's trouser s, br itches, or pants
dr ess or lack of dr ess has more influence for good as outer garments? L et us not make laws wher e
or evil than man's attire. T he high standard sug- God has not. If men and women had skirts in Old
gested for women ar e for the good of the human T estament times and wer e not at all dr essed alike,
race. Fathers and husbands, as heads of the homes, is it not evident that men and women might have
should demand decency and forbid lasciviousness. pants suits and be ver y different? Could she find
Men should, of course, be wise and decent in dress, feminine suits while her husband finds remarkably
Page 10

different masculine suits? Styles are not bound, ness and sobr iety? Does the expression "modest
but modesty, decency, and sobr iety ar e bound. apparel" have no meaning until we come to the last
Some good people suggest that if women wear things listed? Modesty refers to that which is pro-
pant suits they will soon be in the stretch pants or per in behavior or manner. The "attire of a harlot"
tights. Some do not wear them. Women who would is not proper. It is not wrong to comb the hair, wear
wear vulgar pant suits would wear the ver y indecent neat clothing, and maintain the ornament of a meek
mini- skirts if they were in dresses. People who are and quite spir it with proper humility. T here can be
interested in unholy and sinful lasciviousness (called the lack of modesty in the loud, subtle, stubborn,
sex appeal) will find a way, whatever the styles. gad-about spirit as well as in indecent clothes (See
Many, even among the careless better women, ap- Proverbs 7). Meekness, chastity, shamefacedness,
pear in public in dresses that look like tops for sobr iety, discr etion, and pur ity should never go out
decent pants suits. It looks as if they just failed to of style among Chr istians. A good name is rather to
put on one of the main garments. Can any one be chosen than great riches. Boaz said that the whole
honestly say that mini- skirts ar e better? Obviously city knew that Ruth was a virtuous woman (Ruth
not. 3:11). T hat good name was worth much to that
T his is not written to say that all good women good woman.
should go to pants suits. Let good women who are in
the habit of wear ing modest dresses continue to do
so if they desir e. We all will r espect them highly.
L et us face the fact however that coming gener a-
tions may make radical changes in the styles. T he
Bible does not forbid. But good women will always
be able to dress neatly and discreetly, and ungodly
women will always be able to show their brash in-
ability to blush ( Jer. 6:15) by appear ing in the
at t i r e of a har lot.
E ntertainment centers may be found where play-
ers appear in the nude with no more shame than the
brute beast. T his is sinful with condemnation from
God as for adulter y and fornication (Read I Cor.
6:9, 10, 18; Gal. 5:19- 21; Col. 3:5; Rev. 21:8).
Please notice that the sex sins ar e almost always
listed first in any Bible list of soul destroying sins.
How much better is the bikini bathing suit than
nudity? Moder n bathing suits ar e indecent for any
to use in public. Is it not amazing how many people,
even church members, appear almost nude in public?
What has happened to discr etion? Morals will not
rise, and homes will not be more stable until people
begin putting on more clothing in public. When
mother s put on their ver y small halter s and shorts
and go to the public pool with the childr en, who
will teach modesty?
"I n like manner also, that women ador n them-
selves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and
sobr iety; not with br aided hair, or gold, or pearls,
or costly array; but (which becometh women pro-
fessing godliness) with good works" ( I T im. 2:9,
10). Mr. W. E. Vines, in his Dictionary of New
Testament Words tells us that the word translated
"modest" in this passage means "orderly, well-ar-
r anged, decent, modest." T he word is sometimes
used to refer to the idea of being orderly or of good
behavior in other particular s than clothing. Many
have pointed out that pear ls and costly array are
referred to by this word, and they certainly are not
the decent, well arranged, and orderly attire for the
Chr istian according to this passage. E xtravagance
and gaudiness are condemned. Do lasciviousness and
indecent exposure go uncondemned? Any indecent
attire is immodest. T hat which tends toward lewd-
ness is condemned. Is ther e no lust provoked by
modern customs of dress? Let none soothe your
conscience by turning your minds only to the costly
ar r ay of I T im. 2:9. What about the shamefaced-
 Page 11

is not to the local church it certainly would include

it.) Dear one, are you a mature Chr istian? Are you
putting the church first in your attendance, giving,
and in your affection?
STEADFAST AND UNMOVABLE

E ven though the word "mature" is not found in Paul wrote to the Chr istians at Corinth thus,
the New T estament, many synonyms are. T he writer "T herefore, my beloved brethren, be ye ST E AD-
of the Hebrew epistle employed a word which is FAST, UNMOVE ABL E , ALWAYS abounding in
tantamount to the E nglish word "mature", "But the work of the L o r d . . . " ( I Cor. 15:58). I have
strong meat belongeth to them that ar e of FUL L seen instances in which the local preacher was so
AGE . . ." (Heb. 5:14, all emphasis throughout mine, pr eoccupied in tr ying to keep member s attending
D.M.). T he word which is herein translated "of full who had been members for years that he did not have
age" is the Gr eek word "teleiou" which, according time to teach aliens Chr ist's gospel! Beloved, the
to Mr. Vine, means maturity (W. E . Vine's E xposi- mature adult Chr istian is not irresolute and fickle
tory Dictionary, page 174). The same word that is but r ather firm and unmovable. He is the type who
rendered "of full age" in Hebrews five, verse fourteen is out encouraging others rather than having to be
is also found in a host of other passages. "Brethren, constantly encour aged himself.
be not children in understanding", Paul exhorts the TEACHES OTHERS
Cor inthians, "howbeit in malice be ye children, but
in under standing be men." (I Cor. 14:20). I n this T he New Testament is replete with teaching con-
passage the word "teleiou" is translated "men". cerning the necessit y of the Chr istian teaching
T hus, in both of the foregoing passages, adulthood other s the gospel. Luke in his letter to Theophilus
or maturity is enjoined. Yet, in view of this simple said thus relative to the Chr istians in Jerusalem,
teaching; that is, that Chr istians ar e to be matur e '"T her efore they that wer e scattered abroad went
and adult, we have not a few who have been mem- ever y where preaching the word (Acts 8:4). Chris-
bers for years and years who seemingly never grow! tians ar e not only commanded to teach aliens but
I n fact, I would suggest that infantilism is one of also one another. In the language of Paul we are to,
the greatest hindrances and impediments the church ". .. War n them that are unruly, comfort the feeble
is presently encounter ing. T hus it behooves ever y minded, support the weak, be patient toward all
child of God who has had time to develop (Heb. 5:12) men" (I Thes. 5:14). The weak, immature member,
to ask himself, am I a matur e Chr istian? Dear ones instead of being able to teach others, is still in need
in Chr ist, the following will help us to determine of being taught himself! (Heb. 5:12). Conver sely,
whether or not we are mature Christians: the mature Chr istian teaches aliens and er r ing mem-
ber s the way of r ectitude and r ight.
PUTS KINGDOM FIRST
EXAMINES SELF
"But seek ye first his kingdom," Chr ist com-
mands, "and his r ighteousness; and all these things It is your wr iter 's belief that one of the gr eatest
shall be added unto you" ( Matt. 6:33, A.S.V.) . needs in the church today is self-examination. Many
Beloved, there are many ways in which the adult good, rich lessons delivered from the pulpit are often
Chr istian puts the kingdom or church first. Seeking ineffective simply because the hearers do not make
the church first necessitates putting it fir st in our personal application. We need to heed the teaching
attendance, giving, and affection. T he mature Chris- of Paul to the Corinthians, "E xamine yourselves,
tian will not stay home to entertain visitors or rela- whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves
tives when it is time to assemble (Heb. 10:25) . . . ." (II Cor. 13:5). T he adult Chr istian is not bored
Neither will he make up all kind of fr ivolous ex- when he attends ser vices, as the infantile member
cuses for not attending. He will be ther e ever y frequently is, because he is involved in the lesson
time the doors open, if you please, because he is — he is making application to himself.
putting the church first. Certainly when it comes to CONCLUSION
giving we see many who are immature. T here are
churches that can not support a full-time preacher It is the wr iter 's pr ayer that the foregoing will
simply because the member s ar e not matur e when enable us to determine whether or not we ar e ma-
it comes to giving. Many of these member s when ture Christians. If, in view of the above description,
they decide they want a new car or house will cut you find that you ar e not an adult Chr istian, why
down on their contr ibution when they ar e giving not resolve now to be.
the Lord their left over s to start with! Also when
it comes to the church occupying a lofty position in
our affection, we see those who are immature. If
Chr ist is teaching anything in the two parables of WANTED
Matthew thirteen, ver ses forty- four through forty- Any authentic material on the "Jesus People"
six he is teaching that the church is to be highly movement or other r elated movements. Please send
esteemed in our affection. Notwithstanding, ther e it to me with invoice.
are those who could care less about the local church H. E. Phillips
of which they are a member. (I submit that if the P. O. Box 17244
par amount r efer ence of Matthew six, thirty- three T ampa, Fla. 33612
Page 12 __________________________________________________________________________________________________

SOUTH CAROLINA NEW CHURCH IN BRISTOW, OKLAHOMA

by Owen H. Thomas Olen Holderby
T he state of South Carolina is virtually a mission T he chur ch in San Pablo, Calif, sent me, dur ing
field so far as the conservative element of the Lord's the month of Apr il, to Br istow, Okla., in an effort
church is concerned. To my knowledge there are only to get a sound chur ch started. I ar r ived in Br istow
two congregations in the state that are self- support- on April 10. After about two weeks of intensive home
ing. Both of these have fewer than sixty member s. Bible studies, we began meeting April 23. Twenty-
Only five chur ches have full time preacher s. I do three people wer e pr esent for the morning service
not know of but about twenty congregation in the and twenty-two for the evening ser vice. At present
entire state that could be consider ed conser vative the new group is meeting in the Amer ican L egion
and most of these have less than twenty-five mem- Bldg., which has ver y nice quarter s. T he br ethren
bers. T here are several towns of moderate size that at the E ast Central church in Tulsa ar e much inter-
have no chur ches of Chr ist in them. ested in this new work and have promised to pursue
T he liber al churches are not as strong here as in the effort further, with needed assistance and effort.
many other places but they outnumber the con- Bro. James Watts, the E ast Central pr eacher, was
servatives by a wide margin. Some of the liberal with me almost all the time and proved to be a real
churches in Nashville, T ennessee have been survey- source of encouragement and help. T he E ast Central
ing the state and are making plans to send liber al elders are kind enough to permit Bro. Watts to speak
preachers into South Carolina for the purpose of for the new group for a while. Along with the E ast
starting mor e liber al churches. Central brethren we are doing considerable follow-up
Columbia, which is the state capitol, has four lib- on additional contacts. We ask your prayers on be-
eral chur ches but until about a year ago ther e were half of this new work.
no conservative churches. However, there are two
small conser vative groups meeting there now. One
of these began over a year ago and they now have DEBATE IN HOUSTON AREA
about fifteen member s. T hey ar e known as the T he subject of this discussion is "T he Kingdom
North Columbia Church of Chr ist and meet at 928 (Its E stablishment and Destiny)." It will be con-
Columbia College Dr ive. Brother Bill Br ittenham, ducted in the Deer Park High School Auditor ium.
who was r ecently discharged from the army, is E ach session will begin at 7:30 each evening.
working with them. He is trying to raise support The disputants are Glenn R. Burt who is working
so that he may continue to work with this small with the College Park church of Chr ist in Deer Park,
group. T hey ar e trying to support him until he can Texas, and Don Newcomer, who is a member of the
find support but they will not be able to continue Berean Chr istadelphians in Houston, T exas.
this for ver y long. Bro. Br ittenham needs help and Propositions:
he needs it NOW. T he other group started in Jan- June 12 & 13 — T he Kingdom was established on
uar y of this year when about five or six families the first Pentecost after the r esur r ection of Jesus
were kicked out of the liberal E astside church. T hey and its destiny is Et er nity in Heaven with Jesus.
have about fifty in attendance and are known as the Affirming: Glenn R. Burt
Brandon Avenue Church of Chr ist. T hey have made Denying: Don Newcomer
arrangements for brother Gary White to begin work- June 15 & 16 — The Kingdom of God will be re-
ing with them about August. I understand he will established at the second coming of Jesus and its
also be needing support. destiny is E t ernity on E arth with Jesus.
T he chur ch her e in Camden is small. We have Affirming: Don Newcomer
about fifty-six members. At the present time we are Denying: Glenn R. Burt
sending $335.00 per month to help support four
other preachers besides carrying on our local work. PREACHER NEEDED
T hus, we ar e not able to answer these other calls
for help. We would, if we could. But I know there Preacher needed to work with small group of
ar e other chur ches who can help these men. Will Chr istians in Selma, Ala. Adequate support avail-
you do it? I believe these men deserve help. South able. Send inquiry to Nile E . Casstleberry, 216 Ko-
Carolina needs these men. Columbia being the capi- pecky Rd., Selma, Ala. 36701. Phone 205-872-1839.
tol offer s the best opportunities for the spr eading
of the gospel in the state. If you can help or are in- The church of Christ in T homaston, Maine assem-
terested in more information I suggest you contact bled for the first time on Apr il 16, 1972 in the Wey-
Bill Br ittenham at 3028 E xmoor, Columbia, S.C. mouth Grange Hall on Beechwood Street off U.S. 1.
29203 or Harold Taylor, 1021 Heaven Drive, Colum- T he attendance is now in the teens. T he membership
bia, S.C. 29203. at present is 12. T here are over 40,000 people in a
15- mile radius to draw from and the nearest church
 Page 13

is 40 miles. We will be moving into that area when tween "personal faith," and "personal work." We are
schools are out in June. Our present need is support! saved— to save others. We are loved— to love others.
Any church or Christian who wants to have fellow- We are taught— to teach others. Remember: it is not
ship with us in this gr eat work may contact me at just "the pr eacher 's job." It is "the faithful man's
this address. John W. Pitman, P.O. Box 186, Mil- job ( 2 T im. 2:2).
br idge, Maine 04658. T he need is great! Who will T he gospel and the communication of the gospel
help? are two different things. We must study, learn, and
know the blessed gospel; but we must also tell it to
others. Yet, in many local churches (individually and
Do you want to translate your books to collectively) the communication of the Good News is
Spanish language ? so inadequate that the greater part of our neighbors
Wr ite to: fail to get any real awareness of the Christ's power in
Armando Ortega Mata our lives. L ife goes on, for the most part, in our secu-
Sor Juana I nes de la Cruz No. 1905 lar age, as if the Lord had never died on the cross and
Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mex. as if His church did not exist.
Not all people will hear and heed the Good News
when you tell them; not all heard and heeded Jesus.
Tom Swilley, 1713 South 6th, Monroe, Louisiana But if Christians will be busy sowing the seed with
71201 — T his is to advise that the Southside Church untir ing devotion— it has with it such compelling
in Monroe has now moved into a new and permanent force (power— Romans 1:16) that some will listen....
meeting house. We met for three weeks in the home some hearts will heed...some lives will be touched...
of one of the Christians and then moved to a rented some souls will be saved!
warehouse where we had been until buying property What ails the church of the Lord? Inadequate num-
and building at 506 S. 6th Street. We moved into our bers? Too little finances? Not enough church build-
building and began our spr ing gospel meeting on ings? Too few big congregations? No. Not really. T hat
March 26 with Bro. Bob Buchanon of Pekin, I nd. is not the root of the problem. But rather the answer
Our new meeting house has a very comfortable audi- lies in: inadequate personal devotion; too little self-
torium and four classrooms. Our attendance con- denial; not enough love for the lost; and too much
tinues to grow. We averaged 54 for each ser vice lethargic leadership.
during the gospel meeting. On Tuesday and Wednes- The proclamation of the gospel is being in our time
day nights, a couple of the students from White's so feebly done. May we never be content to "drag
Ferry Road School of Preaching were in attendance along" just doing things "fairly well" and "holding
and stayed around after services to discuss the in- our own." God forbid.
"...already it is time for you to awake out of sleep:
stitutional question. Bro. Buchanon and I tried to for now is salvation nearer to us than when we first
answer every question and feel much good was ac- believed. T he night is far spent, and the day is at
complished as a result. Monroe holds much bitter- hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness,
ness so we hope this is a step in the direction of re- and let us put on the armor of light."(Rom. 13:11,12)
moving some of the animosity that exists. If ever "Awake to soberness righteously, and sin not; for
in the Monroe area, be sur e to look us up. If you some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to
know of any contact in this area, please call me at move you to shame." (I Cor. 15:34)
(318) 323-2278 or 322-3541. "Awake, thou that sleepest, and ar ise from the
dead, and Chr ist shall shine upon thee." ( E ph. 5:14)
T ime is flying fast. Death is nearer. Christ's com- ing
is nearer. Judgment is nearer. Eter nity is getting
nearer with ever y beat of your heart. ********
"AWAKE OUT OF SLEEP"
Donald R. Givens

Many congregations of God's people, though far

from dead, are doing much less effective gospel work
than they should be doing with their talent and re-
sources. Why is this? What is the reason for so little
spiritual and numerical growth? Among other answers
this must be one: Because the very reason for which
the church exists — the proclamation of the saving
gospel — is being done so feebly by too many. T here
ar e exceptions to this of cour se (thank the Lord),
but generally speaking, in our modern materialistic
society, too few of God's people are diligently and
constantly proclaiming the gospel to too few of the
devil's people.
T here needs to be a much closer connection be-
tween "study" and "evangelism" between preaching
and practice; between knowledge and conduct; be-
 laws he acknowledges beforehand to be perfect? All
of his words are wise and his statutes just, good and
necessary.
Non-essential commands cease to exist. Denomi-
nationalism despises certain commandments (bap-
tism for the remission of sins, for example). Unable
to deny that baptism is commanded (Acts 10:48) a
weak smile and shr ugged shoulder often accom-
panies the common dodge, "It's a command; but it's
a non- essential command"; "You don't have to do
it!" Not even a spoiled child could speak to indulgent,
permissive par ents like that and be said by the
excuse- making par ents to respect them. T his is
rather the essence of impudence, the robes of piety
THE EFFECTS OF RESPECT FOR AUTHORITY to the contrary notwithstanding. Any denial of the
necessity of the law is a denial and affront against
Respect for author ity is the exact equivalent of him from whom the law came in the first place.
respect for God. He who thinks he respects author- Genuine r espect does not play this self- deluding
ity but does not believe in God, or professes to be- game; it esteems that there is no such thing as a
lieve in God but despises law, declar es ther ein a non- essential word or command from God. He is
crass ignorance. God is the source of all author ity God! T herefore what he says is r ight, good, impor-
and even human author ities are ultimately depend- tant and necessar y.
ent upon him for their r ight to exercise rule. It is Obedience is another effect. Obedience inher es
impossible to genuinely respect God without respect- in the ver y nature of respect. Respect for authority
ing to an equal degree all legitimate author ity. It is consists, in part, of the humility that submits, and
impossible to respect legitimate authority without that is what obedience is. T hus the person who dis-
r especting God, for authority is dependent upon obeys cannot correctly argue that he respects God.
God and without him all authority ceases to be legi- He may admir e, but he does not respect. He has
timate and is but the arbitrar y exer cise of power rather arrogated his own will and declared his inde-
by men. Based upon such a recognition of God as pendence. Respect submits in dutiful deference even
the source, and the possession of humility to accept on points that ar e per sonally unpleasant.
the fact by submissive compliance, respect neces-
sarily requires and reflects an enlightenment of un- Character and self-discipline are produced. When a
derstanding and personal character. The effects are man obeys God out of a deep conviction and profound
most wholesome and discernible. respect, purity of life in body and mind results. He
All laws immediately become important. T hey ar e lear ns to drive and restrain himself by a deliberate
not regarded for their own individual mer it. T hey determination to obey the law. He has become, in
are not dependent upon their "relevance" to current the process, the kind of per son with strength of
notions or needs. T hey are important because they character that it would have been impossible to be-
are the law. T he son who admires and respects his come without respect for authority. T his respect has
father does not await an explanation for ever ything in fact permitted God to remake and conform him
he is told to do. He does not have to lose an argu- into something according to the divine will. See
ment befor e he admits that he should do what he Romans 12:1,2 and Col. 3:10. In a word, he really
has been told. Commensur ate with his r espect for becomes somebody!
his father, a requirement is important because it is Eternal rewards should also be mentioned among
a r equir ement. How much mor e is this true in a the effects of respect. T he r iches of heaven are for
man's r elationship to the God whose wisdom and those who keep his commandments, who are good
Page 2 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

and faithful ser vants that did what their duty was
to do (Rev. 22:14; Matt. 25:21; Luke 17:10). How-
ever, our inter est in this article is upon the pr esent
practical effects in the life of a person, though the
eter nal r eward is r eal and is the ultimate goal,
being the dwelling place of the God whom we r e-
spect and love.
Respect for author it y makes all the difference.
It is the difference between pur ity and depr avity,
character and dissipation, obedience and rebellion,
peace of heart and anguish of soul, life and death,
and heaven and hell. T r uly the believer, the selfless
soul who is willing to conform himself in respectful
submission to the divine will, has the best of two
wor lds — the wor ld that now is, and the wor ld that
is to come.
 Page 3

SOME EXAMPLES
It is not uncommon for members of various de-
nominations to appear to be quite interested in gos-
pel preaching — that is, until some mention is made
of the particular name or the specific doctr ine in
which they take such pr ide, and about which they
have such strong prejudice. T hey listen, in other
words, up to a point. A. religious neighbor may lis-
ten to the Bible teaching about the church and the
plan of salvation with seeming inter est until "one
body . . . one Lord, one faith, one baptism . . ." are
mentioned ( E ph. 4:4,5). Though the teaching is
sound and scr iptural, they may insist that they want
to hear no more of it. Another may listen gladly to
what is said about baptism until it is pointed out
that baptism is essential to salvation in Jesus Christ
Some people will listen to the word of God — to a (Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4). Pride is one's pres-
degree. When Paul was defending himself in Jer u- ent religious condition and prejudice against some-
salem, he recited the story of his life. His Jewish thing that is contrar y to pr esent belief ar e har d
audience listened patiently as he told of his Jewish obstacles for some people to overcome.
origin, his education in the ver y center of Judaism, It is almost as common for members of the Lord's
Jerusalem, his zeal for the law of Moses, his per- chur ch to listen in the same way — only up to a
sistent persecution of Chr istians — yes, even of his point. Some really like "brother Preacher " ver y fine
amazing conversion to Christ. But then he made one — until the day he gets up and begins teaching on
big mistake — he mentioned that Chr ist had now their own pet sins. After that they hear nothing he
sent him forth "unto the Gentiles" (Acts 22:21). says. Pride is closing their ear s to the need of re-
T hat did it! T he ver y mention of the name "Gen- pentance.
tiles" closed the door s of those Jewish minds. It T hen there are those in the church who have em-
"turned them off" immediately. Whatever listening braced the liberal practices of institutionalism and
they had done earlier was now wasted. Luke states, coordination of the work of many churches under a
"T hey gave him audience unto this word . . ." (Acts "sponsoring eldership." T hese people, so often, will
22:22). The New Amer ican Standard renders the listen to faithful brethren preach only up to a point.
passage, "T hey listened to him up to this state- T hey willingly listen while he shows that there is no
ment. . . ." T hen they began to declare Paul unfit to Bible authority for churches of the Lord to build and
live on the earth! maintain a human institution to do the churches'
UP TO A POINT work of gospel preaching. (Somehow they have the
idea that this would be a "Missionar y Society" like
Several groups are mentioned in the book of Acts the Chr istian Chur ch developed many year s ago.)
who were willing to listen to the gospel of Chr ist — But when the same faithful brethren show that
up to a point! (1) The Jews mentioned above were there is no Bible author ity for churches of the Lord
willing to listen until the preacher made favorable to build and maintain a human institution to do the
mention of a group of people they hated — the Gen- churches' work of edification (schools, educational
tiles. T heir prejudice was blinding; they would hear societies) or the churches' work of relieving the
no more. (2) The Athenians in Acts 17:32 were quite needy (benevolent societies, "homes" or asylums),
inter ested in hear ing Paul's discourse — up to a some will listen no further!
point! When he began to advocate a certain doctrine Such pride can be engendered by the "GRE AT "
which they did not believe— the resurrection of the things the "brother hood" is doing that men will r e-
dead, the curtain was down for many of them. T hey fuse to listen to calls for a r etur n to the simple,
had heard all they wanted to hear. (3) T he Jews in New T estament patter n. Such pr ejudice can be
Acts 7 listened to a long discourse by Stephen on the stirred up against those who call for Bible author ity
development of God's purposes in Abraham's pos- ("antis," "legalists." "hobbyists") that misguided
terity — up to a point. But when Stephen made the brethren will absolutely close their ear s to the truth.
application of his lesson to them personally, accus-
ing them of being sinners, their ears were suddenly THE ONLY SOLUTION
closed and their hearts were filled with rage (Acts
7:54). Only ONE T HING will cause men to stop this
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
"listening . . . up to a point." Only one thing will
impel men to go all the way with truth. T hat thing is
Two things accounted for much of the attitude of a genuine desire for and love for the truth, the
the people above: (1) pride, or their great vanity whole truth, and nothing but the truth. When one
over fleshly birth and tr aditions; and (2) preju- WANTS the truth — all of the truth, he will sear ch
dice, or resentment of any teaching contrary to what for it. He will listen to what he hears — not gullibly,
they alr eady believed. Many ears have been closed but cr itically — trying to determine whether it is
to the gospel in modern times by the same unreason- the ver y truth of God's word. Paul preached to people
able conditions. T his is manifested by people yet in in Berea who were ready to listen, and anxious to
the world and also by some within the body of Christ. investigate the Scr iptures to see if what they had
Page 4

been taught was the truth (Acts 17:11). T hey wer e

not full of human pride and vicious prejudice. T hey
were willing to hear Paul out. Nearly 3,000 on Pente-
cost laid aside pr ide and prejudice and "gladly r e-
ceived his word" (Acts 2:41). If they had stopped
listening, the story would have been differ ent.
How dangerous it is to the human soul for one not
to receive "the LOVE OF THE TRUTH" II Thess.
2:10). Without real love for truth ther e is no way
to be saved. It ought to be obvious that if one does
not LOVE truth, he will not listen to it. And even if
he condescends to listen, he will not believe and
obey it.
The extent to which people will listen to the wor d
of God will determine their eternal destiny. If they
listen only "up to a point," they will be condemned QUESTION: Please answer me if Isaiah 29 and
in that great day of judgment, for only those who E zekiel 37:16- 28 r eally have to do with the Book
listen obediently will escape hell ( I I T hess. 1:7- 9). of Mormon? — A.O.M.
If they listen "all the way," and then obey from the ANSWER: Concerning the prophecy of Isaiah 29,
heart what they have heard, they will become serv- L atter Day Saints affirm "the coming forth of the
ants of righteousness and have the hope of life eter- Book of Mormon" to be the fulfillment. T heir line
nal ( Rom. 6:17,18; I Peter 1:3-5). of reasoning is rather extended and involved. How-
Just how willing ar e we to listen? ever, the primar y points may be summar ized as
follows:
Verses 1 and 2: A comparison is drawn between
"Ar iel" (which they admit refer s to Jerusalem) and
another place which was to be unto God "as Ariel."
Hence, they talk of an old and new Ariel. T his new
Ar iel is further identified as "the land shadowing
with wings" (Isa. 18:1), which is North and South
Amer ica.
Ver se 4: The expr ession "and shalt speak out of
the ground" refers to the Book of Mormon which
contains a history of the new Ar iel. T his history was
wr itten on brass and golden plates found and trans-
lated by Joseph Smith.
Ver ses 11-14: T he "book that is sealed" r epr e-
sents the Book of Mormon. Joseph Smith copied some
of the characters from the plates and had them sub-
mitted by Martin Har r is to Professor Anthon of
New York for translation. Anthon explained that he
could not tr anslate them, but might if he had the
plates. When it was explained that "part of the
plates wer e sealed," he r eplied "I cannot r ead a
sealed book." Hence, the "learned" could not trans-
late the plates, so it was left to the "unlear ned" to
do, namely, Joseph Smith, which he did by use of
divine instruments. T hus, was I saiah's prophecy of
"a mar velous work and a wonder" fulfilled.
In reply to the above, let it be pointed out that
Mormonism is one of the most self contradictor y
systems of religion ever propagated. T heir teaching
on Isa. 29 is one good example.
Joseph Smith's "I nspir ed T r anslation" makes
these verses refer conclusively and exclusively to
liter al Jerusalem ( I .T . Isa. 29:1- 4). No other place
is mentioned or permitted according to this trans-
lation. Yet, Mormonism depends upon the "new
Ar iel" (the Amer ican continent) concept of this
passage. If the "I nspir ed T r anslation" be true, then
ther e is no way to make I sa. 29 apply to Amer ica,
the Mormon plates, the Book of Mormon, and the
people involved in its history. A choice must be made
between the two. Both cannot be correct.
Furthermore, the Book of Mormon affirms that
the Mormon plates wer e wr itten in a language un-
 Page 5

known to any people on earth, hence, a means was the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no
pr epar ed for their inter pr etation (Mormon 9:32,34; bread for the people of the land. And the city was
I Neph. 1:2). Yet, Joseph Smith quotes Martin Har- broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by
ris as saying that Anthon of New York assured him the way of the gate between two walls, which is by
"T he translation was correct, mor e so than any he the king's garden: ( now the Chaldees wer e against
had befor e seen t r anslated from the E gyptian... the city round about:) and the king went the way
He gave me a certificate certifying to the people of toward the plain. And the army of the Chaldees pur-
Palmyr a that they wer e true char acter s, and that sued after the king, and overtook him in the plains
the translation of such of them as had been trans- of Jer icho: and all his army wer e scatter ed from
lated was also cor rect" (P. of G.P., "J.S." 2:64, p. him... And in the fifth month, on the seventh day
55). Question: How could Anthon give such assur- of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king
ance when the Book of Mormon says no one knew Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came Nebuzara-
the language? Why did Smith need the divine in- dan, captain of the guard, a ser vant of the king of
struments for interpretation? Why not let Anthon Babylon, unto Jerusalem: And he bur nt the house
do it? of the Lord, and the king's house, and all the houses
T he truth of the matter is, the "woe" of Isa. 29 of Jerusalem, and ever y great man's house bur nt he
was against literal Jerusalem, "the city where David with fire. And all the army of the Chaldees, that
dwelt," and cannot possibly r efer to anything in were with the captain of the guard, brake down the
Amer ica. T he expression "as Ar iel" (v. 2) tells why walls of Jerusalem round about. Now the rest of the
"the city wher e David dwelt" is called "Ar iel" in people that wer e left in the city, and the fugitives
this prophecy. T he word "Ar iel" is from a Hebrew that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the rem-
word translated "altar" in E zek. 43:15. Hence, Jer u- nant of the multitude, did Nebuzar adan the captain
salem was to be unto God as an altar. It was to be of the guar d carry away. . . So Judah was carried
a place of slain victims ( not animals, but people in away out of their land" (II Kings 25:1-4, 8- 11; 21).
this instance). T he evidence and conclusion is corroborated sev-
Subsequent history of God's people shows that eral times over by other scr iptures and prophecies,
ever y detail of this prophecy was fulfilled in the de- especially from Jeremiah. Space limit, however, for-
struction of Jerusalem and the captivity of its peo- bids such examination here.
ple by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Isaiah 29:7,8 picture in prophetic language the
T hat Jerusalem is the place of the fulfillment of overthrow of Babylon and others who fought against
Isaiah's prophecy is evident from the whole context Jerusalem. While Babylon's triumph over Jerusalem
of the book itself. Notice, first, Isa. 1:1: "T he vision seemed r eal and lasting, it was only as a dr eam. It
of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, which he saw concer n- was enjoyed for a moment, then she herself was
ing Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, overthrown. Her subsequent history confirms this.
Jotham. Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah." Now Notice that these ver ses refer to nations that fought
notice the immediate context of the prophecy under against "Ar iel" ( Jerusalem) o r against "mount
study: "Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye Z ion" ( Jerusalem). These ver ses cannot possibly
scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jer u- refer to nations that warred against one another on
salem .. . For the Lord shall r ise up as in mount the Amer ican continent.
Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, Isaiah 29:11-14 picture the condition of Jerusalem
that he may do his work, his strange work; and and Judah immediately pr ior to and dur ing their de-
br ing to pass his act, his strange act" ( I sa. 28:14, struction. Because of sin, the people ar e pictur ed
21). T his "strange work" is the same "mar velous as one overcome with "deep sleep," blind, drunk,
work and a wonder " of Isa. 29:14. Notice that the staggering on to destruction. T hey no more discern
wr ath of God or the "woe" of our text was to be God's revelation through prophets and seer s than a
upon them that "rule this people which is in Jer u- lear ned man could discern the contents of a sealed
salem," and "the city wher e David dwelt." book, or an unlearned man could read the same book
From the prophecy of Isa. 29:1- 5, we learn that with the seal broken. Both pose impossible situa-
the "woe" involved "the city wher e David dwelt," tions. Because of their blind spiritual stupor, God
that "the multitude of thy stranger s" was to "camp wrought "a marvelous work and a wonder" in bring-
against thee, round about ;"• that they were to "raise ing about the destruction of Jerusalem — a seem-
forts against thee," and those who wer e the object ingly impossible task in view of its apparent power,
of the "woe" were to be "brought down" so as to might and security. (Continued next issue with an
"whisper out of the dust" — the latter statement examination of E zk. 37.)
symbolizing the humiliation and low state to which
they were to be reduced. For an accurate fulfillment
of every minute detail of this prophecy, one has only
to read the subsequent history of Jerusalem as set
forth in II Kings 25:
"And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign,
in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month,
that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and
all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against
it; and they built forts against it round about. And
the city was besieged unto .the eleventh year of king
Z edekiah. And on the ninth day of the fourth month
Page 6

found in the ten commandments. However, we must

remember that the death penalty is found in other
commands. T he sons of Kohath wer e told not to
touch any holy thing lest they die (Nun. 4:15). T his
would also have to be a standard of right and wrong.
It was not part of the ten commandments. E ven
wizards wer e to be put to death (Lev. 20:7). So it
must be obser ved that many standards of right and
wrong were found outside the T en Commandments.
In Amos 8:5 the Jews asked two important ques-
tions, "When will the new moon be gone, that we
may sell corn? and the Sabbath, that we may set
forth wheat?" T he Jews' wanted to know when the
sabbath would be gone. Sabbatar ians argue that it
THE SABBATH TODAY will never be gone but God says it would. I n ver se
nine God answers their questions, "And it shall come
T his is the second in a ser ies on the sabbath ques- to pass in that day saith the Lord God that I will
tion. It is alleged by most Sabbatar ians that the ten cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken
commandments were not given on shaking Sinai but the earth in a clear day." I n Mark 15:33 we read
in the garden of E den. I n a discussion with Burt that the sun went down at noon and darkness cov-
F. Marrs, I asked "With whom could E ve have com- ered the earth and r emained for thr ee hour s. T hus,
mitted adulter y since Adam was the only man on according to God, this ended the sabbath. Burt F.
earth?" He r eplied that she could have committed Mar r s claimed that this could not be true because
adulter y with the devil. Of cour se, this was non- the Jews wanted to cheat. It can be gr anted that
sense since the devil is a spir itual being but E ve many of the Jews wanted to cheat God, but remem-
was physical. It is argued from Gen. 26:5 that since ber, gentle r eader, it was God who thunder ed back
Abr aham kept the statutes and laws of the Lord that his reply by saying the sabbath would end when the
it must have included the Sabbath. However, one sun went down at noon. T he cheating of the Jews
might as well argue that Abr aham had been bap- had nothing to do with the answer of the Lord. The
tized for the r emission of sins and obser ved the stubborn fact remains that God said the sabbath
Lord's Supper, since they are commands of the Lord. would end when the sun went down at noon.
Sabbatar ians need to be r eminded that Abr aham
also kept the law of cir cumcision (Gen. 17:10-14)
and also offer ed animal sacr ifices (Gen. 22:13) .
Would this mean that Chr istians are to keep these
today?
Mr. Roy B. T hurman, in his little book uses Isaiah
56:5 which mentions the "sons of the stranger " as
keeping the sabbath. What Mr. Thurman failed to
tell his r eader s is that the same S T RANGE R was
told to observe the law of circumcision for the same
reason as keeping the sabbath. God said, "And when
a stranger shall sojour n with thee, and will keep
the passover of the Lord, let all his males be cir-
cumcised ... for no uncircumcised person shall eat
thereof (Exo. 12:48). Does he practice circumcision?
T he Bible makes it clear what the "sons of the
stranger" in Isa. 56:6 had to do in order to be eligi-
ble for sabbath keeping and entering God's house.
T he Lord said, "No stranger, uncir cumcised in
heart, nor uncircumcised in the flesh, shall enter
into my sanctuar y, of any stranger that is among
the childr en of I sr ael" ( E zek. 44:9). When these
Gentiles joined themselves to the Lord, they ceased
to be Gentiles and became proselytes to the Jewish
religion. I n E xodus 20:10 God tells the stranger
WI T HIN THY GATES to keep the sabbath com-
mand. If the sabbath is universal as the Sabbatar ian
claims then why speak of the stranger WITHIN
AND WITHOUT the gate, since there would be no
STRANGERS.
Sometimes it is argued by Sabbatar ians that the
standard of right and wrong is found in the ten
commandments, because of the death penalty. It
certainly would not be denied that under the Mosaic
system some standards of right and wrong wer e
 Page 7

those chur ches can believe and teach something

which is different from the Baptists (which he be-
lieves to be true) and be r ight, then error is as good
as truth. So to them, ther e is no standard of truth.
and that is what I said in the beginning.
Notice that he said that they ar e not the only true
chur ch, but that MOST of the true chur ches wear
the Baptist name. Now by what standard can one
determine that it is r ight to wear the Baptist name
but it is also r ight to wear some other name? Not
by truth, for it doesn't contradict itself nor teach
conflicting doctrines.
On a r ecent radio progr am, I heard a Baptist
"WHAT IS TRUTH?" pr eacher discussing Revelation 5:9 which says,
"T hou art worthy to take the book, and to open the
T his is the question which old Pilate asked Jesus seals ther eof: for thou wast slain, and hast re-
a long time ago (John 18:38). T here has been much deemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred,
discussion of the subject in the religious world, and and tongue, and people, and nation." I n his com-
many answers to the question. To the average sec- ments, he applied the word "nation" to denomina-
tar ian, including pr eacher s, ther e is no such thing tions (which is par for the cour se for him) and
as truth. Oh, I know that they don't think they be- then concluded that there were saved people in all
lieve that, but they do. Any time one argues that churches. He said that he expected to meet Martin
anything one wants to believe and pr actice is r ight Luther in heaven, even though Luther was not a
( just so he is honest) he is saying that ther e can be Baptist and was wrong on baptism. I'm not the judge
no wrong. And if there is no wrong, then ther e is of Luther 's salvation, but I can detect the fallacy
no standard by which we determine that there is of the Baptist pr eacher 's argument.
truth. He believes the Bible (truth) teaches one to be a
L et me illustrate what I mean by examining some Baptist, and that immer sion is scr iptur al baptism.
statements which I have heard and r ead recently. Yet he believes one will be saved who was not a
A local newspaper reported an inter view between Baptist, was not immersed, and did not believe and
a staff writer and the vice president of a local Bap- teach it. If they should both make it to heaven, it
tist seminar y. T he Baptist official stated that in will prove that God has no standard of author ity
many ways Billy Graham was too liber al for them. concerning baptism and church membership. So any-
He said, "we differ on the subject of the church and thing and any way would be acceptable, and where
its importance in evangelism. We believe here that ther e is no error ther e can be no standard of truth.
the commission of evangelism to the wor ld was I pointed this out on our program the following Sun-
given to the church as a local group. I could not in day (on the same station) and asked how many other
good conscience tell a new convert to go out and points a man could be wrong on and still be saved,
join the church of his choice." or if he could be wrong on everything. If so, what is
It is refreshing to hear a denominational preacher t r uth?
deny the old "join the church of your choice" argu- While we are speaking of Baptists and have men-
ment. And he is r ight in saying that evangelism tioned Billy Graham, we may as well make a day of
(and any other work) was given to the church in the it. In his newspaper column someone asked him
local rather than the universal sense. Many people about the clothing one should wear, and what this
need to lear n that lesson. Of course Baptists deny had to do with being a Chr istian. Here is his r eply:
that the Bible speaks of the church in the univer sal "Nothing! We are not saved because of what we
sense, but it does ( Matt. 16:18; E ph. 1:22,23). wear or don't wear, or even what we do, or don't do.
I now quote from the newspaper article: 'By gr ace we ar e saved, and it is not of ourselves.'
"Owen said he and other s at the seminar y con- It is not what we do, or wear, or the way we act, but
sider the Missionar y Baptist chur ches to be some what God has done in Chr ist. T he Bible does teach
'of the true New T estament churches today,' but he us that we are to dress modestly."
added: How about that for some mor e double talk? He
"T hat is not to say we ar e the only true chur ch. would have us believe that the Bible (truth) teaches
But it has been my observation that most of the true us to dress modestly, but one can go naked and still
New T estament churches in America today go under be saved! It is all- up to God and Christ. We can do
some kind of Baptist name." wrongly, dr ess immodestly and act unr ighteously
Now you never read mor e double talk than that, and still be saved. If we ar e not saved by what we
yet such is typical of sectar ian pr eacher s. T his is do, why such statements as those found in Matthew
r ight, but something different is not wrong. How 7:21; Luke 6:46; James 1:22 and Revelation 22:14?
absurd! According to Graham, it is the truth that one
T he gentleman believes that the truth of the Bible should dress modestly, but one may dress immod-
author izes the Baptist chur ch and that it teaches estly and still be saved. T herefore, wrong is as good
the truth. Yet he said they are SOME of the true as r ight and error is as acceptable as truth.
chur ches today. I f t hat be true, then there are I n closing, I believe two questions ar e now in
churches which do not wear the Baptist name nor order: What is truth? What is the purpose of it?
teach Baptist doctrine which ar e also true. But if
Page 8

Guardian in 1960 after coming to the conclusion that

the orphan homes and the sponsoring church ar-
rangements were O.K. I came to this conclusion be-
cause I did as many of the people are doing today. I
listened to what a pr eacher had to say and was led
into error because I had confidence in a man, Basil
Overton, and not because I could go to the Bible and
defend what I believed. Brother Overton's "logic"
sounded great — until I began to try to defend the
position myself. I found that I could not defend it
by the Bible, and thus after much study I came to
the conclusion that my first position had been cor-
rect. By the way, I would be happy to meet Basil
I RECEIVED THE "PHILIPPINE
Overton in a debate in the Philippines on the sub-
CHRISTIAN" AWARD
ject of benevolence if the brethren connected with
the school in Bagio City would be willing to endorse
In a special issue of the Philippine Chr istian him. So, the great award I received was the "wav-
(Sept.-Dec. 1971) the new editor, brother Douglas ering coat of many color s."
L aCroy, devoted the entire issue to the benevolent Well, who knows, per haps brother L aCroy or
question. He also devoted two pages of the above brother Overton might present a position in favor
mentioned issue to J. T . Smith and his position (s) of orphan homes that would cause me to change my
on the benevolent issue. T he article was wr itten in mind again, if I am so unstable. T hink what that
an effort to try to destroy the work that brother would mean if one changed dur ing a debate in the
Connie Adams and I did in the Philippines in May Philippines. Yes, I have changed. Any time that
1971. While we were in the Philippines I engaged someone pr esents a position that I am convinced is
brother E usebio M. L aquata in a debate on the a Scr iptur al one on the benevolent or any other
benevolent question and the sponsoring church ar- question, I will hold that position until I am per-
rangement in M'Lang Cotabato; and since that time suaded that it cannot be defended — then I will
many Filipino people and preacher s have given up, change. I do not believe a person is honest with him-
as I did, a position that cannot be successfully de- self or with God who will do otherwise. However,
fended. Not only that, but the debate has been put since 1962 when I was pushed off of the benevolent
in book form and over 1500 copies have already been and sponsor ing chur ch questions because I could
shipped to the Philippines. T hus the "liber als" in not successfully defend them by the Bible, I have
the Philippines ar e beginning to "hurt" as is ob- not heard a single argument that I thought pr e-
vious from the articles pr inted in the Philippine sented Scr iptural proof in favor of chur ch support
Christian. T he truth of the matter is, at no time of human institutions or the sponsor ing chur ch ar-
when Amer icans have been in the Philippines will rangement. So, the Philippine Christian crowd can
the Amer icans who are connected with the "liber al" r idicule and belittle me per sonally all they want
school in Bagio City attend any of the services. while they are 8,000 miles away. I am sure they feel
Dudley Spears and Jim Needham were in Bagio City ver y safe and secure in so doing. However, let them
in April of this year, and the "Amer ican liberals" say what they will, when all is said and done I still
brought some of the Filipino preachers by and have a position that I am willing to affirm as being
"dropped them off" at the services. T he purpose of Scr iptur al in an open debate with any r eputable
those who attended seemed to be to disrupt the brother in any city in the United States and/or the
services dur ing the question and answer period. The Philippine I slands. How about you and your s,
Amer icans in the Philippines are too cowardly to brother LaCroy? Will you defend the position you
appear before the Filipino people and tr y to defend hold?
what they teach and practice. No! I guess I am mis- As you read this article, prepositions have already
taken about that. T hey ar e too smart to try to de- been sent to the Philippine Chr istian brethren chal-
fend what they teach and practice. T hey know they lenging them to defend what they believe. I would
would lose more brethr en to the truth than they al- not advise, however, holding your br eath until it
ready have. I challenge any or all of the Amer icans comes about. We will keep you informed IF and
in the Philippines, or anyone they would get to rep- WHEN we hear anything.
r esent their position from the United States, to
meet me in two debates — one to be held in Bagio
City and the other one anywhere the brethr en can
agree upon on the island of Mindanao. T hey know
their doctrine cannot be successfully defended.
Hence, they ar e not going to try it.
Now, about the "award" I received from brother
L aCroy and the brethren in charge of the Philippine
Christian. T hey tried to discr edit the wor k I
did in the Philippines by pointing out how
unstable I am in doctr inal matter s. T hey printed an
article in the Philippine Chr istian that I sent to
the Gospel
___________________________________________________________________________________________________Page 9

Isaiah's prophecies, God does rend the heavens as a

sign of what is to follow. Mark's Gospel includes an-
other informative bit of evidence at this point, for
the word he uses of the heavens opening is the very
strong word meaning to rip or tear (schizo, 1:10).
Furthermore, the only other time Mark uses this
word is at 15:38, where God's salvation is symboli-
cally testified at Chr ist's death by the tear ing of
Most Bible students ar e familiar with the story the T emple veil from top to bottom.
of Chr ist's baptism, r elated in the three synoptic T he descent of the Holy Spir it is also significant
Gospels (Matt. 3:13-17; Mk. 1:9-11; Lk. 3:21-22) and in the light of prophecy. I n introducing the Suffer-
referred to in the fourth (John 1:32-33). But when ing Servant who would bear the sins of others, Isaiah
asked the "why" of it, or the significance for the spoke these words for God: "Behold, My Servant,
Chr istian and his salvation, many can say but little. whom I uphold; . . . I have put My Spirit upon Him;
Some religious folk speak of being baptized "after He will br ing forth justice to the nations" (42:1).
the example of Jesus," or of "following Him in bap- We will notice this verse later in another connection,
tism," as though the pur pose of His baptism was but for now simply note that the Ser vant will be
solely exemplar y. Others r espond with the phr ase given God's Spir it for His work (see also Isaiah
found in Matthew, that Jesus was baptized "to fulfill ll:2ff; 61:Iff). At His baptism, Jesus is identified
all r ighteousness." When asked what that means, as God's Ser vant by the descent of the Holy Spir it
the conversation often stops. in the bodily form of a dove resting on Him.
In this article we will ask two questions: (1) Why T he voice of the Father from heaven involves a
was Jesus baptized, or, what was the significance of double quotation from the Old T estament Scriptures.
His baptism so far as He was concer ned ? (2) What "T hou art my Son" ( Matthew has the third person
is the significance of His baptism so far as we ar e "this is") comes from the Psalms (2:7). "My Be-
concerned, or, how does His baptism relate to ours ? loved . . . in whom/in you I am well pleased" comes
I n r eporting Jesus' r emark that His baptism was from Isaiah (42:1). T he Second Psalm speaks of the
"to fulfill all r ighteousness," Matt. (3:15) does not triumphant Son. He is the anointed of God (vs. 2),
use the word which refers to a specific commandment the king ( vs. 6), the avenging heir ( vss. 8- 9) ; yet
or righteous deed (dikaioma), but the more gener al He is a stronghold for those who trust in Him ( vs.
word which describes the state or condition of accept- 12). Isaiah pictures quite another figur e, as men
ability to God in the broadest sense (dikaiosyne). would imagine it, one who suffer s and is despised
We ar e not to think, then, that Jesus' baptism was and dies in silence. God had known all the while
simply one more commandment to be obeyed. It was that both would be fulfilled in Jesus Chr ist, but the
to "fill up" or "complete" the over-all purpose of God appar ent conflict gr eatly troubled many Jews for
for Chr ist, and it was dir ectly r elated to His divine whom it was a stumbling- block. At His baptism,
mission on earth — of saving men from their sins. Jesus was presented by the Father as the one who
L et us begin by suggesting an answer to our first would be first the Suffer ing Servant, but would
question. We will then tr ace five lines of evidence finally be seen as T r iumphant Son. Here Jesus enters
which point to this answer. Her e is the thesis: on His ministry. As the waters of Jordan clear from
Jesus was baptized by John to publicly identify His eyes, He sees already by faith the dark and rug-
Him as the one in whom the Old Testament lines of ged cross looming ahead. More than that, Jesus sees
prophecy concerning a Suffering Servant and a the throne, and the crown, and the ultimate satis-
Triumphant Son would both be fulfilled, and to faction His death will accomplish. The Father an-
consecrate and commit Him to the tasks that those nounces the dual role, but Jesus accepts it. "He
terms implied. humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point
of death. T herefore God also highly exalted Him"
I. THE DETAILS OF CHRIST'S BAPTISM (Phil. 2:8-9).
When Jesus was baptized by John, three things I I . THE TESTIMONY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
happened. T he heavens opened, the Spirit descended,
and the Father spoke. Let us look at these one by one. Following Jesus' baptism, John the Immerser saw
T he latter chapter s of Isaiah ar e heavily Mes- Him approaching and said, "Behold, the L amb of
sianic, prophetic of the Anointed One to come and God who takes away the sin of the wor ld" (John
the effects of His work. In the passage 63:7-64:12, 1:29,36) But in the same conver sation John says,
the prophet speaks on behalf of the people, calling on "I have seen, and have bor ne witness that this is
God to save. He speaks first of God's past acts of sal- the Son of God" (vs. 34). T he same conflict already
vation for Israel (63:7-14). Next he descr ibes the noted between the ideas of Son and Servant is again
people's present need for such divine deliverance apparent. Jesus is the Son, but also the Lamb! And
(63:15-19). Finally he calls on God to come and save how did John know that Chr ist was both? "I did
His people as before, and ends his prayer with con- not recognize Him," he tells us, "but He who sent me
fession of unworthiness and dependence on God to baptize in water said to me, 'He upon whom you
(64:1-12). In this context the prophecy prays for see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him,
salvation in these words: “O that Thou wouldst rend this is the one . . ." ( vs. 33). John lear ned that Jesus
the heavens and come down" (64:1). As Jesus en- was both Son and Lamb (Ser vant) when He was
ter s on His ministry of salvation, in fulfillment of baptized!
Page 10___________________________________________________________________________________________________

III. JESUS' USE OF "BAPTISM" WITH REFERENCE

TO HIS DEATH
Jesus Himself saw His death not only as necessary
in the will of God but in terms of His earlier baptism
by John and the work He assumed at that time. "I
have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I
wish it wer e alr eady kindled! But I have a baptism Happiness is a goal of every human individual,
to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is ac- regardless of age, nationality, sex or religious be-
complished" (Lk. 12:49-50). He is speaking of His lief! It is happiness which makes life worth living,
"baptism" (submerging, plunging) in death. When but the absence of this intangible, practically un-
James and John seek choice seats in the Kingdom, defineable object makes life quite unbearable. More
Chr ist responds in similar terminology (Mk. 10:38- people have taken their lives, wrecked their homes
39). Christ viewed His own death, then (1) as neces- and in gener al "missed life and living" due to the
sary in the will of God for the work He came to do, loss of happiness. Surely all would agree this is a
and (2) as a final parenthesis on His ministry, com- necessity of life!
plementing the fir st parenthesis which was His bap- Numerous books, some serious, many more hu-
tism by John. What began there in His baptism of morous have been published striving to pin- point
water is ended in His baptism of death. this item which like "love" to many remains a mys-
IV. THE RELATION OF THE TEMPTATION TO THE BAPTISM tery. People through the ages have begged, borrowed
and stolen in an all out effort to find happiness.
We can not here discuss this point in detail, but it I would strongly suggest that happiness will not
may be obser ved that all three synoptic Gospels tell be found in car nal, earthly objects. Money it has
of Jesus' temptation immediately after His bap- been said br ings happiness, yet those who believe
tism. I n His baptism, Jesus takes on the role and this idea know too well that even money will not
work of the Ser vant-Son, with all that the terms in- "buy back your youth when you ar e old" nor keep
volve ; in His temptation, Jesus is subjected (unsuc- one from the grave! Some have thought LOVE was
cessfully, for which we may literally be eternally the only intangible object which could produce an-
gr ateful) to Satan's attempts to turn Him from this other intangible object. In other words LOVE plus
divinely-given work, this "fulfilling of all r ighteous- LIFE equals happiness. T his, however, is too vague
ness," to a kind of "success" and "glor y" that is a formula as far as God is concer ned! T he apostle
based on Satan's will and not God's. We may better Peter becomes more specific when he says, "For he
under stand the baptism and the temptation each that will love life and see good days, let him refrain
because of the other. his tongue from evil and his lips that they speak no
V. A POST-PENTECOST TESTIMONY guile: let him eschew evil and do good; let him seek
Long after Jesus had been baptized and crucified, peace and ensue it" (I Pet. 3:10-11).
after churches are appear ing in response to the gos- T here is not much question from those who have
pel proclamation, John the Apostle speaks of Him tried it that this is indeed the perfect formula for
who is both Jesus of history and Chr ist of faith in happiness. Peter is not saying that if you do this
these words: "T his is the one who came by water you will be sinless! Neither is he advocating that
and blood, Jesus Chr ist; not with the water only, you will never be persecuted or scorned by the world.
but with the water and with the blood" (I John 5:6). What he is saying, however, is simply, "to love life
Jesus was not some kind of phantom on whom the ( love here the intangible item) plus refraining from
"Chr ist" came at His baptism only to leave again evil and doing good (good another item, as love,
before His death, as certain false teachers of the day hard to describe) plus seeking peace will br ing hap-
wer e saying. T he faith that over comes the wor ld piness. Now the word happy or happiness is not used,
is that which believes that Jesus is the Son of God yet by obvious infer ence it is produced!!
— and in the sense John and the other apostles had A question: How are we to know good from evil?
announced (5:5). Jesus "came" by water, at the be- God's word is the only answer! It by words of in-
ginning of His saving ministry of obedience and suf- spiration descr ibes both and the warfare that has
fer ing! He "came" by blood, at the close of that existed between them since the beginning of time!
same work. Our faith is in the real man Jesus who T hrough it we may discer n good from evil! (Heb.
was at once truly God — and who is now Lord and 5:14).
Chr ist! If we ar e desirous of living with happiness, let's
Chr ist was baptized in water in view of His future try God's way. It will work. We will glor ify God and
death. We ar e baptized in view of the same death save our souls! (James 1:21-22).
now past. By His baptism He identified with sinful Route 3, Box 144
man, taking on Himself the sins He would bear in Cooper, T exas 75432
death. By our baptism we identify with the sinless
Christ, personally laying our sins on Him and taking
on ourselves His perfect righteousness by faith. At
His baptism, Jesus was committing Himself to the
will of God, trusting Him to raise Him" from the
death the baptism foreshadowed. At our baptism,
we commit ourselves fully to the will of God for
us, trusting God to raise us from baptism cleansed
and pure, and, finally, to be with Chr ist forever.
 Page 11

time the scr iptur es mentioned Holy Ghost but that

THE BLACKFORD-DAUGHERTY DEBATE this did not prove his proposition.
On May 17, 18, and 19, Brother Dick Blackford Daugherty also made an argument on "all flesh"
and Mr. Robert Daugherty of the Apostolic Church of Acts 2:16,17. He said that "all" meant "all." But
discussed publicly some of the doctrinal matter s it was proved that Daugherty does not really believe
upon which they disagree. T his debate took place in that absolutely "all flesh" has r eceived the baptism
Central City, Ky. where both men live and preach. of the Holy Spir it.
T he first night, Brother Blackford affirmed that T he final night, Bro. Blackford affirmed that mi-
it is r ight to use the words, "Father, Son, and Holy raculous healing and other miracles were limited to
Ghost" in administer ing water baptism. In defining the first century. He analyzed I Cor. 13:8-10 to prove
the terms of the proposition, he made it clear that the proposition. Mr. Daugherty depended primar ily
by "r ight" he meant permissible. He was not affirm- upon testimonies from those who claim to have been
ing that one MUST use these words or any words. healed.
T here is no fixed formula to be repeated. Jesus does Dick said that he could produce the same kind of
not tell us what to SAY in baptism, but what to DO. testimony from Catholics, Mormons, and followers
T he scr iptural proof upon which Bro. Blackford of Oral Roberts whom Daugherty claims is a fraud.
based his affirmation was Matt. 28:18,19. He asked T he Apostolic Church will not accept their testi-
a ser ies of questions based upon this ver se: (1) Is monies. Why then, should we accept their ? What
it wrong to DO what Jesus said ? (2) Is it wrong to people claim does not prove what the Bible teaches.
SAY what Jesus said? (3) Is it wrong to say what T he debate was well attended by local people. A
you're doing? (4) If it's wrong to say "Father, Son, friendly spir it prevailed. T he audience was well be-
and Holy Ghost," who misleads me? ( 5) Where is haved with but a few exceptions. Brother Black-
the scripture for baptism in the name of Jesus only ? ford did a commendable job.
Only one of these questions was answered by Mr. I 'm convinced that gr eat good can be accom-
Daugherty and that, not in a negative speech, but plished by debates of this nature in which local men
from his seat while Bro. Blackford was speaking. who are known and respected by local people agree
I n fact, it became necessar y for this wr iter, who to discuss their differ ences in an orderly fashion.
ser ved as moder ator for Bro. Blackford, to arise — Ken Green
to a point of order and demand that Mr. Daugherty 4001 T aylor Blvd.
r emain quiet until it became his time to speak. In Louisville, Ky. 40215
the one question he answered, he said that it was
wrong to say what Jesus said. Dick showed that if MARK'S GOSPEL IN DEAD SEA SCROLL?
so, Jesus was wrong, because He said it. Popular press and wire-service reports have made
It became clear in the first night of his discussion much of the claim by a Spanish scholar to have
that Mr. Daugherty had no conception of the duties found a portion of Mark's Gospel on a fragment of
of the negative speaker. He ignor ed the questions. papyrus discover ed in one of the Dead Sea caves.
He replied to none of the affirmative arguments. He In the current issue of FACTS FOR FAITH, Edward
attempted to introduce new arguments in his final Fudge discusses the actual facts in the case, based
speech which is an infraction of the rules of honor- on technical articles wr itten by the men involved,
able debate and of the agreement signed by both as well as on popular press reports. A copy of this
disputants. When a point of order was called on issue of FACTS FOR FAI T H is available from the
this, he tried to shout the moderator down. Appar- editor upon receipt of 250 to cover handling. Ad-
ently he was later straightened out by some of his dress: Gordon Wilson, 6316 Pernod, St. Louis, Mis-
fellows for his conduct improved the last two nights souri 63139. Supply is limited.
of the discussion.
On the second night, Mr. Daugherty affirmed that A NEW CONGREGATION IN DENVER
the baptism of the Holy Ghost is for all Chr istians
and continues until he present time. He relied prin- For sever al months, the elder s her e at Boston
cipally upon the prophecy of Joel in 2:28 and its ful- street in Aurora have been formulating plans for a
fillment in Acts 2:16f. He tr ied to show that the new congregation on the west side of Denver. Several
"all" of Acts 2:1- 4 was the 120 of Acts 1:15 and families who attend Boston Street live in that area,
that the "gift of the Holy Ghost" of 2:38 was the so because of convenience for those who have to
Baptism of the Holy Ghost. travel so far across Denver, and because of the great
I n r eply, Bro. Blackford pointed out that the opportunity in that area, a congregation on the west
antecedent of "all" in Acts 2:1 is not the 120, but side is needed.
the 12 apostles of 1:26. T hey were the only ones on Brother Car l Allen of Lufkin, T exas, has agr eed
that occasion to receive Holy Ghost baptism. He to come and do the preaching for this new work.
pointed out that Daugherty saw "baptism" ever y- Boston Street plans to contribute $200 per month
Page 12

toward the support of brother Allen. Lord willing, J. W. E vans, Annandale, Va. — After 7 1/2 years
the new congregation is to begin August 6, 1972. with the Annandale chur ch of Chr ist I will termi-
T emporarily, the brethr en will be meeting in the nate my work here effective June 30. I have ac-
Maplegrove Grange Hall # 154 on the corner of 32nd cepted the work with the E astside church of Chr ist,
Avenue and Youngfield, just off 1-70 west in Lake- 2930 Avon Dr., Louisville, Ky. 40220, beginning July
wood. We wish these brethren well and pray for the 1, 1972.
success of the new work. Having had a part from the ver y beginning of the
Our work at 1297 Boston Street in Aurora is most Annandale church unto its present status of a sound
encouraging. Attendance at all ser vices is good and congregation of approximately 95 members, occupy-
a fine spir it and interest are being manifested. Our ing its own building, organized after the N.T . order,
Sunday morning attendance is near the 200 mar k and self- supporting in meeting a weekly budget of
and contributions are averaging well over $700 per $570, it is with gr ateful contentment therewith that
week. We ar e having many visitors from all over I end my longest tenur e of work at any one place.
the nation. I humbly feel myself fortunate, grateful to God and
We just closed a very successful Vacation Bible brethren (elsewhere as well as here), and happy to
School for five nights, classes for all ages. We have had a part in "r ebuilding the walls of Jer u-
reached a high attendance of 186 and averaged 171 salem" of a sound church in this area of our Nation's
for the week. Brother James R. Cope of Temple Ter- Capitol. T he br ethren her e ar e in the process of
race, Fla., is to be with us July 28-30 for a series of looking for a preacher for this work.
lessons on the Home and the Family. When in Colo- I am looking forward to my work with the E ast-
rado, we shall be happy to have you visit with us at side chur ch, and the association with the host of
Boston Street in Aurora. gospel preachers in the Louisville area. Friends and
— Hoyt H. Houchen 12528 E . "bulletin exchanges" please note my change of ad-
Alaska Place Aurora, dr ess after June 30: 3743 E ssex Road, Louisville,
Colorado 80010 Ky. 40220.
A. D. Puterbaugh, 212 E. Oakhill, Fort Walton Vestal Chafiin, 200 Car r ington Way, Mar ietta,
Beach, Fla. 32548 — "I can not find one family in Ga. 30060 — On July 31, I will complete two years
Frankfurt who has wor shipped with a sound group and one month of work with the Powers Ferry Road
in the States." T hese ar e the words of Dale Martin chur ch. On the second Sunday in August, I will
and wife, 2267- BR Heugel Housing Ar ea, wor k begin work with the church in Paden City, West
phone, Frankfurt Militar y 6319. Have Chr istians in Virginia. After July 31, my address will be: 217 S.
Frankfurt contact Dale Martin or send names and First Avenue, Paden City, W. Va. 26159.
addresses to him at HQ ESR, Box 297, APO N.Y.
09101 or to me, at above address.
Larry R. DeVore — After three years' work with
Bill Brittenham, 3028 E xmoor Rd., Columbia, the Caroline St. church in South Bend, Indiana, I am
S.C. 29204 — We would appreciate hear ing from moving July 1 to work with the Russell St. church
anyone who has friends or relatives in the Columbia in Portage, Indiana. Bro. Cecil Belcher of Griffith,
area who might be interested in worshipping or I ndiana, will move to South Bend the middle of
studying with us. We would also welcome the op- July. I will hold a gospel meeting for the Portage
portunity to meet with sons, brother s, or husbands church July 16-23. My address after July 1 will be:
who are stationed at Ft. Jackson. We can also pro- 388 Rar itan Dr ive, Valparaiso, Ind. 46383.
vide transportation to worship services. Please wr ite
or call. North Columbia church of Christ, 928 Co-
lumbia College Drive, Columbia, S.C. 29203. Phone:
803-782-5381.
Cecil Belcher, 630 E. Ash Place, Griffith, Indiana
46319 — I moved to work with the Griffith, Indiana
church Sept. 1, 1969. I have enjoyed my work with
the chur ch her e. I will be moving to South Bend,
I nd. to work with the Caroline & Calvert Street
church July 15, 1972. To my knowledge this is the
only sound chur ch in the north central part of the
state of I ndiana. All who will be traveling, visiting
or moving to that area of Indiana are invited and
encouraged to visit and worship with us there.
Brother Bob Neely will be with us in a gospel
meeting the last of August. I have two meetings
scheduled. I will be with the church in Monticello,
Ky. July 31 through Aug. 6. Brother E. Lacy Porter
is the preacher there. I will be with the Willow Glen
chur ch near Central City, Ky. Oct. 2- 8. Brother
Dicky Blackfor d is the preacher there.
 Recently I heard the following story: a man who
was a "r eligious fanatic," had his boss tell him,
"... I have respect for all religions, but leave your
religion at the gate, please, when you come in her e
to work." I listened to another story, too: one who
was a member of the -------- chur ch and sang in the
choir, also ran a service station, and at his place of
business he would curse and rave and carry on un-
seemingly. One Monday morning his attention was
called to the inconsistency between his religious pro-
fession and his conduct on the job. He responded:
"How can a man go straight out here among all these his presence. He must be governed in his speech,
crooks." thoughts, and actions by the tenet of pur it y ( Cf.
It doesn't take much char acter to be good among E ph. 4:29; James 1:26-27).
the "good," or to be a Christian among "Chr istians." Religion has come into disrepute mainly because
T he test comes when one is in the company of the per sons conduct themselves contrar y to the tenets
sinning people of the wor ld. Her e one must excel of their religious profession. Filthy language, lying,
(Cf. Matt. 5:20). If one's faith and ideology cannot shifting of responsibility and shirking of one's duty
control him at all times, in the tr ying and hostile by those who profess to be r eligious, has caused
world situations, then his religion is of no lasting many to conclude that all religious persons are
value. Instead of being a foundation on which he hypocrites. Beloved, I know whereof I speak. I have
STANDS, it is only a crutch on which he leans; in- worked on jobs with religious per sons, some who
stead of being a true disciple, he is only a pretender. call themselves PRE ACHE RS, who have so acted.
•T here is a sense, however, in which a man should So, beloved, for your own good and the influence you
leave his religion at the gate. T hat is its advocacy. may have on the eternal salvation of others, don't
Some take up company time advocating their reli- leave your religious tenets at the gate, rather, prac-
gious views, many times setting off time-consuming tice them ever ywher e you go on THE JOB! But
discussions, and even creating hostile feelings among don't expect your employer to pay you and provide
workers which hinder production. Such persons are, you with an audience to which you can advocate
in effect, asking the company to pay them while they your religious dogma. Be a Chr istian in conduct, and
advocate their religion and at the same time provide you'll exert a powerful influence, sending a message
them with an audience and even pay them to listen. that will clear ly r eveal your identity.
Such is not Christian conduct, good human relations, — 2804 Lafayette S.
nor wise strategy. Such, I believe, indeed, should be Joseph, Mo. 64507
left at the gate.
Although one should leave its advocacy at the
gate, nevertheless, the practice of his religious ten-
ets must be taken with him through ever y gate,
behind ever y door and wall, into every activity. He
must be gover ned by honesty and purity, both on
and off the job. He cannot lie, steal, nor cheat, even
though there probably is much of this being done in
 will not depart from it." T his is a general statement
PARENTS— DO YOU LOVE YOUR CHILD? and there are exceptions to it, yet generally true. It is
not wr itten to the church but to the one with child-
John J. Miller Jr. ren. Train them. T he passage doesn't simply say, "tell
them," but rather train them. It implies that more is
involved than simply telling them what is r ight and
What a strange question to ask especially of those what is wrong, it certainly includes telling but is more
that are Christians. Some might even become offend- involved. T ell a child not to lie (this is good) but
ed that anyone would dare to question the love that should he see you continue to use "little white lies"
they have for the children that they brought into this in dealing with people the child will also (generally)
world. You see, we continue to prove our love for our lie. In the way he should go. T here are only two ways
children by seeing that they have all the things that a child can go (as he/she grows into adulthood) one,
are necessary to physical growth and mental develop- the way of the wor ld ( led by Satan) and the other,
ment. We make many sacr ifices toward this end, the way of the Lord. So what the wise man is saying
wanting only what is best for them. A proper diet, is that we parents must not only tell the child but we
that the body might be sound. Warm clothing, that must also show the child. It is good to tell our child-
will enable them to be comfortable and to help main- ren that sin is bad and righteousness is good but how
tain that body. A proper education, that they may be much better to let them see in our lives the true and
well equipped to enter society prepared to make their lasting rewards of living a life of righteousness before
own way. Love and discipline, that they will be the Lord God of heaven. Tell a child that the church
emotionally well balanced. I n other words, most (bought by the blood of Jesus, our savior) is the most
parents believe that they do indeed love their children important thing in the wor ld (and this is good) but
and I would in no way deny this truth. Yet I ask the don't attend, don't support, don't pray about, don't
question, Do You Love Your Child? participate in that which the chur ch is doing and
What is the most important thing that you, as what will the child think? T ell the child that God's
parents, can give your children? Is it a well-balanced people (Chr istians) and the finest people ( and they
meal or spiritual instruction? Is it warm clothing to are) on earth (and this is good) but belittle them,
protect them from the cold winter winds, or to instill criticize ever ything they try to do, gossip about them
in them a genuine love for tin souls of mankind? Is it and what will the child think? T ell a child that the
a well-rounded education in the things of the world only way we can learn about God and His Son (who
or a saving knowledge of the Word of God? As died for us) is by reading His word (it is) by praying
parents where have we placed (or mis-placed) the over it, meditating about it and studying ( not the
emphasis? same as reading) it (and this is good) but if you don't
Our children don't inherit our religious beliefs, they (won't) study, if you don't pr ay, don't meditate,
do not automatically fill the place in the Lord's don't attend classes (where the Bible is taught) what
church after we have quit the walks of this life. Nor is will the child think?
it the chur ches r esponsibility to see to it that your I have said all of the above to say this, if you love
child has the religious training necessary to guide him your child then see that your child receives not only
or her around the many obstacles and through the the necessities of this life but see that your child re-
many tr ials of this life. T hose of us who have ceives the kind of spir itual training that the writer of
weathered the many storms of life and who have Proverbs was talking about. See that your child is in
over come the many tr ials and tests of our faith each and every Bible class and see that your child is
should have by now, a keener insight, a greater com- prepared (because you have helped prepare him). Our
passion, and that precious gift of wisdom, that we can Bible class teachers are limited in what they can do as
see and do know what is so desper ately needed by far as instructing your child. 40 or 50 minutes a
those who are following in our footsteps. couple of times a week just isn't enough time to not
T he wise man said in Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a only off-set the influences of the wor ld but to train
child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he that child in spir itual things as he needs to be.
Page 2

The Solution? Parents (you and I) need to become

vitally concerned with the spir itual welfare of our
children. We need to realize that much of what he be-
comes depends (generally) upon what kind of founda-
tion we have laid in his early life. Study with your
child, pr ay with your child, attend with your child.
Be an example to your child in order that your child
might have someone worthy to follow after.
Parents, do you love your child? Yes, we all love
our children and because we do love them let us not
neglect the most important part of their education.
L et us support our childr en with truth, let that truth
be given in word and in deed. Let our children see the
"light of Christ shinning in us" as a guide for them.
If your child is not learning much in Bible class,
don't blame the teacher, blame the parent (Dad and
Mom) You and I.
Rt. 1, Box 926 Bremerton,
Washington 98310

T her e is one item that greatly hinders efforts to

attain and maintain unity in the churches of Christ,
and it is caused by ignorance, a malady with which
all of us are "evil affected" to some degr ee in all
ar eas. T he ignor ance is over the time at which a
church divides. How often have you heard it said,
that this or that chur ch split "last summer," or
"three year s ago?" What is meant by this? Simply
that two groups began meeting in place of one.
Hence, the split, the division, is said to come when
two visible segments begin to meet as "separate and
distinct chur ches." In other words, a chur ch is
"united" as long as it meets under one roof.
T hough most know better, this remains the popu-
lar conception and consensus, and nothing could be
further from the truth. It appear s that "the chur ch there are two listings in the religious page of the
of God" in Corinth met in "one place" (I Cor. 1:2; newspaper instead of one. Perhaps more divided
11:18- 20), but ther e was among them "envying, churches (who are still in one building!) could see
and strife, and divisions" ( I Cor. 1:10,11; 3:3; themselves as surely the Lord sees them (divided)
11:18). Brethr en, therefore, need to look at them- and seek to restore the same mind and the same
selves in the mirror, God's mirror (James 1:25) . judgment.
T ake a good look and comb into place the members — 418 E . L ee St.
who have been blown out of order by "ever y wind Piano, Ill. 60545
of doctrine." Do not delude yourself or the chur ch
into thinking that unity and brotherly kindness pre-
vails just because all meet in one building on Sun-
day morning. Some of the most split, divided, and I have known that cigarette smokers are without
"sawn asunder" churches (of whom the world is not self-control, but I finally heard of one who will admit
worthy) are still gather ing in one meetinghouse. it. L eonid I. Br ezhnev, of the Soviet Communist
T hey are not one but while parking in the same lot Party is trying to stop smoking, and it seems that
and sitting under the same r after s, they fancy that he is having such a hard time that he has a timed
they are "united in the common faith." It would be cigarette case which will allow him only a specified
funny if it wer e not so tragic. number per day. Now I can understand that for a
It would be good if teaching did not "bewray" us Communist, but a Chr istian should control himself
as thinking that a "church split" occur s only when by such passages as I Cor. 6:19,20; 9:25 and II Pet.
1:6.
E ugene Britnell
 Page 3

sear ch for divine tr uth as revealed in the inspir ed

book of God in an effort to be workmen unashamed
(II Tim. 2:15), and equipped unto ever y good work
as ordained of God (I I T im. 3:16,17; E ph. 2:10).
Jesus said, "And ye shall know the tr uth and the
truth shall make you fr ee" ( John 8:32). Again, he
said in prayer to the Father, "Sanctify them through
thy tr uth; T hy word is truth" ( John 17:17). "For
the Hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof
ye heard before in the word of the truth of the
gospel" (Col. 1:15).
When Jesus said we ar e made free by the truth,
he meant the gospel which is the power of God unto
BACK AGAIN! salvation (Rom. 1:16). We are saved by hearing "the
After five months away from the typewr iter word of truth, the gospel of your salvation" ( E ph:
on doctor's order s, I am back again to do my part 1:13). Our souls ar e purified in obeying the tr uth
to preach the word by way of the pr inted page. It ( I P et. 1:22).
is not easy for me to forego self assignments to No man or group of men have power to decide
speak out on evil and dangerous, trends within and what divine truth is. No editor, paper, church, elder-
without, and to teach the pur e doctr ine of Chr ist. ship, school, board of directors or institution of any
I must, however, bide my time and do what I can, kind may decide what is and what is not truth. The
when I can, to maintain reasonably good health and word of God is the only source of pure truth. E ach
do the work I love to do. man must sear ch for truth from this fountain of
In the February issue of Searching The Scriptures the Spir it and lear n the truth required of him to be
I wrote the fir st in what I thought would be three made free.
articles on "T he Ketcher side- T ur ner E xchange" Searching The Scriptures had its beginning in
which took place late in the evening of January 25, Januar y, 1960. From the beginning we have ear n-
1972 in the Univer sity Chur ch meeting house in estly sought to use the pr inted page to study the
T ampa. I hope to have these next two articles ready word of God with all who will read and study with
for the September and October issues. us. We belong to no man or group. We strive to
serve no special human interest. We are not for sale
THE PLAGUE OF ISSUES to any man for any price, because our own salvation
In this presidential political year the pious cr y of and the salvation of other s is in the balance.
the politicians is to be honest in discussing the "is- In the first issue of Searching The Scriptures we
sues." T he trouble is that each candidate for office set forth the only editorial policy we have ever had,
creates his own issues and then debates them as if all which is still our only guide lines in articles pub-
other s recognized his "issue." A charge is made; a ished. In that first issue we said: "We have no pol-
lie is created to give credence to the charge. T he lie icy but to be scr iptural, fair, sincer e, and faithful
becomes the issue, and the debate is on. in our work as editors of this paper."
T his would be little more than folly if it were not I have made it clear t hat I am not bound to be
for the fact that brethren and churches ar e playing in agr eement with all who may write in this jour-
the same game by the same unscrupulous tactics. nal. E ach person is r esponsible for what he wr ites.
What is classified as "issues" of debate and division I n the inter est of fairness to all and for t he sake
today is nothing mor e than per sonal ambition for of a sincere search for truth, articles are sometimes
the preeminence (III John 9,10). It may be the per- published which require a reply in the judgment of
sonal opinion of an egocentr ic that becomes the someone, and he should be heard. Of course, reason
issue that creates hatred, malice and division among and fair ness would dictate that a reasonable length
brethren. It may be the love for money, or the r e- and number of articles be used.
venge upon a personal enemy, or the praise of men, This monthly publicat ion is dedicated to the
but they all end in creating "issues" by which they sear ch for divine truth as revealed in the inspir ed
may attain their objectives. Book of God. Controver sy is expected and we are
T here are real issues. I would not have anyone not afraid of it. Sarcastic and abusive replies are
under stand that I have implied that issues do not expected in r esponse to some things said, but we
exist, or that they should not be debated. T he only must say them in the inter est of truth. We fear no
issue worthy of concern among brethren is that issue man, but we do fear the God in whom "we live, and
between the divine authority of Christ and human move, and have our being" (Acts 17:28). We do not
wisdom that seeks to supplant it. Old issues of this strive to please men, but Christ, we do not persuade
class will continue to be discussed, and new ones God, but men (Gal. 1:10).
will come into focus as carnal minded men create We want to do all the good we can and no harm
new doctrines. Searching The Scriptures will con- at all. May God bless us to be faithful to His word,
tinue to discuss these issues that hinder sound doc- open minded to r eceive divine truth, unashamed
trine. and unafraid to boldly speak His word to all men,
THE PLACE AND WORK OF T HIS JOURNAL and to give God the glor y for all good done to the
I believe the sincere and unbiased desire of ever y ver y end.
regular contributor to Searching The Scriptures is to
Page 4

of Ephraim: "I am Amulek; I am the son of Gid-

donah, who was the son of Ishmael, who was a de-
scendant of Aminadi; and it was the same Aminadi
who interpreted the wr iting which was upon the
wall of the temple, which was wr itten by the finger
of God. And Aminadi was a descendant of Nephi
who was the son of Lehi, who came out of the lane
of Jerusalem, who was a descendant of Manasseh
who was the son of Joseph who was sold into Egypt
by the hands of his br ethren" (Alma 10:2,3).
If this be so, then it is impossible for the Book of
Mormon to be the "stick of Ephraim." T hus, their
claim is false according to their own witness. Neither
the Bible nor the Book of Mormon support their
claim that E zekiel's "stick of Ephraim" refers to the
Book of Mormon.
QUESTION (Continued from last issue): Please
answer me if Isaiah 29 and E zekiel 37:16-28 really
have to do with the Book of Mormon? — A.O.M.
ANSWER: Concerning Ezk. 37:16-28, the position
of Latter Day Saints is clearly set forth in the fol-
lowing: "E zekiel saw in vision the coming together
of the stick of Judah, and the stick of Joseph, sig-
nifying the Bible and the Book of Mormon ... The
Nephites were then of the tribes of Joseph, and their
record or 'stick' is as truly r epresented by the Book
of Mormon as is the 'stick' of Judah by the Bible"
(The Articles Of Faith, p. 276, by T almage).
I n r eply, let it be pointed out that there is no
proof for their claim. It all rests upon mere assump-
tion, namely, that the "sticks" are books; that the
"stick of Judah" is the Bible, and that the "stick of
E phraim" is the Book of Mormon. Of course, as-
sumption is not proof! Furthermore, both the Bible PAUL, THE "SERVANT"
and the Book of Mormon contradict the claim.
T he Bible teaches that while Manasseh was the In contrast to many world religions which are pre-
first bor n of Joseph and entitled to the blessing, it dominantly meditative and contemplative, Christian-
was later bestowed upon his brother, Ephraim, who ity is largely a system of spir itual service, both to
was to become the greater of the two (Gen. 48:8-22). God and to man.
Jewish history confirms the fulfillment of this pro- In the epistles of Paul, there are sever al Gr eek
phetic utterance. In time "E phraim" became syn- words which originally denoted certain aspects of
onymous with "Isr ael," the norther n kingdom (Cf. servitude. Inasmuch as E nglish versions often trans-
Isa. 7:8,9; 9:8,9; Hos. 4:16,17; 5:2; 9:3). However, late each of these words as "servant," we fail to see
it should be r emember ed that the blessing for all the shades of difference involved in the terms. It is
men was to come out of Judah: "Moreover he re- possible that Paul, by inspir ation, used this var iety
fused the taber nacle of Joseph, and chose not the of Greek words to stress specific facets of his own
tribe of E phraim: But chose the tribe of Judah, the ser vice to Chr ist.
mount Z ion which he loved" (Psm. 78:67,68). T his article is a br ief study of only three of these
T he truth concerning E zekiel's prophecy in chap- "ser vant" words.
ter 37 involves the people of God in Babylonian cap- DOULOS, "SERVANT." "SLAVE"
tivity and their restoration to their own land. All of
this is prefigured symbolically by the valley of dry The Greek words of the doulos family primarily
bones and their resurrection ( vs. 1-14). The uniting stressed the concept of subjection; that is, subjec-
of the two "sticks" (Judah and E phraim) prefigur es tion to the kurios, "lord." The very idea involved in
the uniting of all men under one king, Chr ist, the doulos was utterly r epugnant to the Gr eek mind,
spir itual David ( not liter al David, for he was al- for the Gr eek found his ver y self respect in the
ready dead), so that there would be "one shepherd," thought that he was free in all respects: socially,
ruling with an "ever lasting covenant of peace," in politically, and in other ways.
His taber nacle set in the midst of them for ever - T he doulos was free to do only the will of the
more. All of this has its fulfillment in the reign of kurios; no mor e and no less. He was, in fact, the
Chr ist over His kingdom, which is His church, in ver y property of the kurios.
which r elationship it is said of its subjects, "I will In many passages Paul r efers to himself as the
be their God, and they shall be my people" ( E zk. doulos of Chr ist, Philippians 1:1, etc. I am con-
37:27; II Cor. 6:16). vinced that Paul, in his use of this term, is stressing
T he Book of Mormon teaches that the North his utter and complete subjection to Christ, his
Amer ican Indians are descendants of Manasseh, not kurios.
 Page 5

ized for an assembly of Chr ist to perform, what

DIAKONOS, "SERVANT," "MINISTER" standard can we use to determine which activities to
In I Cor. 3:5 Paul refers to himself as a diakonos, allow and which to prohibit? Would we allow anyone
"minister," "ser vant." T his Greek term placed the the use of the meeting house in any activity not in-
emphasis upon the ser vice that was r ender ed; us- herently wrong? A young peoples' party and the sing-
ually stressing- the ser vice as an act of love. T he ing of folk songs, pr eceded by a "per iod of de-
term occurs ver y frequently in classical Greek. (See votion?"
a ver y full discussion of these "servant" words in But if a church cannot purposefully lend its facili-
T heological Dictionary of the New Testament, edited ties to camaraderie per se, with secular singing, albeit
by Kittel.) connected with acceptable spir itual activity, what
place does a humanly originated ritual (however beau-
HUPERBTES. "SERVANT," "ATTENDANT" tiful and acceptable elsewhere) involving secular love
songs ("O Promise Me", "I Love You Truly") have
In I Cor. 4:1 Paul refers to himself as a huperetes there? In what function of the church is comparable
of Chr ist. T his ver y interesting Gr eek noun orig- parading, and pageantry, and protocol acceptable?
inally denoted an "under-rower," no doubt referring T hough these things may not be wrong in themselves
to the ancient ships that were propelled by sever al if an assembly of saints may lend its facilities to such
levels of rowers. are we left with any other standard than personal
Huperetes came to denote an "assistant" or "adju- judgement as to the building's use by whoever? If
tant." I n this sense, it occur s ver y often in classi- judgement is the standard, how do we reprove any-
cal Gr eek wr itings. Per haps Paul thinks of himself one's use or supposed misuse of the saint's meeting
as "assisting" Chr ist in the great work of redemp- house? Is there any safe middle ground for determin-
tion. ing a building's use between using it only for author-
ized purposes and attendant activities, and personal
judgement?
As for weddings, beyond the pageantry, spectacle,
secular love songs, and distinctions, are weddings a
legitimate function of churches of Chr ist? Where is
the scripture that indicates such? Did we get the idea
from the scriptures or from Catholicism, to which
matrimony is a church sacrament? Is that not really
where the idea of a formal "church wedding" came
from? Is the evangelist fulfilling his ministry in
officiating, really doing more (and certainly involved
Is it true that a congregation of Christ can function in more) than just preaching about marriage, or act-
in, and only in, activities authorized for congregation- ing as an agent of the state?
al activity in the New Testament, viz., worship, bene- If we argue that the churches' facilities may be used
volence, edification, evangelism, and discipline? Is it because marriage has the approval of the Lord and is
equally true that the assembly being authorized to so ordained by Him, are we to conclude that everything
function is ther eby author ized to provide facilities that the Lord ordains is justification for churches to
for such activity? specifically and overtly lend their facilities to, e.g.,
If we respect the silence of the scriptures, are we the "due benevolence" of I Cor inthians 7:3, which if
thus to conclude that the chur ch has no business in a couple appropriates the Lord's concession is a com-
any other activity, and consequently is unauthorized mandment regarding approved behavior of husband
to formally and purposefully provide facilities for and wife? Could the newly-weds use the building as a
any other activity not expeditious or incidental to honeymoon residence under the same conditions of
the performance of these responsibilities? permission that it was provided for the ceremony;
If so, is not this basically what is wrong with con- moving in pertinent accountremet as they ear lier did
gregations building banquet rooms (fellowship halls) in the forms of flowers, candle holders, and such?
with their concomitant kitchens in their meeting If we argue that we are to obey the law and that
houses, or gymnasiums and swimming pools, or even obeying laws pertaining to marriage justifies use of
using or allowing to be used such facilities as they the building, would not such argument justify use of
have for social or any other activity not a function of them as specified places of formal tax collection as
a congregation of Christ? well? Does a church have any scriptural involvement
In other words, may a church use its building only with marriage other than teaching God's truth about
in the functions that authorize the building's exis- it and keeping its membership free from known adult-
tence, or may it construct a meeting house for au- erers?
thorized activities and then use it or overtly sanction If it is objected that refraining from using the facili-
its use otherwise for the convenience of its members ties of churches for weddings involves making too
or even for that of others? many laws about what can and what cannot be done
If a building is to be used only for the activities in "chur ch buildings", could we not just use the
which authorize its existence, might there be some- buildings for what functions and attendant activities
thing amiss in the practice of using a congregation's scr ipturally authorize their existence? T hen if some
authorized facilities for unauthorized (as far as what use them otherwise, have they not been the law-
a church is to engage in) formal wedding ceremonies? makers, making lawful something unknown to the
On the other hand, if we may use the meeting house functioning of the body of Christ? If there were no
for the convenience of member s of the body or for violation of this pr inciple, where would by any need
that of others in the doing of those things not author- for restrictions? What principle may we use to deter-
Page 6

mine the r ight of a congregation to build a meeting "But we can raise more money if we have a weekly
house and then its use, if not the pr inciple of formal- bingo game," or "We should sponsor a car wash for
ly using author ized facilities only for the purposes this particular project." But such means are not
and accessory informalities which authorize their authorized by God's Holy Word. A book is on the
existence? market which is entitled "199 Ways To Raise Money
for the Church." God's way is not mentioned.
Box 95 No specific percentage of one's income is specified
in the New T estament. T ithing was required under
Z ion, Illinois 60099 the law of Moses, and a couple of things are usually
overlooked in regard to that Old T estament law: (1)
T he Jew gave much more than ten percent when all
tithes, free-will offerings, sacrifices and thank offer-
ings are counted; (2) the tithes of the Jews not only
constituted religious contributions — but civil taxes
as well. T he Jews lived under a theocracy and their
tithes helped maintain their civil functions.
Christians should give according to the need. T he
same pr inciple that motivated early Chr istians to
sell lands and houses and give the prices to the apos-
tles permitted them to decrease their contributions
when that need was eliminated. Sometimes the ques-
tion is r aised: "I s it scr iptural for a person to send
a part of his contribution elsewher e?" Certainly it
is if ther e is a gr eater need elsewher e.
I f I wer e a member of a group that was doing
little worthwhile and was building up a bank ac-
GIVING OF OUR MEANS IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH count, I would send at least the bulk of my contri-
bution to help support an evangelist somewher e.
Contributing to the Lord's work should be con- If the needs of the home congr egation are being
sider ed an act of worship. It is one of the ways in met and one desires to make additional gifts to other
which we bow before our God. Let us consider what needs, no scr iptural pr inciple would be violated in
is necessar y in order to give in spir it and in truth so doing.
( John 4:24):
(D) Why Should We Give? T he children's song
GIVING IN TRUTH says "Noah built a gr eat big ar k. WHY? Because
(A) Who is to give? "Upon the first day of the God told him to." T his is the primar y r eason that
week let every one of you lay by him in store..." we should give. God does not need the money (Acts
(I Cor. 16:2). T he apostle was addressing Chr istians 17:11). He does not command that we serve and
( I Cor. 1:2). T hose who ar e not member s of the worship Him to satisfy a superego on His part, but
church are not expected to give. r ather, because ther e is a part of man that cries
Some religious groups go from house to house out for communion with God. He tells us to give.
begging money from those of other faiths and of no We cannot deny that self-interest is another rea-
faith. Adventists r aise much money this way and son to give. People natur ally desire to put their
then boast of having the highest aver age contr ibu- money where it will do the most good. Some invest
tion per member of any religious group. We do not in stocks, some in real estate, and there is nothing
encourage those who are not members of the church wrong in this. But we must make sure we're invest-
of Chr ist to contribute. God's order is that one fir st ing enough where it will really do the most good
give himself to the Lord (II Cor. 8:5). When this is (Matt. 6:19,20).
accomplished, the other gifts will follow naturally.
Does the phrase "— let every one of you — " de- Another reason to give liberally to the Lord is the
mand that both husband and wife drop something uncertainty of riches (I T im. 6:17). We all realize
into the basket? NO. If one check is wr itten, both that we cannot take it with us when we go, but
are giving. T hey should discuss and agree upon the most of us lear n that we can't keep it ver y long
amount of their contr ibution, however. while we're here either. The disciples of whom we
(B) When should we give? "Upon the first day read in Acts 4 made a commendable sacrifice in the
of the week let ever yone of you lay by him in store selling of their lands and houses, but we find that
..." Sunday, the fir st day of the week is specified. they were later "scattered abroad" by persecution.
If we were simply commanded to give and nothing Had they tr ied to cling to their possessions, they
was said regarding the time — then the time would would have lost them anyway.
be an indifferent consideration. But as it is, we have GIVING IN SPIRIT
Divine author ity to contribute into the chur ch treas- (A) We Must Give Willingly. "For if there be first
ur y upon the first day of the week and no authority a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man
to do so any other time. hath,, and not according to that he hath not" ( I I
(C) How should we give? "Upon the first day of
the week let ever yone of you lay by him in store, Cor. 8:12). If one has a willing mind, the rest is easy.
as God hath prospered him— ". Someone may say, If he does not, he may as well not give.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________Page 7

(B) We Must Give Purposefully. "E very man ac-

cording as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give;
not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a
cheerful giver " ( I I Cor. 9:7). Our giving should not
r esult from a spur of the moment decision. One
should carefully figure and decide the amount of his
gift.
(C) We Must Give According to Love: From John
3:16 and Gal. 2:20 we learn that the gift is commen-
surate with the love that one possesses.
SUGGESTIONS
E lder s should strive to keep bef or e their congr e-
gation what is being accomplished with chur ch
funds. In this age of mental, emotional and spiritual
E ach member should be concer ned enough to in- frustration, mor e and mor e doctor s, sociologists and
quire about this information if the elder s do not psychologists ar e giving advice which r eally amounts
keep the flock advised. to living as Christ has taught us. Dr . S. I. McMillen
has written a book entitled "None of T hese Dis-
eases." It is based upon a promise which God made
to Isr ael: "If thou wilt diligently hearken to the
voice of the L ord thy God, and wilt do that which is
right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his command-
ments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of
these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon
the Egyptians: for I am the L or d that healeth thee"
( E xod. 15:26).
Dr. McMillen shows that many of the diseases
which plague mankind come as a result of violating
some of God's laws. He gives the following inter est-
ing statement from Dr. William Sadler :
"No one can appr eciate so fully as a doctor the
amazingly large per centage of human disease and
suffering which is directly tr aceable to worry, fear,
conflict, immorality, dissipation, and ignor ance — to
unwholesome thinking and unclean living. T he sin-
cer e acceptance of the principles and teachings of
Christ with r espect to the lif e of mental peace and
joy, the life of unselfish thought and clean living,
would at once wipe out mor e than half the difficul-
ties, diseases, and sorrows of the human r ace. In
other words, mor e than one half of the present afflic-
tion of mankind could be pr evented by the tr emen-
dous pr ophylactic power of actually living up to the
per sonal and pr actical spirit of the r eal teachings of
Christ.
"The teachings of Jesus applied to our modern
civilization — under standably applied, not mer ely
nominally accepted — would so purify, uplift, and
vitalize us that the r ace would immediately stand
out as a new order of beings, possessing superior
mental power and incr eased mor al force. I r r espec-
tive of the future r ewards of living, laying aside all
discussion of future life, it would pay any man or
woman to live the Chr i st- life just for the mental
and mor al r ewards it affords her e in this present
world. Some day man may awake to the f act that
the teachings of Christ ar e potent and powerful in
preventing and curing disease. Some day our boasted
scientific development, as r egards mental and mor al
improvement, may indeed catch up with the teach-
ings of this man of Galilee."
We have another sponsoring church. Since so
many Christians move about over the nation each
year , ther e is a problem involved in trying to keep
Page 8

in touch with them and see that they place member- Do you wonder why people looked at them like
ship with some church. T he church in Vancouver, animals in a zoo ? I see much similarity between hip-
Washington has the solution. T hey say, "We offer pies and monkeys. (T he hippies have been taught
a plan — A SE RVICE FOR THE WHOLE BROTH- that they were once monkeys anyway.) Animals live
E RHOOD — which is designed to prevent this loss in communes, have no morals, and go naked. And it
to Christ and the church. T he Vancouver Church of doesn't bother them for people to look at them for
Chr ist, a concer ned congregation is willing to serve they ar e used it.
as the Single Co-Ordinating Congregation for the
Whole Nation."
Premillennialism is spreading through the
If you want to participate in this plan, when mem- religious world like a wind-blown prair ie fire. T he
bers move just notify the "Co-Ordinating Congrega- Armstrong’s, Billy Graham, Back to the Bible
tion" and they will take car e of it. I don't recall Broadcast, many Baptists and others teach it all the
reading of any church in the New T estament which time. Since the theor y is based in part upon the
offered any kind of service "for the whole brother- restoration and sal- vation of Israel, I submit the
hood." following proposition: When any man advocates a
doctrine which demands or includes the idea that
God has or ever will have a chosen race or nation on
"Dr.----------- has ser ved many congregations of earth — a people who will be especially blessed
chur ches of Chr ist as minister .. ." (Harding Col- because of their race or nationality— that doctrine
lege Bulletin, May, 1972). "They will visit 57 con- is false! (Acts 10:34,35; Romans 2:28,29.)
gr egations of the Churches of Chr ist this summer
and present their 'Sermon in Song' in var ious areas
of T exas" (Medina Children's Home News, May,
1972).
Can anyone explain the meaning of these state-
ments? No wonder we have so many in the church
who can't recognize scriptural terminology and have
lost sight of our plea to call Bible things by Bible
names.
An Associated Pr ess article out of Tokyo said,
"T en thousand prostitutes face unemployment in
Okinawa with the r eturn today of the island chain
to Japan. Prostitution is banned under Japanese
law."
T hat is a sad commentary on the morals of those
people, but it is even worse to consider the fact that
those prostitutes were kept in business by the 45,000 Perfection is the only worthy goal for the individual
Amer ican ser vicemen stationed there. T his is just Christian, and perfection should be the goal for a con-
another of the evils of war. gregation of the Lord's people. He never suggested
that we lie or steal ver y little, nor has He suggested
that the chur ch should be the pillar and ground of
When the Democratic vice presidential candidate some of the tr uth. T he goal is beyond us, but the
was selected, he was interviewed and questioned ex- Lord would have us pr ess on unto perfection.
tensively by the news media. When a television "For all have sinned, and come short of the glor y
newsman asked him why he felt that he would be of God." (Rom. 3:23). "If we say that we have no sin
an asset to the party, his f ir st reason was, "Well, we deceive our selves, and the truth is not in us."
I'm a Roman Catholic." When WE oppose a Catholic (I John 1:8). If you and I are so inclined to sin, we
for such a high office, they tell us that it is an in- need not be greatly surprised ii we find some one else
tolerable degree of bigotry. Is it worse to refuse to in error. Could we worship with that one whose error
vote for a man who is a Catholic than it is to vote we see? We err, too! Could he worship with us? We
for him for the same reason? Catholics often deny may not be so conscious of our sins, but he likely is.
that their religion is a political issue, but in their If we qualify as being spiritual, and have the proper
car eless moments they admit that it is. We fail to meekness, and awareness of the danger of our being
see how Catholicism is a factor in qualifying one for tempted, we may seek to restore our erring brother
the pr esidency; it is a factor in getting votes. whom we love and respect for his many good traits.
(Gal. 6:1; James 5:19,20; I Peter 3:15).
"Naked youths take dip; elderly just watch." T his It might be proper for us to attend worship with
was the headline of an article concer ning the con- that brother whose error we see, and kneel with him
duct of some of the hippies and zippies in Miami in prayer and earnestly pray for mercy for both of us
Beach dur ing a recent political convention. "T his in our sins. Let us be blessed with ability to see our
place must look like a zoo to them," said young Don own sins and weaknesses. T he chur ch is not a
Bode of Br yan, Ohio. "T hey looked at us like ani- museum of perfect models. It is, rather, a group of
mals. It doesn't bother me though because I 'm people who love the Lord enough to do what they
used to it." know to do, and who seek to grow in the grace and
 Page 9

knowledge of the Lord. Let us teach and admonish troubles you? (Read Romans 14 again.) T each, yes,
one another. L et us warn, reprove, and rebuke one but do not drive a wedge. Do not weaken the pillar of
another. Let us exhort and comfort one another also. truth because you have discovered a scar in the paint.
And above all let us love one another so we can speak Repaint in time rather than hurry to destroy.
the truth in love. Churches may turn in a digressive direction and
We all need to come together for the Lord's supper. reach a point when they will no longer endure sound
( Acts 20:7) We need to teach and admonish one doctrine or receive warning so that faithful men must
another in song. ( E ph. 5:19; Col. 3:16) We need to come out and be separate, but we need to think more
lay by in store as the Lord has prospered us. (I Cor. than twice before coming out because there may be
16:1-3) Some who read this may no longer attend be- mor e hope than we first thought.
cause they have seen imperfections. T here are no con-
gregations that do not need to improve. If all the P.O. Box 866 Hartselle,
present membership become exact copies of the ex- Ala. 35640
ample that Christ left us, by that time there would be
some new converts who are babes. T hey must learn
many things, and improve in many ways before they
become as good as the Master. None of the older
members or of the new converts will ever make an
exact copy of the life of Christ. We can try. We can
improve. We can help one another improve.
One faithful Christian may be distressed at how
slowly others learn and break with their errors. That
"faithful" one may have been slow to learn many of
the truths he now knows, and he may be slow to
learn the many lessons he yet needs to learn. None
knows everything. We need patience in dealing with
one another. Christ, the Master T eacher, taught many
good lessons concerning the nature of His kingdom,
but it took the wonderful twelve a long time to learn
this. Our first duty is to examine ourselves. (2 Cor.
13:5) A second thing to do is to see the many good HEARTFELT RELIGION NO. 3
traits of those whom we seek to help. T hey may lead
better than they dr ive. We may be more likely to lead In our other two articles on this subject we have
them if we take time as the farmer waits for his har- pointed out that the "heart" that we ar e wr iting
vest. about is not the muscle that pumps the blood through
We, with our brand of ignorance and need of help, our veins, but the thinking part of man, the intellect.
may sit on the pew with some brother who needs to T hen in our second article, we showed the function
grow, and profit by hearing a good gospel sermon. By of the Bible heart. It understand, believes, obeys, and
our regular attendance, humility, brotherly love, and loves. In this article, we want to show how the heart
good Bible knowledge, we may gradually help our is changed.
brother. If we drop out we lose our chance. We cut Many today have the truth concer ning what the
ourselves off from the help we need, and we ruin our Bible heart is have a misconception of how the heart
chance to help those with whom we did worship. We is changed. T hey think you must wait for a direct
will not be marked guilty of all the sins of the erring oper ation of the Holy Spir it in order for the heart
man with whom we sit. E ach gives account of him- to be changed. But this is not in harmony with the
self. (2 Cor. 5:10; 13:5). teachings of the Bible. T he tr uth of the matter is
Some do sin so that they need to be marked, avoid- that a change of heart comes about as a r esult of
ed, and rejected. Factious people who cause division FAITH.
contrary to the doctrine of Christ would be examples
of this. T he man whose moral behavior br ings r e- SAUL'S CONVERSION
proach on the body of Chr ist is another example of For example, when Saul of T arsus was converted
the type to be put away. (1 Cor. 5; Rom. 16:17,18; to the Lord, he had a change of heart. He hated the
T itus 3:10,11). Many are weak and need teaching.
Please read and reread Romans, chapter 14. Some Lord and his disciples, believing that they were
whom we think black with guilt may not be so guilty. teaching contrar y to that which the God of I sr ael
Leave the final judgment to the Lord. Let us all recall would have them teach. But in later year s he
that Paul wrote two long letters to the sick church at changed and began to love the Lord even to the ex-
Corinth, but he did not ask the "good" people to tent that he was willing to give his life for the
drop out of the assembly. T he best should have gone Chr ist. What, brought about this change ? Faith in
regularly to teach, warn, rebuke, and to serve as bless- the crucified Savior. In Acts 26:11 Paul (for so his
ed peacemakers. name was changed from Saul after his conversion)
Some chur ches that seemed to be churches of said of himself that he was "exceedingly mad against
Chr ist have been divided in the last few years into them I per secuted them even unto strange cities."
two angr y parts, each looking for sound gospel Also in Acts 26:9 Paul says, "I verily thought with
preachers for regular work and for meetings. Is this myself that I ought to do many things contrar y to
sowing of discord one way to crucify the Lord afresh the name of Jesus of Nazar eth." But, Paul's think-
and to put Him to an open shame? Should the church ing was changed. T he Lord Jesus Chr ist spoke to
be divided into two camps over that question that him on his way to Damascus as he was on his way
Page 10

ther e to per secute the saints. When he was con-

vinced that the one speaking to him was Jesus of
Nazar eth he said, "Lord, what wilt thou have me
do?" (Acts 9:6). "Well," someone may ask, "ar e
our hearts changed today by the Lord speaking to
us ?" T he answer to that is yes — but NOT dir ectly
as he did to Saul. He speaks to us today by the Holy
Spir it and the Spir it uses the Word (the Bible) to
convict us today. Actually, it is the thing believed
that causes a change of affections. T he effects of
faith comes about as a r esult of the thing believed.
JACOB AND JOSEPH
T he Bible teaching concer ning Jacob and Joseph
is a good illustration of the above statement. When
Joseph was sold into slaver y by his brother s and WHY THE CHANGE?
they retur ned his coat of many color s to his father
Jacob with the blood of an animal on it, Jacob rent My brethren have changed in regard to the author-
his clothes and put sackcloth upon his loins, and ity of apostolic examples. When I was a boy preacher
mourned for many days for his son and would not be in the hills of Oklahoma I never heard anyone ques-
comforted. T hough his sons had told him a lie, the tion the authority of apostolic examples. It was with
lie believed was the thing that brought about the the advent of the "sponsor ing church" and other
effect — namely, Jacob's mourning. innovations that br ethren began to question the au-
thenticity of Bible authority by apostolic examples.
MEN'S LIVES ARE CHANGED Since that time r eams of paper have been used to
Men's lives are changed today in harmony with deny them. I n this br ief article I would like to point
what they believe. I see many who claim they be- out why this had to be done. Fir st let it be known
lieve the Bible, and claim they want to live the for all time that our authority for observing the
Chr istian life. However, it is ver y easy to see that Lord's Supper on Sunday is through the medium of
their claims ar e untrue in fact. How do we know apostolic example ( Acts 20:7). This forever refutes
this ? By the results we see in their lives. Name any- the sectar ian concept that the Lord's supper can
thing you want to name, immodest apparel, dancing, be observed at any time. Second, it needs to be made
dr inking, failure to attend ser vices, or anything you clear that our position on a plur ality of elder s in
want to name. T hen ask yourself the question, what ever y congregation is established by apostolic ex-
can we do to change all that ? T he answer is, change ample (Acts 20:17). T his refutes the Catholic con-
the heart! Preach the gospel to them. For, Faith cept of ONE elder rule. It needs to be made perfectly
comes by hearing the wor d of God ( Rom. 10:17); clear that in evangelistic work, apostolic examples
and the effects of faith comes about as a r esult of tell us that the money was always sent direct to the
the thing believed. evangelist (II Cor. 11:8; Phil. 4:15, 16). T his for-
ever refutes the liberal position of the missionar y
society of the sponsoring church. It also needs to be
observed that through the medium of apostolic ex-
amples we learn that money in the field of benevo-
lence was always sent direct to the chur ch in need
(I Cor. 16:1, 2). T his refutes forever the moder nis-
tic view that such work can be done through an or-
phan home or society of some kind.
When liberal preachers took a long, hard look at
the facts above they saw the hand wr iting on the
wall. T heir conclusion was, "we must either give up
our idols and innovations or get rid of apostolic ex-
amples." T hey chose the latter. However, this did
not fully solve their problem because they had
taught for year s that the Lord's Supper must be
observed on Sunday. If they did away with apostolic
examples then this old time practice goes down the
river. So the question was, what shall we do? T he
answer thundered back, destroy apostolic examples
but try to salvage the Lord's Supper and plur ality
of elder s some other way.
To illustrate, I have in my hand an article wr itten
by G. K. Wallace on this very subject. He, like many
of his colleagues, felt the need of getting r id of
apostolic examples but tried to salvage the Lord's
Supper. I now quote from this article which appeared
in the Firm Foundation:
 Page 11

"I n Acts 20:36 the Bible says in r egard to the to back it up ? T he stubborn fact remains we observe
apostle Paul, 'And when he had thus spoken, he the Lord's Supper on Sunday because of ONE and
kneeled down and prayed with them all.' Here is an ONLY ONE scripture and that is Acts 20:7. Brother
example of the apostle Paul and the br ethren that Wallace or his colleagues cannot and will not find a
were with him kneeling on the beach in prayer. This REQUIREMENT or COMMAND to back up this
is not a binding example because ther e is no law apostolic example.
that requir es a kneeling postur e in pr ayer. T he law Fellow Chr istian, when the great apostle Paul said
of God requires us to pray, but the posture is loosed. in Phil. 4:9 "T hose things, which ye have both
Prayer is bound but the position of the body, in learned, and received, and heard and seen in me do;
prayer, is not bound. An example of one kneeling or and the God of peace shall be with you." He said
standing in prayer is an example of liberty and not what he meant and meant what he said. We must
an example of carrying out a law governing position emulate any apostolic example when the consistent
or posture of the body while praying. For an exam- patter n of their activities shows a thing was done
ple to be binding, it must illustrate a r equir ement." in a certain way, time or place.
It has always been amusing the way brethren try
to get rid of apostolic examples. Did you notice the
way brother Wallace worded his last sentence. Well,
here it is: "For an example to be binding it must
illustrate a r equir ement." Another man put it this
way, "In order for an example to be binding it must
have a command to back it up." Gr eat shades of
Aristotle! Don't these men know if we have a com-
mand or r equirement we don't need an example?
What could motivate a person to reason in such a
manner ? What these br ethren are r eally saying is
that an apostolic example is NEVER binding; be-
cause if it takes a requir ement or command to back
it up what possible authority could there be in the
example itself?
Brother Wallace anticipated this problem with
the Lord's Supper on the first day of the week so he
went to I Cor. 16:1,2; I Cor. 4:17; Heb. 10:25; I Cor.
11:17-34; Acts 20:7 and came up with the incredible
idea that we ar e to obser ve the Lord's Supper on
Sunday. What brother Wallace failed to do is apply
his LAW. He found a command to assemble. He
found where they observed the Lord's supper when
they assembled. But what he failed to find was the
REQUIREMENT to do it on the FIRST DAY OF
THE WE E K! He had to go to the ver y thing he
denied to get this — Acts 20:7. T his is an approved
example telling us WHEN the early disciples ob-
served the Lord's Supper and it does not have a
REQUIREMENT OR COMMAND TO BACK IT UP!
All the talk on I Cor. 11 does not mention the impor-
tant thing and that is the first day of the week. No
living man or dead one hap ever found the FIRST
DAY OF THE WEEK IN FIRST CORINTHIANS
E L E VEN. Where is the requirement to back up the
first day of the week observance of the Lord's Sup-
per? You will find it on the blank page of your Bible.
Gentle reader, we do not need a command or re-
quirement to back up an apostolic example. Brother
Wallace said kneeling for prayer was not bound be-
cause ther e was no law which r equir ed it. T his is
not so! The reason kneeling is not bound is because
we have dif f er ent postures of prayer in the Bible.
I n Matt. 26:39 "And went a little further, and fell
on his face and prayed." T his shows different pos-
tures of prayer. No one single posture is bound.
Would brother Wallace say kneeling was not bound
if ALL the examples in the New T estament were of
kneeling and there was not one exception ? Would he
still argue we must have a command or requirement
Page 12 __________________________________________________________________________________________________

PREACHER WANTED town, three song leader s and several other s are per-
forming in ways they never thought possible. T he
Northside church, Brunswick, Ga., is in need of a Lord has blessed us surely. When in E ast-Central
preacher. Will need partial support. Small congrega- Indiana or West-Central Ohio, please pay us a visit.
tion of 8 adults and 3 children. Contact W. N. Pot-
ter, P.O. Box 13, Arco Branch, Brunswick, Ga. 31520
or call (912) 265-9164. Robert Wayne La Coste holds a meeting for the
church in Hildago, Illinois August 7-13 and one for
PREACHER NEEDED
the church in Spr ing Creek, T ennessee Aug. 21-27.
Vernon, Fla. — A strong, knowledgeable man is Robert J. L a Coste held an ear ly July meeting
desir ed her e, as much teaching and leader ship is for the chur ch in Cooper, Texas wher e the theme
badly needed. He must be able to secure most of his the fir st two nights was "Why I left the Roman
financial support from elsewhere, as we can con- Catholic Church." One precious soul was baptized in
tribute ver y little towards his salar y. T he church is that meeting.
tiny, with most of the members being young in the
faith. Please contact Richard Geswein, Rt. 1, Ponce W. Lafayette, Indiana — A new congregation was
de L eon, Florida 32455. established in Sept. 1971 in W. Lafayette, Ind. and
presently meets near the Purdue University campus
Young gospel preacher (25 years old) with four at 2353 Yeager Rd. T he congr egation consisted of
years full-time experience would like to locate and 3 families at that time but has increased to 7 fami-
work with a strong congregation with elders. Will lies as of Aug. 1, 1971. T he preaching was done by
consider moving with wife and one daughter any- men from the var ious congregations within a radius
time up to one year from now. Mike T. Rogacs, (816) of 80 miles. We wish to acknowledge the wonderful
232-6110, 401 S. Noyes Blvd., St. Joseph, Mo. 64501. assistance given by these congr egations, to whom
we are deeply indebted. Brother Bob Nealy, preacher
at Kokomo, has taught the mid- week Bible study
UFOT JACOB AKPAN and has been of special help throughout this period
by Fr ed A. Shewmaker of time. Brother Henr y Smith moved to W. Lafay-
ette June 1st to take up the full time work as a
It is with a sad and aching heart that I wr ite this preacher here. Should anyone know of students at-
notice. However, it is my duty before God to make tending Purdue or others living in this area, please
known to all those who have in any way aided Ufot send their names and addr esses to Henr y Smith,
Akpan since he has been in the United States that 1820 Summit Dr., W. Lafayette, Ind. 47906. (317)
he is not worthy of support. Several have urged him 463-2638.
to repent and do what is r ight but all such efforts
have failed.
Because I have been party to every effort to assist RELIGIOUS DEBATE
Ufot, of which I am aware, since his coming to the T here will be a religious debate between Mr. J. T.
United States and due to the fact that I have urged Smith and Dr. Albert Garner. Mr. Smith is the
br ethren all over the countr y to aid him, I am the preacher for the Northside church of Chr ist in Con-
one, among all who have helped, who is obligated to way, Arkansas. Dr. Garner is a Baptist preacher
make known his unworthiness. from Lakeland, Fla. T he debate is to be conducted
Details will be furnished upon r equest to those in the Beedeville, Arkansas, High School Auditor-
who have aided Ufot. ium. Dates are set for Aug. 7, 8, 10, 11. T he subjects
to be discussed are baptism and apostasy. T he ses-
Ralph Joiner, P.O. Box 208, Cambridge City, Ind. sions are to begin at 8:00 p.m. each evening.
47327 — August will mark the beginning of our
third year in Cambr idge City. Progress has been
slow and difficulties within the congregation have, JIM BEECH TO AUSTRALIA
no doubt, hindered us in many ways. But, as we look
back on two years of labor we see: three baptisms, At this wr iting we have $4,655.00 of our travel
two restorations, eight identifications and three fund and $670.00 of our monthly support either
confessions of error. Our attendance has increased committed or on hand. I would like to ask those
from an average of 40 to an average of 60. In addi- who have promised travel fund to go ahead and
tion to our regular services and gospel meetings, we send it now. T hose who ar e ready to support us
have held a Personal Work Class and a Preacher- monthly will receive their deposit slips soon and we
T eacher T r aining Class. T his latter graduated one would like to have the August support that we may
preacher who is preaching once a month in a nearby take it with us so we will not have to live one month
without support after we get to Wagga Wagga. T he fields are white for a preacher who wants to do as
monthly support is our only worry now, financially, Apollos did after Paul had planted. Support can be
and we believe the other $230.00 will come before arranged for a pr eacher who wants to meet the
we leave. challenge.
So many chur ches and br ethren have done so If interested in the work contact either C. L. Pur-
much that I am completely unable to express my dom, 824 West Vine St., Par agould, Ark. 72450 or
thanks and I hesitate to call any by name less I B. G. Hope, Route 3, Beaver Dam, Ky. 42320.
slight (unintentionally) one who has sacr ificed the
most. T he amount of money received so far repre- Otis Jordan, P.O. Box 414, Perry Florida — I have
sents the support of eight brethren and fourteen been with the chur ch at Spring War r ior ( just out-
churches ... we thank you all! side of Per r y, Fla.) for just less than two year s.
My address in Australia will be P.O. Box S-93, We have had a very good work. We have had 37 re-
Wagga Wagga, N.S.W. 2650, Australia. When you sponses her e, 18 baptisms and 19 r estorations. I
write a letter I suggest you go to the post office and also traveled to T itusville and baptized 3 as the r e-
get an "Aerogramme" for fifteen cents as that is sult of a funeral over there. I was with two young
the cheapest way to send a letter. From now on my men, brethren, Jim Poppell (Lake City) and Nathan
reports will be in the bulletin of the Huffman Church, Hagood ( Jennings) in a tent meeting at White
525 Roebuck Dr., Birmingham, Ala. 35215. We will Springs, Fla. in May. We had ver y good attendance
be sending a report every other month unless some- and a young lady from Lake City was baptized. I
thing special happens. We would like to hear from will be in a meeting at Steinhatchee, Fla. Sept. 3
all of you I know for others have said this was one through the 10th. We will be engaged in a meeting
thing they needed and missed, letter s from the here Sept. 18 through the 24th with brother Conway
States; so wr ite us, ask questions about the work Skinner.
or whatever, we will be glad to hear from you.
I hope to mail my next report from Wagga Wagga. Paul M. Smith, 22 Schell Street, Kincheloe Air
Remember us in your prayer s, as we do you also. Force Base, Maine 49788 — I am presently in the
Air Force but will be getting out in October and, the
Lord willing, I will go into full-time pr eaching. I
NEW CONGREGATION would like to locate and work with some sound con-
L ast summer two families decided to start a sound gregation. T hese facts about myself might be help-
congregation of the church of Chr ist in or near ful to anyone who may consider my ser vices. I am
Morgansfield, Ky. T hey rented the Community Cen- 37 years of age and my wife, Jacqueline, and I have
ter Building at Pr ide, Ky. Brother B. G. Hope of four children: Bill, 16; Ann, 14; James, 12; Brenda,
Beaver Dam, Ky. with the help of C. L. Purdom of 10. I have been active in the chur ch for almost 25
Paragould, Ark., conducted a gospel meeting in Sep- year s and have pr eached, taught Bible classes and
tember. A new congregation was established with lead singing ever ywhere we have lived during this
seven members. Now we have twelve. period, both overseas and in the States. If you desire
In November an acre of land was purchased in additional information or references, please wr ite to
T ilden, Ky. on highway 56, just off Alt. 41. T his plot me at the above address or call (906) 495-2436.
had an old three car br ick garage which was reno- ---------------------------- o -------------
vated by adding a concrete, carpeted floor, panelled Terry L. Sumerlin, 216 Dunbar, Refugio, T exas
walls and a tile ceiling. T his is equipped with elec- 78377, Aug. 10, 1972 — I have just completed my
tric heat and is air conditioned. It will seat 75 peo- second year of work with the faithful br ethren here
ple. A one bedroom trailer was purchased and fur- in Refugio. I n the past year we have been blessed
nishes us with two class rooms and a r est room. with 13 additions: 4 baptisms, 8 to place member-
T here is no other sound church in the area closer ship, and 1 restoration. T his makes a total of 24 re-
than 40 miles to the north and 60 miles either to the sponses in 2 years. We urge you to pray for us that
east or south with about 90 miles to the west. T he the chur ch might continue to grow in this ar ea.
work is hard. T he liber als do not like us but the
 T he foundation of authority is God. Stated nega-
tively, the wisdom and fair ness of par ents or rulers
is not the basis for authority. No. Contrariwise,
r espect for authority depends ver y simply upon
human recognition of God and his ordination of such
author ity as he has delegated to men, and the hu-
mility to accept the divine arrangement. In the ver y
nature of the case, the r ights of God cannot be
granted and accepted in a heart that disr espects
authority. He who knows the facts and loves God
necessarily respects all author ity (that is, all au-
thor ity exer cised by God himself or delegated by
God to men). Respect for authority itself is co-
existent and synonymous with r espect for God,
though personal respect for the individual in the
God-delegated position of author ity will depends
THE ROOTS OF DISRESPECT FOR AUTHORITY upon that individual's exer cise of his powers. T he
What is the cause of disr espect for author ity? point is vital — one may respect God and disrespect
Who is responsible? Shall the blame be placed upon a man who shows himself unworthy of the power
permissive (or domineer ing, as the case may be) given him by God, but since it was in fact given by
par ents? Or is it government? Too many scandals God he will still respect the position or authority
and too much corruption and social inequities too itself. T hat means he will submit and obey. It also
gross for author ity to survive with anybody's r e- means he cannot be the rebel. T he burden is on the
spect? Per haps the chur ch is to blame, what with individual under author ity to r espect it.
the hypocr ites and all. Who is at fault ? Upon whom Now we come to the what in the root of disrespect.
does the burden of guilt r est? I n the final analysis Since respect is based upon the (1) knowledge and
it is suggested that the burden of guilt belongs to (2) acceptance of God's right to rule and to delegate
the individual who, notwithstanding his cir cum- authority, and since respect necessar ily lives on so
stances and frustrations, does not respect authority. long as this knowledge and acceptance is in the
T he final burden is not upon those in authority who heart, disr espect is the r esult of either this knowl-
may perchance (and most likely) have misused and edge or acceptance being destroyed. It is that simple.
abused their author ity upon occasions. T his is not T he first root of disrespect is ignorance — ignor-
said in any justification of any abuse of author ity, ance of God and his r ights and power, ignorance of
nor to deny that by incompetence, corruption or arbi- our own puny frailties and utter dependence, ignor-
trariness a given authoritar ian (parent, governmen- ance of the nature of things, and ignorance of law
tal body or what have you) may both lose and de- and life and the light of hope. T he man who does not
ser ve to lose the per sonal r espect of those under it. have the knowledge of God cannot possibly have the
It is not denied that human author ities can and proper per spective of author ity. If so, how? On
often do contribute to a breakdown of respect and what ground should he accord men the pr erogative
actually tr igger r eactions of resentment and r e- of telling him what to do? Do the strong have the
jection. But there is a deeper cause, quite apart from right to dominate the weak because they have more
any earthly author ity and its exercise of rule, that might ? May the intelligent usurp rule over the sim-
must exist within the individual under author ity ple because they ar e smarter ? Can a major ity by a
before the follies of some author itar ian can tr igger vote make a lie truth? Or does a major ity inher e
the discontent and evidence the disr espect. any r ight within itself to put one man or system in
Page 2

author ity over a dissenting minor ity? No. And that

on the simple ground that man has no inher ent r ight
to seize for himself or to confer to another any au-
thor ity whatsoever. All author ity properly begins
with God! Well might a man, who has no knowledge
or perspective of God to law, shout, "I will not obey
any law in the making of which I had no part." In-
deed, if there is no God, it can be successfully and
categorically denied that any man or group of men
have the r ight to rule over any other men. But give
God his place in a heart, and r espect for authority
can survive in good health all the foibles and abuses
of weak, foolish or even evil men in high places.
T he second root of disrespect is rebellion. In its
rankest form it has full knowledge of God and his
r ight to rule. But it stubbornly and arrogantly r e-
fuses to humble itself. It will not accept divine rule.
It is denned as "open resistance and defiance." Gese-
nius in his definition of the Hebrew word (marah)
translated rebellion most graphically depicts its sul-
len and insolent spir it: " (to stroke, to stripe .. ;
spec, to lash with a whip) ... to be contumacious,
rebellious . . . to reject a divine command ... (which,
per haps, former ly taken in its proper sense meant,
to stroke or strike anyone's mouth, i.e. to refuse to
hear his words, to treat him with contempt...) ."
T his is a horrible and damnable disposition. What
a revolting scene comes to mind in the spir it of the
definition when we see a boy rejecting correction or
guidance from his father or mother, rebelling and
defiantly r efusing and taking the back of his hand
and slapping them in the mouth for daring to tell
him what to do. "I don't have to." "You can't tell
me what to do." It is not necessary to slap the mouth
ever y time it speaks, it is quite sufficient to do it
one time. (See James 2:10.) Contempt for a person
can be shown by spitting in their face one time, and
r ebellion against God is quite clear when a man
takes even one point and says that he will or will not
do a certain thing r egardless. I s it not one of the
greatest tragedies of our day that some are so fool-
ish and self- inflated as to think that it is their
"r ight" to disobey laws they do not like? T hey
would smite God in the mouth, declare it to be their
r ight, and opine that it is a small thing. And this
is what we do when we stubbornly disobey, or reject
author ity.
It would be wonderful if all human author ities
ruled well. It would be sweet if we suffered no mis-
treatment or injustices from those over us. But
exper ience and common sense tells us that it shall
never be. Nonetheless the foundations of respect
stand; it came not by man's wisdom, it falls not
with his folly; it stands in the knowledge and ac-
ceptance of the living God.
 Page 3

are used to justify the divided condition. T he divided

state to which I am referring does not necessar ily
mean that two separate groups exist, but that dis-
pute and hatr ed exists in some of the chur ches.
In an editor ial in the July 1969 issue of Search-
ing The Scriptures the following appeared which I
believe needs to be considered as sober ly now as
when I wrote the article. I bid you read it carefully
in the light of God's word.

RE S P E CT OF PERSONS
I get that feeling of disgust mingled with anger
when I observe some brother in the Lord being mis-
treated, ignored, even slandered, and for no other
CONCERNING THE KETCHERSIDE-TURNER
reason than that he is poor, uninfluential, or less
EXCHANGE
educated than other s. E ver y time I see or hear of
this I think of the scene the Lord gave of the judg-
In the February 1972 issue of this paper appeared ment in Matthew 25. He said the treatment one gives
the first of what was to be a series of three articles to "one of the least of these my brethr en" is the
showing the devious, subtle appeal Carl W. Ketcher- treatment given to the Lord. You just remember
side makes across this country, sowing' discord and this: what you do (or do not do) to the brethren you
alienating br ethren. He is her alded as a healer of do to the Lord.
the "fragmented segments of the heirs of the Ref- T hat feeling of disgust becomes more loathsome
ormation." He is a self acclaimed example of that when I see some brother unduly honored, praised and
bowed to as if he were an emperor, and for no reason
spir itual matur ity that gives him insight into the other than that he is r ich, popular, highly educated
meaning of "unity of the Spir it" that most of the academic-wise, and socially or politically powerful.
rest of us do not possess. T he political maneuver ing, financial mergers, and
T he fact is that Car l Ketcher side is one of the social alliances are avenues by which many seek to
most prominent promoters of discord in Amer ica have others respect their persons, or they seek to
today. More division of churches of Christ follow in expr ess their r espect of the per sons of other s.
his wake than any other one man in r eligious cir- I can imagine someone saying, "T hat editor is try-
cles today. Most all of his divisive work is done by ing to make himself a champion of the poor and less
"good words and fair speeches" which deceive the fortunate among br ethren" or "He is envious and
untaught (Rom. 15:17). jealous of those who are more fortunate and more
We shall make some further observations on his popular than he." Nothing is further from the truth
misuse of God's word in future issues of this paper . on both counts. T here is no special virtue and purity
H. E . P. about poverty or illiter acy, and there is no special
evil and impurity about wealth, fame and academic
attainment. It is as disgusting to me to see the poor
and less-educated look with disdain upon those who
"GOD IS NO RESPECTER OF PERSONS" have worked hard to acquire wealth and education as
One of the several reasons for the general apathy it is in reverse. T he extremes in wealth, popular ity,
and unconcer n on the part of most "church mem- education, etc., have nothing to do with how one
ber s" is that they believe God will r espect their brother ought to treat another. This is the ver y point
per son in that day of accounting for their year s of this lesson. Men ought not to be judged and re-
spent upon this earth. Such important factors to the spected upon their persons, but upon what their lives
are as measured by the word of God.
world as wealth, high position of power and respon- Let me give the reason why I abhor the abuse of
sibility, fame, mor al goodness, benevolent works, some and the unear ned praise and honor of other s.
and religious activity will br ing them special favor To show respect of persons means to accept (or re-
from Almighty God when their eternal destiny is ject) one upon the basis of who he is or what he has.
revealed. It means "acceptance of faces" or per sons; to re-
T he near universal practice of showing favoritism ceive or reject one on appearance or recognition of
and expecting special treatment in all walks of life his person alone.
because of respect of persons is so common in most T he matter of showing "respect of persons" is
chur ches of Chr ist that I must speak of the sin mentioned nine times in the New T estament: five
again. I know a half dozen congr egations that ar e times of God and four times of men. In each of the
now divided over the basic problem of showing r e- five passages relating to God it is affirmed that He is
spect of per sons. I know that "both sides" charge NO respecter of persons and the areas where He does
some scr iptural issue as the reason for the divided not respect persons are given. But in the four verses
state, but the foundation of these scr iptural is- where showing "respect of persons" relates to man
sues may be traced to some degree of showing r e- they show the ver y natur e of the sin and wher e it
spect of persons in regard to sinful practices which leads. T hree ver ses are found in James 2 and one in
Page 4

Jude. T his r espect of per sons is unjust and unfair wrong shall r eceive for the wrong which he hath
in the measurement of a man; it makes man a judge done: and ther e is no r espect of per sons" (Col.
of others by his own standard and ignores God's 3:24,25). T he most noted evangelist or the most
standard of right and wrong, and the word of God highly esteemed bishop in the Lord's church will re-
says it is sinful. T his pits the truth against the per- ceive the same punishment for his wrong as any
son. If I respect the person I tend to "bend" the truth other person on the face of the earth. His position or
to make it conform to the person. But if I honor God his honor will in no wise affect God in dealing out the
and His truth I will strive to persuade the per son to just wages for his wrongdoing.
conform to truth. He then deser ves respect, not be- Fifth, the judgment of God toward every man will
cause of his person, but because of his obedience to be without respect of persons. "But as he which hath
the truth. called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of con-
We are taught to be like Chr ist. All who believe versation ; because it is wr itten, Be ye holy; for I am
the Bible believe God to be perfect in ever y sense. If holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without re-
God does not respect the person of any man, it must spect of persons judgeth according to ever y man's
be right, merciful, just, holy, and Christ-like to show work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear"
respect to no man's person. If we learn to do this the (I Peter 1:15- 17).
law of the Lord will be far more meaningful to us. Now compare this with man's dealing with man.
T he law of the Lord will become the standard of "My br ethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus
judgment and not the per son of any man. Christ, the Lord of glor y, with respect of persons. For
First, God respects the person of no man in accept- if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold
ing those who become His children. T he Jews had the ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor
notion that they wer e favor ed by God because of man in vile raiment; and ye have respect to him that
their nationality, but God showed Peter and the six wear eth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit
Jews with him when they went to the house of Cor- thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand
nelius that "God is no respecter of persons: but in thou here, or sit here under my footstool: are ye not
ever y nation he that feareth him, and worketh right- then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of
eousness, is accepted with him" (Acts 10:34,35). evil thoughts ? ... But if ye have respect to persons,
E ver y man is not accepted by the Lord, but it is not ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as trans-
on the basis of his person that he is rejected; it is gr essor s" ( James 2:1-4,9).
because of his disobedience. Peter said the truth is T hese verses picture the abominable condition so
that "God is no respecter of persons: but in every evident among many brethren today. A well-known
nation" ( Jew and Gentile) "he that feareth him, evangelist will come into an assembly and some
and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." It br ethren will act as if Chr ist himself has ar r ived.
is what a man does and not who he is that determines T hey must honor him with special eulogies and fa-
whether he is accepted with God. vors. T hey do the same for a very rich man, a famous
Second, God respects the person of no man when political figure, or a noted entertainer. But these same
sin is involved. The righteous judgment of God, "who brethren will hardly speak to an unknown, poor man
will render to ever y man according to his deeds" who is "just a faithful Chr istian." If you think I am
(Rom. 2:6), applies equally to "the Jew first, and also saying that all well-known evangelists, rich brethren,
to the Gentile" (vs. 9,10). With God sin is sin whether and brethren who have become successful in their
it be by Jew or Gentile. "For there is no respect of fields of endeavor should be ignored and the poor
persons with God. For as many as have sinned with- honor ed, you have missed the point of this study.
out law shall also per ish without law: and as many The word of God teaches that we should treat the rich
as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law" and poor alike. We should honor the brethren — all
( Rom. 2:11,12). If you transgr ess the law of the brethren, regardless of who they are or what they
Lord, He will not stop to check whether you ar e a have. T hey should be respected for what they have
Jew or Gentile, r ich or poor, popular or unknown, done and are doing of the living word of God. T his is
ruler or servant, scholar or unlettered. You will be a the way God deals with all of us.
sinner whoever you are because God respects the We show respect of persons for personal advan-
person of no man when sin is involved. tage. It is a selfish move. We tend to favor the wealthy
T hird, God will render good to those who do good because we hope to profit by it. We run after the in-
without respect of persons. T he poorest, least es- fluential because we expect to enhance our own
teemed man on earth will receive good from the Lord influence and popularity by the association. We as-
for the good he has done, and it will be by the same sociate with the powerful because we desire to be
standard and on the same pr inciple that the most es- secure. What can the poor, weak and unknown do for
teemed on earth will receive it. "Knowing that what- me ? Nothing! Why then should I give him any spe-
soever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he cial attention? T his is the root of the whole matter.
receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free ... T here is no love for the brethren, and, consequently,
neither is there respect of persons with him" ( E ph. no love for God (I John 4:20,21).
6:8,9). Whatever good any man doeth he will receive T he Spir it said by Jude that the evil "brute beasts"
of the Lord, and the person of that man has nothing who had committed every conceivable sin known to
to do with it. It is what the man does, not who he is, man, were "walking after their own lusts; and their
that counts with God. mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's
Fourth, God will render just punishment to all who per sons in admir ation because of advantage ( Jude
do wrong without respect of persons. "Knowing that 16). The A.S.V. says, "showing respect of persons for
of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inher i- the sake of advantage." L ike many br ethren today,
tance : for ye serve the Lord Chr ist. But he that doeth these were using flattering words to show respect of
 Page 5

per sons for their own personal advantage. Let us the church. But all essential work done by the home
lear n to treat others without partiality and measur e in caring for the childr en is a work of the home. It
them by what they do according to the standard of is just that simple! Paul taught that the chur ch is
God's word and not according to who they are, who to relieve widows (I Tim. 5:16). The church might
they know, and what they have. not need to do more than send a bill of needed gro-
cer ies, or to have a doctor's pr escr iption filled, and
all at church expense. T he church would not have to
send someone to cook the groceries and administer
the medicine, if the widow is unable to cook and
see to such details. T he church has done its work
when it has done what is essential for the chur ch
to do.
T hen the home takes over, and does its work in
applying what the church has in benevolence sup-
plied. T he home has its work to do. It is not the
work of the chur ch to be a home; neither is it the
work of a home to be a church. E ach institution
functions in its own place, and does its own work.
T he chur ch in giving to a destitute home is sim-
ply aiding the home in its work, helping it to car r y
on under stress and strain, till it can wholly take
care of itself without church benevolence.
T he church has no scr iptural r ight to take over
"NO DEAD ISS UE — NO. I" destitute homes and oversee them. God put indi-
viduals over their own homes. Adam was to "rule
With the permission of brother Phillips, I plan to over " E ve (Gen. 3:16). God said of Abraham, "For
run a ser ies of three articles under the above title. I know him, that he will command his children and
T he fact that brethren who believe in the support his household after him" (Gen. 18:19). Joshua was
of human institutions out of the chur ch tr easury to be over his house, and hence said: "As for me and
wr ite so often on the subject proves beyond any my house, we will ser ve the Lord" ( Joshua 24:15) .
question that they do not consider it a dead issue. T his is also a true principle under the new cove-
It would be tragic indeed if we are lulled into com- nant, under which we live. A Chr istian man is to be
placency with reference to this question. T he first "one that ruleth well his own house, having his chil-
article to be printed is by brother Gus Nichols, and dr en in subjection with all gr avity; (for if a man
appeared in the July 1972 issue of the Boles Home know not how to rule his own house, how shall he
News. Boles Home is almost my next door neighbor take car e of the chur ch of God?) " ( I T im. 3:4- 5) .
being located some twelve miles south of Greenville. T his denies the idea that elders are to rule over our
T he title of brother Nichols' article is "Whose Work homes for us, even in times of sickness and distress.
Is It?" T he second article we will review is one by Paul says of young widows, "I will therefore that the
brother Reuel Lemmons, editor of the Firm Foun- younger women (widows - A.S.V.) marry, bear chil-
dation, Austin, T exas. Brother Lemmon's article is dren, guide the house, give none occasion to the ad-
called "Benevolence and E ducation," and appear ed ver sar y to speak r eproachfully" ( I T im. 5:14) .
in the March 21 issue of the Firm Foundation. It Here the wife is to "guide the house," and not leave
shall be my purpose to pr int the articles in their it for the elder s to take the over sight of her home.
entirety, then show the true and false affirmations Furthermore, God did not put the elder s over
of said articles. In a third article, I plan to show the homes. T he elders are placed over the churches, and
contradiction between brethren Nichols and Lem- not homes. We r ead of "elder s in ever y chur ch"
mons. T hese men both teach the support of orphan (Acts 14:23) ; and of "elders of the church" (Acts
asylums and yet they ar e as far apart as the poles 11:29- 30). From Miletus, Paul "sent to E phesus,
in what they teach. We will notice this in the third and called the elder s of the church" ( Acts 20:17).
ar t icle month after next. When they came to him, he said unto them, "T ake
Now for brother Nichols' article called, "Whose heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock,
Work Is It?" Please notice article and the r eply at over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers,
the close: to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased
"Whose Work Is It ?" One brother is "anxious" to with his own blood" ( verse 28). T hese elders were
know whose work is being done when the "church not over homes, but over the churches in which they
contributes to an orphan home — the work of the served. God did not put elders over families of Chris-
giving church? or the work of the orphan home is tians, but over the church and its wor k.
car ing for the destitute childr en?" He thinks the Of course, elders could serve as trustees of a home,
orphan home was established "by the chur ch to do just as they could be principals of schools, or post-
the work of the church," and that because it was master s; just as citizens and Chr istians, without
thought that the church is insufficient for its work. filling the positions as elders. Hence, the church does
So he asks, "whose work is it?" not have to take over homes and operate them when
All essential work done by the chur ch in caring it is contributing to the necessities of such homes.
for homeless and destitute childr en is a work of T he chur ch of Antioch sent a contr ibution to the
Page 6

elders of another church, or churches, in Judea (Acts Home? T his is one question I can't get answered.
11:29-30). The giving church did not have to take Gayle Oler, while sitting in one of the rooms of
over the receiving church, or churches, and destroy Boles Home would not tell me. If the Super intendent
their autonomy befor e it could aid them in their is the head of the home then he would have to be-
own work of benevolence. The receiving church, or come destitute before he could beg churches in be-
churches, did their own work, and the giving church half of his childr en! Paul said, "I f a man provide
was aiding them in sending the contribution. An- not for his own and specially for those of his own
other way to say the same thing, is to say each house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than
church did its own work; neither did the work of the in infidel" ( I T im. 5:8). So while brother Nichols
other. The giving church did not send men along to was correct in saying God put the individual over
the receiving church to take charge and oversee the his home, it would have been r efreshing to have
r eceiving chur ch, nor to control the contr ibution heard who is over Boles Home!
sent; the receiving elders were trusted to their work, Brother Nichols tells us in the support of widows
and the giving church had done its part. Both the the Church could buy a bill of groceries, or have a
giving institution, and the receiving institution had doctor's prescription filled at Church expense. Yes,
its work to do. T he receiving church did the actual indeed, but this is where he slipped a cog. He should
work of applying the relief, while the giving church of said the elders may send money to the Board of
was working in sending the r elief. T hen further Dir ectors or a grocer y association and they in turn
down the line, when the needy applied the funds buy the widow the grocer ies. Or the elder s take
distributed by the r eceiving chur ch they, also, as money out of the Chur ch treasur y and donate to
homes and families, did their work in appropriating a doctor 's association under the control of a Board
the benevolence of the sending church (Acts 11: of Directors and they in turn pay for the doctor's
29-30). The contribution was sent by the church at prescription. Brother Nichols says one thing and
Antioch, to elder s in Judea. but for "the br ethren." pr actices another. T his was the same violation of
L et us say then, that it is the work of the giving the Missionar y Society. I n supporting pr eacher s it
chur ch to send r elief, or do what it can for the re- was God's plan that the work and conduct of the
lief of the destitute, and it is the work of those r e- preacher being supported be under the control and
ceiving aid and assistance to apply what is received author ity of elders. But they shifted that to a Board
to the extent of their abilities. T he giving chur ch of Directors and sent donations to that organization.
does not have to take over and do all the work to The same is true with organizations like Boles Home.
be done. Others may give whatever relief they can, T here is still a difference in the elders buying ser v-
and the receiving chur ch, or home being assisted, ices of an organization and making a donation to an
can do, each its own work, to the extent of ability. organization. One is scr iptur al and the other is not.
Surely this is scr iptural and r ight. It was fatal indeed when brother Nichols gave us
ANSWER: The tragedy of brother Nichols' arti- the example of Acts 11:29-30. He says one chur ch
cle is that it ASSUMES the ver y point which has sent to another church and autonomy was not de-
divided churches all over the land. He did not give stroyed. Yes, I agree one thousand percent. Now,
ONE scr ipture showing that a chur ch ever gave to brother Nichols, in sending to Boles Home what
an organization like Boles Homes. It would be nice church receives the money? T his pattern doesn't fit
if he would wr ite us an article showing where this your practice. T his is one Chur ch sending to an-
was done in Bible times! As a matter of fact, he other Church to take care of its benevolent wards.
can't even find a scr iptur e wher e a Chur ch ever This is exactly how it should be done today. I f a
gave to any kind of a HOME ; much less one like Chur ch has poor saints and cannot take car e of
BOLES! In Bible times the Church helped SAINTS them, then let other Churches send to the church in
not HOMES! A man once said to me, "Yes, but need and let the Chur ch take car e of its poor saints
Hogland. all saints ar e a part of a home." I said, as it did in Acts six. If this were practiced, division
"Yes, indeed, I am a part of the Church but I am not would end all over this gr eat land of ours. Please
the Chur ch — I am also a part of the U.S. but I am notice that the above example does not justify a
not the United States." I f we ar e not car eful these sponsoring Chur ch gather ing up poor saints from
br ethren will ASSUME the point they must prove all over the brother hood and asking for donations
from the scr iptures. Where does the Bible say the but only taking car e of its own member s!
church ever gave one cent to a home? Well, it is Remember, gentle reader, just because a group of
found on the same page you read about the church elder s take money out of the Church treasur y and
haying all kinds of instruments of music in the wor- spend it DOES NOT make it scriptural. T hose elders
ship service — the blank page! must have Bible author ity for spending the money
Now for the true statements of brother Nichols' and they will answer to God if they prostitute the
article. He said a number of times that the Chur ch Lord's work. Brother Nichols didn't tell us what we
could not take over the work of the home. T hat is need to know — that is, author ity for elder s taking
exactly correct. He said God put individuals over money out of the Church treasury and giving to an
their own homes. Yes, this is true and it would have orphan asylum like Boles Home. We all know the
been interesting to have heard brother Nichols tell difference in a home and the Church but where did
us WHICH individual is over Boles Home! Is it the the Church ever give to a real home, much less an
Superintendent? Is it a member of the Board of Di- organization like Boles Home? If Boles Home is a
r ectors? I n the Bible we ar e taught that the father home then so are the Catholic Hospitals in the state
is the head of his home. Who is the father of Boles of T exas, because I checked the r ecord and they
ar e charter ed exactly alike T hink it over.
 Page 7

nounced the light good, He divided the light from

the darkness. God then named the light DAY and
the darkness He named NIGHT. T his division is the
first reference to a point of time in the Bible. Dark-
ness was not blotted out of existence but rather we
find two entities existing at the same time, darkness
and light. We are not told the sour ce of light and it
is not connected with a source until the fourth day
(cf. l:14-ff.). Science recognizes that there are other
sources of light than the sun.

THE HEBREW DAY

T he Hebrew word for day is "yom" and is found
over 2,100 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. T he
Jewish method of time-keeping is based upon the day
beginning from evening to evening. It is in accord-
ance with the order observed in the Biblical account
of Creation, "and there was evening and there was
morning, one day" (Gen. 1:5). T his principle is re-
peated sever al times in the Torah ( cf. Lev. 23:32;
E x. 12:18).
T he word day is used in a number of senses (cf.
Brown, Driver & Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon of
the Old Testament, pp. 398-401). But there are two Guess what you get as a free prize for subscr ibing
senses of prime importance. T he first is in the sense to MISSION Magazine. No, not a New T estament,
of an ordinar y 24-hour day. With sunset, the Jewish for they don't go in too much for that. You get a
24-hour day comes to an end. T his type of day con- printed interview with Pat Boone. Now that is a real
sists of two parts, or periods, i.e., light and darkness. appropr iate gift for that paper, for neither of them
T he second sense is used by calling the light "day" would be worth a plug nickel!
and the darkness "night" (Hebrew word is layelah). In an advertisement which I received they say,
T hus the term "day" is used in a double sense of a "T housands of Christians find MISSION one of the
24-hour day consisting of light and darkness and a most relevant and exciting Church of Chr ist pe-
12-hour (approx.) day consisting of light. Context riodicals available today. MISSION is not a typical
will determine which of the two meanings the word Church of Chr ist per iodical. It was never meant to
has in a particular text. be. MI S S I ON is a thought and talk starter t hat
THE HEBREW WORD DAY IN CREATION
keeps r eader s talking, r eacting, asking questions,
and expressing their own opinions."
Whether the days of Genesis chapter one are six What is a "Church of Chr ist periodical?" Such
immediately successive literal 24-hour days, whether language is a good indication of the type of teaching
the six days of cr eation are separ ated by long in- found in MISSION. And we ar e thankful that it is
tervals of time, whether the days of creation follow not a "typical Church of Christ" publication. I have
a long geological time per iod/gap after the first cre- found that the wr iters express "their own opinions"
ative act or whether these days refer to six indefinite more than those of the Lord and the inspir ed apos-
per iods of time or ages, ar e questions that have tles. And I notice that Carl (anything goes) Ketch-
plagued Bible students and scholar s alike. erside is now one of the wr iters.
T he Hebrew word "yom" first appears in Genesis
1:5 and is here used two times in the two senses T he opening line of a hit song by Glen Campbell
mentioned above, i.e., in a double sense of a 24-hour says, "Manhattan Kansas ain't no place to have a
day and in the sense of daytime or light. baby, when you've got no man to give it it's last
T here are two periods of transition during each name." Before an omnipr esent God, is ther e any
24-hour day that need explanation. T hese per iods are good place to have a baby when there is no one to
called mor ning ( boker) and evening ('ereb) and ar e give it a legitimate name? We realize that many
of indefinite length. T he evening begins before sun- thousands are born each year under such conditions,
set and continues after sunset merging into the and the number is incr easing. I n fact, illegitimacy
darkness of the night. L ikewise, mor ning begins and vener eal disease continue to incr ease at an
before sunrise and continues after sunrise blending alarming rate. We thought that sex education in
into the light of day. T hese transitions are gr adual the public schools was supposed to cor r ect this.
and include both the full setting ( evening) and the T hat's what the liberals argued. T eaching children
full rising (morning) of the sun on the hor izon in about sex to discourage exper imenting makes about
both west and east respectively. as much sense as teaching a man how to cook in
T he first creative Divine act after the first ver se order to keep him out of the kitchen!
was the cr eation of LIGHT. When God had pro-
 Page 8

According to the Official Catholic Directory for

1972, there are 48,390,990 Catholics in the United
States. T hat is 23.3% of the nation's population. I
think that it is safe to say that 90 % of those became
Catholics without their knowledge or consent! They
were "baptized" and Catholicized as infants. It we
should count the children of all of our families as
member s, whether they wanted to be or not, we The scriptures abound with teaching relative to the
could probably triple our membership within a week. importance of unity. For instance, in Jno. 17:21,
I have proof of Catholics "baptizing" babies while Chr ist in praying to the Father taught thus concern-
they wer e asleep. If that be r ight, could you baptize ing the importance of unity among Chr istians: "T hat
a ten- year-old child while asleep? T hirty- year-old they all may be one (Chr istians) ; as thou Father, art
man? Just how old would one have to be before he in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us:
would have to wake up in order to be baptized scrip- that the world may believe that thou hast sent me."
turally? Christ states that one reason Chr istians are to be unit-
T he Bible teaches that only those who can hear ed (one) is "that the world may believe that thou
the gospel, believe, repent, confess faith, and be hast sent me." Hence, division and disunity among
immersed can (or even need to) become Christians Christians is one of the most prolific causes of dis-
( John 8:24; Luke 13:3; Acts 8:37; Rom. 6:4) . belief!
In the process of studying the teaching of the New
Testament concerning the importance of unity, I have
experienced members who took the position that it is
While our Government spends millions of dollars utterly impossible for Christians to be united. I would
annually in an anti-smoking campaign — warning concede that in some instances it is difficult for
people of the hazards of smoking — it also spends Chr istians to be one; however, it is not impossible.
millions in subsidizing tobacco farmers. It looks like (I Jno. 5:3) One reason, and I might add one of the
anyone with judgment enough to run a nation could most common reasons for disunity prevailing, is our
be mor e consistent. No wonder we are hopelessly over looking and ignor ing the teaching found in E ph.
in debt. 4:3. In this passage, Paul gives the antidote for dis-
unity - "E ndeavour ing to keep the unity of the Spir it
I cannot under stand the attitude of a man who in the bond of peace." T he antidote or remedy is,
will stand in front of a building sucking his lungs "E ndeavouring (earnestly trying) to keep the unity of
and body full of nicotine before going inside to wor- the Spir it..." Also to be taken into consider ation is
ship the God who commands temperance (self-con- the fact that Paul penned this letter to the Chr istians
trol), and has informed him that his body is the at Ephesus; thus, each individual Chr istian is to en-
temple of the Spirit and is to be kept holy (I Cor. deavor to keep the unity of the Spir it. So many
6:19; Rom. 12:1). times, member s complain because the chur ch of
which they are a member is divided and they wonder
Almost ever yone is in favor of going to heaven, why disunity exist. Why does disunity exist? In many
but too many are hoping they will live long enough instances, simply because we (members) just do not
to see an easing of the entrance r equir ements. earnestly try (endeavor) to keep unity! Frequently,
members sit back in their easy chairs and watch the
S ign on a bumper sticker: "If God Seems Far preacher and the faithful few try to promote unity.
Away, Guess Who Moved." Then when disunity prevails they gripe and complain
and threaten to go elsewhere if the division does not
cease. Beloved, let us be aware of the following: there
will always be disunity to some degree in a church
where only part of the members are "E ndeavour ing
to keep the unity of the Spir it."
In view of the fact that we must all do our part to
keep unity, let us sincerely ask ourselves this ques-
tion, "How can I promote unity?" and ponder the
following answers:
(1) By being involved and taking an active part in
the work of the local church. T he old proverbial say-
ing that idleness is the devil's work shop, while not
found ver batim in the Bible, is certainly a Biblical
truth. When member s ar e not busy in the Lord's
work, they will be apt to take part in gossip and other
divisive things. (I Tim. 5:13) In this vein of thought
it has been said that the brethren are going to fight -
if they are not busy fighting denominationalism and
sin, they will be busy fighting each other. Beloved,
are you taking an active part in the work of the local
chur ch of which you ar e a member ? ( Matt. 6:33)
If you are not, I say kindly but candidly, you are not
promoting unity!
 Page 9

(2) By examining every motive and making sure RELIGIOUS DEBATE

that everything you do is prompted by love. (I Cor. T here will be a religious discussion between J. T.
13:1-7) So many times division is begun with mem- Smith of Conway, Arkansas and Or ville L ee Smith
bers quarreling over silly, immaterial things that are of McAlester, Oklahoma on the One Container,
inconsequential. T he absence of love was one of the Classes, and Women Teacher questions. T he discus-
paramount causes of disunity at Corinth. (I Cor. 8:1- sion will be October 2, 3, 4, 5 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
2,3:1-3) For further information, wr ite James D. Watts,
(3) By contending for the once delivered faith. pr eacher for the E ast Central church of Christ,
(Jude 3) On numerous occasions I have encountered 1702 South Memorial Drive, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74112;
the "peace at any price" attitude. Some mistakingly
believe that when error is introduced or practiced the or call brother Watts at 627- 5670 in T ulsa.
best thing to do is remain silent. We are told, do not
oppose error or you will be guilty of sowing discord THE GRIDER-HIGHERS DEBATE
among the brethren. Brethren, this attitude is as
diametr ically opposed to unity as darkness is to light. Dick Blackford, P.O. Box 651, Central City, Ky.
God's word is the only standard for authority. (Matt. 42330 — It was my privilege to moderate for A. C.
28:18; Jno. 6:63) T herefore, when we deviate from it Gr ider for five nights in the debate at Central City,
or sit back quietly while others depart from it - we Ky., with Alan E . Higher s, Mar ch 6- 10. It is not
will unavoidably experience division. our purpose to discuss the debate in detail but only
(4) By considering others and their needs before to mention what we consider to have been the main
ourselves and our needs. Frequently, division is con- arguments.
ceived over "personality clashes" or personal disagree- T he first two nights were on limited benevolence.
ments. Beloved, we need to put others before our- Brother Highers pr esented a chart on II Cor. 9:13
selves (Phi. 2:4) and esteem others better than our- as his major ar gument. T he chart contained Acts
selves. (Phi. 2:3) We need to be involved in the needs 5:11; I T hes. 3:12; I T hes. 5:15 and Gal. 6:10 which
ar e par allel in construction to II Cor. 9:13. (T his
of other s (Rom. 15:1-3; Phi. 2:4) and not our own chart is in The Arlington Meeting, p. 221.) His ar-
needs to the exclusion of others. gument was that because each of these ver ses in-
(5) By realizing the awful consequence of promot- cludes mor e than saints, that the same must also
ing disunity. "If any man defile the temple of God, be true in I I Cor. 9:13. Brother Grider replied that
him shall God destroy..." "T hese six things doth the we must keep a passage in context to determine who
Lord hate; yea, seven are an abomination unto him... was relieved. He presented a chart containing I Cor.
He that soweth discord among brethren." (I Cor. 3: 16:1; Rom. 15:25,26,31; II Cor. 8:4; II Cor. 9:1,12,
16, Pro. 6:16,19). all of which say it was for the saints. He then asked
Brethren in Chr ist, are you a promoter of unity or if Paul misappropriated the funds by giving it to
of disunity? If you have not been practicing the fore- someone other t han whom he said it was for .
going, why not r epent and r esolve now to be a Brother Higher s did not deal with the context but
stuck to his "par allel constructions" argument.
promoter of unity? (All emphasis mine. D.M.) On the second night when brother Grider again
Rt. 1, Box 20 cited all the cases of church benevolence and pointed
Pineland, T exas out that only saints were mentioned in each case,
75968 brother Highers replied by tr ying to parallel Gr ider's
argument to a Baptist preacher reading all the verses
on faith and concluding that salvation was by faith
only. Brother Grider effectively pointed out that
Bill Crews, 9451 W. Coronado Dr., Baton Rouge, there wer e other scr iptures on the subject of salva-
L a. 70815 — T he church with which I am working tion which proved that more than faith was involved.
has been meeting for more than two years in Baker, He emphasized the point that the Bible did not say
L a. Some time in September we hope to be in our sing only, but that it only said sing; that it did not
new building at 9926 Sunny Cline and Aletha Dr. tell us to take the Lord's Supper on the first day of
the week only, but that it only said the first day of
T his is across from the Park Forest Jr. High in the week; and that it did not tell us to take a col-
northeast Baton Rouge. If any of the reader s know lection on the first day of the week only, but it only
of prospects whom we may contact, either Chris- said on the first day of the week.
tians who will be students at L.S.U. or new or old Brother Highers presented a chart on James 1:27
residents who may be converted or who should be and Gal. 6:10 (appear s in The Arlington Meeting,
alr eady wor shiping and working with a faithful p. 218) in an attempt to show that individual duties
church, please send us their names and addresses. are discharged through the chur ch. He par alleled
Please help us to save the lost and keep the saved James 1:27 to I Cor. 11:28 (Lord's Supper) and said
saved.
Page 10

it was an individual duty discharged collectively and from I Cor. 16:1,2 but that a treasur y was neces-
that Gal. 6:10 was collective because it was addressed sarily inferred in II Cor. 11:8. He forcefully empha-
to churches (Gal. 1:2). Brother Grider answered this sized that I Cor. 16:1,2 was the total r evelation
with two charts — one showing that the Lord's Sup- from God as to when a collection was to be taken
per was both individual and collective (I Cor. 11:28 and it was specific (first day of the week) and ex-
and Acts 20:7) but that orphan care was only indi- clusive (fir st day of the week only). Grider further
vidual (James 1:27) and that there was no passage noted that we must first find author ity for spending
author izing orphan car e on a collective basis. T he the money and that I Cor. 16:1,2 was not authority
other chart showed that Gal. 6:10 could not be col- for spending anything in evangelism and thus was
lective because of the context — particularly that not the passage which author ized a pr eacher 's
fact that "they compel you to be circumcised" (Gal. salar y.
6:12) could not be collective action. These were the Good order prevailed throughout the discussion
major ar guments the first two nights. and the atmospher e among br ethren seemed to be
much better than it had been at previous debates.
T he third night was on institutionalism. Brother Brother Highers remarked that whether we (con-
Highers introduced a chart called "Which Organiza- ser vative br ethren) "win" in a debate or not that
tion?" with the chur ch on one side, the home on we always "win" when we wr ite it up. T hough the
the other and such things as "provide food, shelter, same could be said about them, we simply want to
recreation, etc." in the middle. His purpose was to point out that we were not seeking a personal vic-
show that these were home duties and not church tory. Both truth and error were pr esented. And in
duties. T hus the church could only contribute the spite of brother Highers' outstanding ability as a
money to the home and it could provide these things. speaker one can study the arguments presented and
Brother Grider again pointed out that it was the arr ive at the truth. T hus we encour age the r eader
individual who was to practice pure and undefiled to purchase the complete debate on tape from Phil-
religion (James 1:27). lips Publications, P.O. Box 17244, Tampa, Fla. 33612.
Brother Higher s pr esented his "Hobby Wheel"
chart in an effort to make it appear t hat we ar e Charles Gentry, C.P.O. Box 179, Nagoya, Japan 40
just like the anti- Bible class br ethren. Brother — The second Sunday in April we set a new record in
Grider replied with a chart called "T he Hobby Wheel attendance with 20 present. We had five new visitors
Broke Down." He pointed out the brethren who op- this month. T he enrollment in Bible classes and cor-
pose classes ar e objecting to something that does respondence course continue to increase. Osaka: T he
not exist — an organized Sunday School society Lord continues to give the increase. One has been
separate from the chur ch. He said if that was what baptized since last report. Our Saturday evening
it was he would oppose it too. He noted that the Bible class is showing continued interest and great
organized Sunday School society, the benevolent results. T he first week in Apr il we had -a three day
society, and the missionary society are parallel and meeting with brother Shintoku Oshiro from Oki-
that all three are wrong. It was also pointed out that nawa doing the preaching. T he attendance and in-
brother Highers was confusing the word "home" by terest was good with visitors ever y night.
using it in several different ways without noting the
distinction. Gr ider cited the charter of the Shultz-
L ewis Children's Home showing that the organiza- DEBATE
tion called a "home" existed for the purpose of A religious debate was conducted on Aug. 14-17,
"providing a home" ( another usage) and thus was 1972 in Decatur, Ala., between T. N. T hrasher, rep-
an institution which could provide a thousand resenting the church of Chr ist, and Mr. Eddie K.
"homes" if it wanted to. He further emphasized Garrett, representing the Primitive Baptist Chur ch.
that the chur ch helps individuals, not "homes." T he propositions for discussion were as follows:
On the fourth and fifth night cooper ation in Aug. 14-15, "T he church of Christ, of which T . N.
evangelism was discussed. Brother Grider showed T hrasher is a member, is scr iptural in or igin, doc-
what was involved in the sponsoring church system trine, and practice." Affirm: T. N. Thrasher. Deny:
and noted that concurrent cooperation and not joint E ddie K. Gar r ett.
cooperation was the scr iptural kind. Brother High- Aug. 16-17, "T he Primitive Baptist Church, of
er s did not show wher e one chur ch sent to another which E lder E ddie K. Garrett is a member, is scrip-
in evangelism but asked by what authority Brother tural in or igin, doctr ine, and practice." Affirm: Ed-
Grider got his salar y from the first-day-of-the-week die K. Garrett. Deny: T . N. T hr asher .
contribution. Brother Grider showed from II Cor.
11:8 that it is necessar ily infer r ed that pr eacher s
wer e paid from the treasur y and that I Cor. 16:1,2 A PLEA FOR HELP IN GERMANY
is the only passage telling when a collection could
be taken. T his did not satisfy brother Highers and Dudley Ross Spears — T here is an opportunity
became his main ar gument the final night. On the for someone to preach the gospel in West Germany
last night brother Higher s admitted that I Cor. at the pr esent time. T her e ar e at least two groups
16:1,2 was not on evangelism but made a "two of br ethren meeting there where the truth can be
wrongs make a r ight" type argument that if preach- preached and where the work of the church is done
er s could get their salar ies from this passage that scr iptur ally. T hese small outposts need help and
he could also get author ity for World Radio, etc. they need it now.
Again brother Grider said he did not get his salar y After trying to find some qualified man to go there
 Page 11

and meeting with no success, my family and I have fifteen years he did the work of an evangelist, with
agreed to go and work in Germany. It is a big deci- pain a constant, pr esent reality. T his past June he
sion to make, especially for anyone with a family was forced, by an acute recurrence of the disease, to
that is well situated in this country. Were it not for cut short his part in a gospel meeting in New Or-
conscience I would not be making plans to go there leans, Louisiana. His last sermon was pr eached in
and consequently not wr iting this plea for help in New Or leans. Shortly after his retur n to his family
going. in Fort Worth, he began the first of three per iods
I will go to Germany for a series of meetings in of hospitalization, the last of which was terminated
November. At that time I will make an assessment by his death.
of the possibilities for establishing a lasting con- Brethren Jim McDonald and Stanley J. Lovett
servative work among the German people. By that conducted funeral services Monday morning, Sep-
time I will be able to preach a sermon in the German tember 4, in Fort Worth. Brother McDonald spoke
language. movingly of association with Bob, of their efforts
With great anticipation for wonderful opportuni- together in the proclamation and defense of the
ties I am trying to raise the necessar y support now. gospel. I n those remarks, brother McDonald de-
After consultation with brethren who are over there scribed Bob's determination to preach, even in great
and have been over there I conclude that living ex- physical discomfort. He used the words of the apos-
penses there are equal to the U.S.A. in most things tle Paul to depict also the attitude Bob had: when
and excessive to our costs in other s. I am asking ther e was strength still to work, "I am debtor . . . I
for $800.00 monthly support for salar y, $250.00 am ready... I am not ashamed of the gospel" (Rom-
monthly support for rent and utilities and $150.00 ans 1:14-16). When strength was exhausted, when
up for the publication of a monthly paper in German months and years of ravage by disease and medica-
and in E nglish as well as tracts, Bibles and other tion and surgery exacted their toll, when the gather-
teaching mater ials. ing of the shades of night was appar ent: only then
I do not believe that the amount I am asking for was the past tense apropos: "I have fought the good
is excessive for the living conditions there now. Also fight. I have finished the cour se, I have kept the
the devaluation of the Amer ican dollar means that faith" (I I Timothy 4:7).
more money will be needed there to buy the same T he last two years of his sojourn he labored with
amount of goods here. the Westside Chur ch in Fort Worth. Prior to that,
I also need money for a travel fund which will be he had done local work with churches in L afayette,
used in transporting my family and me, purchasing Louisiana; Lufkin, Beaumont, Kaufman, and Kirby-
whatever is necessar y in order to have living quar- ville, Texas.
ters there. Bob Fr anks is survived by his wife, Roma Dean;
T he Par Ave. church, where I am currently work- a son, Rickey; three daughters, T eresa, Sandra, and
ing, has promised to support me monthly while I am Rene; his mother, Mrs. J. A. Franks; a sister and
in Germany. T he church in Altamonte Springs, Fla. three brothers. T he bur ial was at the Fr anks Ceme-
(which is in the Or lando ar ea) has alr eady begun ter y, near Merryville, Louisiana, in the late after-
their support. T hey are already sending me money noon, September 4.
monthly which I will use to defray moving expenses "For I reckon that the suffer ings of this pr esent
when I go permanently. time are not worthy to be compared with the glory
My plans now are to go to Germany in November which shall be revealed to us-ward."
for two or three meetings. T hen I will move perma-
nently next Spr ing with my family. I will be able T he Church of Chr ist which began meeting at
to speak and write German by the time I make the Omaha, Nebraska in July 1971 has rented space in
move. I already have a linguistic background in the the Parkview Heights E lementary School. Meeting
language and will enroll in conversational German times are 9:30 a.m. Sunday mor ning Bible study,
this fall at one of our local schools. 10:30 a.m. morning worship, and 6:00 p.m. Sunday
If ther e is a congregation anywhere who is will- ing evening worship. T he new location is in southwest
to contr ibute substantially toward this endeavor I Omaha at 7609 South 89th Street, a fast growing
would appreciate hearing from you ver y soon. Any area of metropolitan Omaha. Anyone wishing to
amount will help, but I would like to be assured of contact the chur ch may wr ite one of the following:
the monthly support befor e I make further plans W. F. Bates, Route 1, Box 298, Plattsmouth, NE
and commitments. Please let me hear from you. I will 68048, phone 402-298-8543, or T imothy Fox, 53
be glad to come anywher e to talk to anyone about Travis, Offutt Air Force Base, NE 68113, phone 402-
the work and answer any questions I can. 35 W. 291-6009, or Kenneth Hirshey, 4405 T errace Drive,
Par Or lando, Flor ida 32804 Omaha, NE 68134, phone 402-572-7838.
Ralph Joiner, P.O. Box 208, Cambridge City. Ind.
BOBBY HERSCHEL FRANKS At the end of September my family and I will be
July 31, 1926 - September 3, 1972 retur ning to the Sunshine State wher e I will work
with the church in Clermont, Fla. T his will termi-
At 1:25 in the afternoon of Sunday, September 3, nate a little over two year s labor in the Hoosier
Bob Franks left this life. T he long and painful strug- State. Any sound pr eacher of the gospel inter ested
gle he waged against the effects of rheumatoid in this work are encouraged to write: J. C. Newton,
arthr itis is generally known to the brotherhood. For E . Cambr idge Rd., Cambr idge City, Ind. 47327, or
call 317-478-1968.
Page 12

Wendell M. Powell, Barber Lane. Loudon, Tenn. EVANGELIST NEEDED

37774 — As of August 20, 1972 I began full-time
work with the congregation of Lord's people at Lou- T he church at St. Cloud, Fla. needs a full time
don, T enn. Please, assemble with us, if ever- in the preacher. This is a small congregation in one of the
E ast Tennessee area. fastest growing ar eas in Florida. T he congr egation
is able to provide only partial support at this time.
Interested individuals may contact the Church of
PREACHER NEEDED Christ, St. Cloud, Fla. 32769 or Farley Adams, 616
Clearlake Rd., Cocoa, Fla. 32922.
Small but sound congregation needs experienced
preacher. We have been meeting here for two years.
T he body of Chr ist here was recently pur ified by
breaking from the liberal element.
We are presently meeting in a home while look-
ing for a building. We can arrange full support for
the preacher. Contact: Roger Lewis, Rt. 1, Box 514,
Waupaca, Wis. 54981, phone (715) 258- 7705 or
Tom Comely, 506 Waupaca St., Waupaca, Wis.
54981, phone (715) 258-7900.

PREACHER NEEDED
We are two Chr istian women with families who
are trying to start a sound congregation in Roches-
ter, Minn. We need a preacher to help us with this
work. If any man wishes details about our circum-
stances he can get in touch with Patsy Johnson, 725
3rd Ave. N.W., Plainview, Minn. 55964, phone 534-
2685 or Leslie Diestelkamp, 1398 St. Paul Ave., St.
Paul, Minn. 55116, phone 690-0254.
Philip A. Morr, P.O. Box 97, Gymea N.S.W. 2227,
Australia — T he work in Sydney continues to make
satisfactory progress. I am prepar ing to leave Syd-
ney for 2 1/2 weeks while I visit with most of the
congr egations in Queensland. T he tr ip will cover
3500 miles. T here is a great distance between cities
in the outback. Most of the congr egations ar e few
in number but ther e ar e two congr egations in
Queensland which number 30 and 45.

PUBLIC DISCUSSION
A public discussion between Drew E. Falls of
Hanceville, Ala. and Ben J. Franklin of San Diego,
California was held in the Midfield church of Christ
building in Birmingham, Ala. on July 24, 25, 27, 28,
1972.
T he proposition was: "What the Scriptures teach
about the baptism of the Holy Spir it and the gifts
of the Holy Spir it for our day."
E ach night there was a forty and twenty minute
speech by each participant. T here was also a ques-
tion and answer session each night following the
speeches.
Ben Franklin was endorsed by the Full Gospel
Business Men's Fellowship I nter national.
T her e has alr eady been a wr itten discussion on
this subject by these men.
Thomas C. Sweeney, 2307 Maplecrest Drive, Nash-
ville, T enn. 37214 — I am available for part-time
work within dr iving distance of Nashville, Tenn.
References will be furnished and I can be contacted
at the above address or phone 883-8847.
 clean" (Acts 18:6). He had fulfilled his responsibil-
it y by pr eaching the truth, and in so doing had
placed the burden of guilt squarely upon the shoul-
der s of his hear er s; he himself was clean.
Although it is a sad thing to see the truth re-
jected, there is still consolation to the preacher who
has done his job well. How peaceful it is to retire
at night having given diligence in handling the word
In speaking to the elders of the church in E phesus of truth, and thus being assur ed of God's approval
Paul reminded them of the time he had spent with (II Timothy 2:15).
them, and of the work he had done in their presence. But by the same token, how fearful it must be
Among other things he called their attention to the to a preacher to go to bed at night with the knowl-
carefulness with which he had preached the gospel edge that his work is not faithful to the word of God.
in its fullness. In Acts 20:20 he said, "... I kept back I ndeed it must be terrifying to one who does not
nothing that was pro f itable to you ..." I n ver ses car e enough for the truth to pr each it, to realize
26-27 he said, "Wherefore I take you to record this that he must face Jesus Chr ist in judgment who
day, that I am pur e from the blood of all men. For loved it enough to die for it. And how bur densome
I have not shunned to declare unto you all the coun- it must be to know that at that day he must also
sel of God." Implied in this statement is the fact face those whom he might have saved if he had
that the condemnation of those who hear a preacher only tried, but instead whose condemnation he must
rests not only upon the hearer, but also upon the share.
preacher himself, and that the only way he can r e- Finally, notice that in the two instances cited
lieve himself of that burden is by confronting the from Acts 20:26-27 and Acts 18:6 that the gospel
sinner with his sins and showing him what he must preached to both groups was the same, yet one had
do to obtain pardon in the sight of God. As Paul ex- been saved by it while the other blasphemed. T his
pressed it, the preacher must declare all the counsel simply, but clearly, points out the fact that when
of God. In the case of the Ephesian elders Paul could the preacher has done his work, when the truth has
r ejoice knowing not only that he had fulfilled his been declared, that the r esponsibility for its recep-
own responsibility, but also that his hearer s had tion rests upon the hear er. "T herefore putting aside
received the truth and obtained pardon. all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in
Paul also made a statement to some Jews in Cor- humility r eceive the word implanted, which is able
inth similar to the one he made to the E phesian to save your souls" (James 1:21, New Amer ican
elders. T hese men, however, were not like the Ephe- Standard Bible).
sian elders who obeyed the truth. Instead they r e- P.O. Box 928 Bend, Ore. 97701
jected it with blasphemy. Paul could nonetheless say -----------------
to them, "Your blood be upon your own heads; I am
 ner as by looks. My infant son now reminds me of
how my daughters used to (and still do) copy their
mother. T hey always preferred an old dr ess of hers
to a new one of their own. T hey identified with her
when they wore her clothes and the delight they ex-
Dr essed made it unnecessar y to say, "Mother, we
love you and want to be like you." T hat little fel-
low now scar es me by the influence he permits me
to have in his life, and it is most sobering when
during the course of a common day a point of imi-
tation is so obvious as to be specified. God help me,
for I shall directly influence his temperament, atti-
tude, character and essence of manhood. T his is the
burden of all parents, and we do well to prayerfully
IMITATORS tremble and exer cise car e to be fit examples.
What is so clearly seen in small children still lives
Men are better monkeys than monkeys. We begin on in us in a subtler but no less real measure all our
aping our ancestors and others who are around us days. We are both examples to and imitators of one
almost from the moment we are born. Patterns of another. This may not always be a conscious action,
speech, vocabularies, facial expressions, mannerisms but imitators we ar e. T his accounts for fads in
and even the style of our walk, are pretty much the clothing and discernible characteristics of var ious
product of our copy- catting. We never r eally get groups and movements. T he closer and more sym-
over this tendency to imitate other s. It is doubtful pathetic people ar e to one another, the mor e like
that many of us undertake any "new" activity or one another they become, for their social modes
interest without at least a little imitation, however have by association been more or less absorbed from
muted and sub- conscious, of those exper ienced one another. Suits are commonly worn by men, not
therein. T his is in no way a cr iticism. It is an obser- because each one has independently and in isolation
vation. And we do well to acknowledge the powerful selected the modern conventional suit from all the
tendency to imitate and make this valuable tech- styles in history as the most becoming and comfort-
nique of learning and developing more useful. Its able to mankind. We sorta copied, didn't we? Per-
power in the moral realm needs to be realized for haps we did not deliberately copy any certain per-
obvious reasons. son, but still we copied even if it was "folks in
Imitation has been said to be the greatest flatter y gener al." And who would ever think that the r e-
one human being can accord another. But it is not bellious segment of our generation's youth chose,
flatter y; it is the sincer est of compliments. Words without regard to one another or the hair styles of
may be spoken freely and emptily containing intoxi- their contempor ar ies, long and shaggy hair ? Be-
cating flattery and praise, but imitation . . . this is cause it is pretty? Feels good? Manly? No. Mostly
something else. Somebody thinks enough of you to copy-cats . . . and most of them do not even know
want to be like you, and they ar e copying you in they ar e copy-cats.
order to accomplish it! No words need be spoken L et me r epeat that this is not an indictment
here. He who professes to love the Lord may be against imitating others. But do let us be conscious
doubted, but he who imitates and follows r emoves of the fact that we ar e all imitator s of other s to
all questions. var ying degrees and with var ying degrees of aware-
Childr en usually begin by making mother and ness about the copying we do. But it does raise the
daddy their heroes, and we often see par ents re- question as to who we imitate, and why. T he answer
flected in their children as much by speech and man- to this question can tell you a gr eat deal about your
Page 2 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

per sonal character and the direction in which your

life is headed.
We tend to imitate most those from whom we
would most like to have approval, and those who
impress us and thereby somewhat idealize what we
would like to be. T his is why it is so important as to
who our "heroes" ar e, and why it is such an index
to our character. We cannot admir e the profane and
ungodly in their sin, vainly attempting to minimize
their wrongs because we "like" them, without being
profoundly affected. Check the moral and spir itual
fiber, to the extent you are able to discern it, of the
people you most "look up to." Doesn't that tell you
something about your self? And what effect does
their weakness have on you, that is, do you make
allowances for them or r ather ear nestly long for
them to make a penitent correction. Why we admire
is about as important as who.
Paul urged a deliberate and conscious imitation of
good men in the r ight: "Be imitator s of me. just as
I also am of Christ" (I Cor. 11:1, NASV). T he same
point and pr inciple is made over and again (I Cor.
4:16; E ph. 5:11; I I Thess. 3:7) and one of the great
values of sacred history is to supply us with an ac-
quaintance with genuinely great and winsome men.
It is hard to imagine anyone really coming to know
Jonathan, for example, without loving and admir ing
him. And it rubs off. T he admir ation affects us for
the good. And what of Job? Or Nehemiah? Or E s-
ther or Ruth? And what of the humble, faithful,
and genuinely good people of our own gener ation
who serve the living God above all other consider-
ations ?
As an example to others and an imitator of others,
both of which you are, exercise the greatest care of
which you ar e capable. God forbid that because
someone thought enough of you and paid you the
high compliment of shaping their life a little after
yours, that they were morally or spir itually injur ed
thereby. Make it redound to the eternal good of that
one who thinks so much of you as to become more
like you. As an imitator, set your eyes on those who
will strengthen and make you better, and as your
chief exemplar enthrone in your heart our Lord
Jesus and become more like him.
 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Page 3

obedience to the gospel of Christ. T his would make

him a false teacher and unworthy of the fellowship
of the saints ( I I John 9, 10). Ther e must be some
line of separation between obedience and disobe-
dience, but it is hard to find that line when one hears
or reads what Car l Ketcherside teaches. No matter
what subject he may discuss, his true position
bleeds through the colorful speeches and wr itten
pages. T his position is the univer sal fellowship of
all who have been baptized into Christ, regardless of
their involvement in denominational error and spir-
itual corruption. E ven the unimmer sed who believe
in Chr ist ar e consider ed his br ethren in prospect.
His teaching on the subject has forced him to ex-
tend the r ight hand of fellowship to his "brother in
THE KETCHERSIDE DOCTRINE prospect" in the embr yonic state. He does not want
to accept the consequences of his position, but where
In the Februar y issue of Searching The Scriptures else can he go?
I wrote the first of what was to be three articles
dealing with Car l Ketcher side's abuse and misuse KETCHERSIDE'S MISUSE OF THE WORD LOVE
of figur es of relationship a Chr istian sustains to
God. My doctor brought to a halt my work in this Car l Ketcher side's idea of fellowship is based
direction and I had to shelve my or iginal intention. upon a false concept of love. His use of the word is
I shall not tr y to continue a r eview or examination ver y similar, if not identical, to the denominational
of the figures he abused in that exchange with Rob- concept of the Methodists, Episcopalians, and the
er t T ur ner in the late evening of Januar y 25, 1972 ver y ultra liberals of the religious world. Unitar ian-
in the Univer sity church building in T ampa, Flor- ism teaches that love will not allow people to suffer
ida. T he exchange of positions on "fellowship" and eternally for crimes committed dur ing a short life-
r elated subjects between Ketcher side and T urner time upon earth. To them love is the healing oint-
was further discussed by a panel consisting of Fer- ment that binds together all theological differences
rell Jenkins and Harry Pickup, Jr. in addition to and allows each group to maintain its own char-
Ketcherside and T urner. (This entire exchange to- acter istics while claiming to be a part of the r e-
gether with questions and answers from the floor is deemed.
available on tape from Phillips Publications.) Car l uses the term "love" frequently in his
An attempt to continue the ser ies from last Feb- speeches and wr itings. Certainly there is nothing
ruary would not be ver y fruitful because of the in- wrong with using this word often with meaning.
ter val of sever al months between the first article God is love. T he entire New T estament is based upon
and one that would appear now as a continuation of God's love for man. Chr ist requires his disciples to
the original theme. I nstead I shall give some atten- love one another and to love their enemies. It is not
tion to another gross error Ketcherside uses in his his use of the term "love" to which I offer objection,
deception all over this nation. but to the meaning he necessar ily attaches to the
I do not profess to know the heart of any per son word as he uses it. T he major differ ence between
or to under stand his motives except by his fruits or the denominational concept and Ketcher side's use
his words which plainly tell of his motives. But I is that he veneer s the word with his character istic
believe it is so appar ent that I need not argue the phraseology of applying it to the "heirs of the res-
point that Car l Ketcher side's misuse of scr iptural toration."
figures and terms has been used to justify his teach- T he doctr ine of Chr ist sets forth an entir ely dif-
ing and practice of joining forces with all forms of fer ent view of love. We could r aise the questions:
theological perverts and misfits in a yoke of "fellow- How far will love go in allowing people to be divided
ship." He vehemently denies that he is a part of on doctrinal issues and yet claim identit y with
any splinter, wing, movement or segment of reli- Chr ist ? What is the nature of love that makes it dif-
gious thought, yet he seeks ways and means of fer ent from other char acter istics of God such as
"joining them in fellowship" and attempts to justify justice and r ighteousness? What is required of love
it by the word of God. as is taught in the Bible?
I wish to restate my per sonal attitude towar d Carl's appeal to love as a basis of fellowship with
Car l W. Ketcherside for the benefit of new reader s. God and fellowship with the "fragment groups of
As I stated in the Febr uar y, 1972 article, he has a the restoration" is deceptive, misleading, denomi-
pleasant disposition and a congenial per sonality. national, and completely false from both the Biblical
From all I have seen of him he is a kind and pleasant point of view and the simple human application of
man; a neat and dignified gentleman. All of this, love as we under stand it in the E nglish language.
however, is not enough to establish scriptural fellow- T his is the reason why he has been successful to a
ship with him in the work of the Lord. Many men degree in deceiving many, and in dividing so many
have these desir able qualities who ar e far from churches across the land and alienating so many
being ser vants of Chr ist who are led by the Spir it. brethren from each other and from God. One cannot
Car l Ketcher side's arguments on a number of believe this doctrine and be obedient to Chr ist and
views that ar e peculiar to him would produce dis- have hope of eter nal life.
Page 4 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

WHAT THE LOVE OF GOD REQUIRES lack of love and respect for the word of God by not
obeying it. T hose who use instruments of music in
A lawyer once asked Jesus the following question worship can not do it by the authority of God's word.
as he tempted him: "Master, which is the great But Car l says "fellowship" them anyway! "T hey
commandment in the law ? Jesus said unto him, T hou are the sons of God, and my brothers." T here is no
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and ground for having fellowship with those who do not
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. T his is the love and obey the truth.
first and gr eat commandment. T he second is like T his is just one of the things wrong with the
unto it, T hou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" ideas from the pen and speeches of Carl Ketcherside
(Matt. 22:36-39). and Leroy Garrett that have caused so many trou-
T he one question with which I am concer ned in bled chur ches and individuals wher e they have
this study is what does man's love for God require spread this doctrine which has no foundation in the
of him? We know that man must love God with all word of God.
his heart, all his soul, all his strength, and all his I have said what I believe to be truth and in the
mind ( L uke 10:27), but what does all this mean? spir it that I believe is r equired of the Lord. Next
My love for God requires three things of me that month I have more to say about love as it is defined
even Car l Ketcherside would not deny, I don't think. and used by the Holy Spir it.
First, I must love His Son Jesus Chr ist above all
others upon earth (Matt. 10:37). T his love for Chr ist
is shown by obedience to his commandments (John
14:15,24). I n light of these ver ses, how can I claim
to love God and not love His Son by obeying his
sayings ?
If one should teach another gospel (Gal. 1:6- 9) ,
or bring another doctr ine (II John 9, 10), how could
I embr ace him in his er r or and still claim I love
Chr ist? T his will not be answer ed by saying that
one must have perf ect and complete knowledge to
obey all the will of Chr ist. We are to grow in the
knowledge of the Lord, and no man can justly claim
to have complete and perfect knowledge of the will
of God. T his is a long way from saying that the lack
of complete knowledge is equal to Christ approving
disobedience to his revealed will.
Second, I must love the word of God. II T hessa-
lonians 2:10-12 tells of the destiny of those who be-
lieve a lie because they had not the love of the truth.
We are to exhort one another to love and to do good
works (Heb. 10:24). John 15:10 says: "If ye keep
my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even
as I have kept my Father 's commandments, and
abide in his love." Again, "But, whoso keepeth his
word, in him verily is the love of God perfected:
hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he
abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even
as he walked" ( I John 2:5,6). "And this is love, that
we walk after his commandments" ( I I John 6).
T he word of God must be loved before one can
scr ipturally claim to love God. T he word of the
truth will not allow men to walk in their own ways
and still claim fellowship with God and those who
love His word and obey it.
T hird, I must love the childr en of God. T his
would be my br ethren in the Lord by virtue of
obedience to the word of Christ. If one does not walk
in this truth, he is not subject to the same God I
ser ve. John 13:34,35 teaches that we ar e to love
one another as he loved us, and by this love all men
would know that we are his disciples. But we must
remember that love for God r equires love for the
truth. And love for t he tr uth r equir es obedience
to it.
Car l Ketcherside's views on this subject and his
misuse of the word "love" is responsible for many
believing that love for the per son will allow for the
 Page 5

not difficult to expose, but because of the personal

inter est of a minor ity in a pur ely per sonal project
the issue keeps coming up. Unless it is opposed as
often as it comes up, it will ultimately win out.
We wish here to write about only one angle to the
problem: the existence of a Board of Trustees. T his
board is inevitably universal. Our brethren have al-
ways pr eached that any organization larger than
the local church and smaller than the chur ch uni-
ver sal is an unscr iptur al chur ch or ganization. T his
is the basis on which they have opposed the mission-
ar y society and the other "boards" of the Chr istian
church. Now, a college board, or an orphan home
board for that matter, is larger than the local chur ch
and it is smaller than the chur ch univer sal. I s it, or
"NO DEAD ISSUE — No. 2" is it not, an unscr iptural "chur ch ar r angement"?
T his is the second in a ser ies on the above title. Usually when the "board" question is mentioned
T he first dealt with an article by brother Gus Nichols. chur ch leader s r eply with a non- committal "Well,
Brother Nichols advocated the support of orphan I have thought about that and ther e ar e two sides
homes under boards of directors from church treas- to the question." Ar e there, really? Or is this just
ur ies. He used the old "home argument" in tr ying another way of refusing to face up to really de-
to sustain his position. You may read his article in termining whether these boards ar e scr iptur al ar-
last month's paper. The article this month is by r angements through which the chur ch can do its
brother Ruel L emmons and is entirely different. It work or not. We have never met anyone who would
forcefully condemns the support of orphan homes ser iously attempt to justify the existence of these
under a board of directors. I shall have ver y little boards by the scr iptures. T he only attempt has been
comment on the article because I believe brother to divorce the works being done under boards from
L emmons spoke with Bible authority in practically the work of the church. We simply cannot see how
ever y thing he wrote. I want to make it cr ystal clear churches could then be obligated to support a work
that I have nothing personally against either of these which is not their work.
brethren. I know them both and have no "ax to grind" We surely have no objection to the existence of a
with either man. However, I also want to make it Bible college. And we have no objection to its being
clear that a vast contradiction exists between these oper ated under a boar d. Any pr ivate enter pr ise has
men who are supposedly standing together. In a third a right to be operated in this way. And we call these
article I plan to discuss the difference between these "pr ivate colleges." If this designation be true, then
two articles. I have a per sonal letter from brother upon what scr iptural grounds can they appeal to
Lemmons saying he has never opposed orphan homes chur ches for support? Unless a chur ch can support
— Neither has Ward Hogland. He also says he has a work that is not its own, through a board which is
never opposed colleges — Neither has Ward Hog- lar ger than the local congregation and smaller than
land ! But what brother Lemmons failed to tell in his the chur ch univer sal, then colleges ar e not eligible
letter is that he does OPPOSE t he chur ch donating for chur ch tr easur y funds. I ndividuals can, and
to orphan homes and colleges under boards of di- should, support them, as they would support any
rectors — So does Ward Hogland. So brother Lem- other educational enterprise.
mons needs to clear the air. There is one thing about T his is the reason why we have opposed the op-
brother Lemmons article which needs to be corrected. er ation of childr en's homes under boards r ather
It is implied that an eldership may engage in a, than elderships. We believe that caring for orphans
brotherhood benevolent program. T his is entirely is a work of the church, and should be supported by
without Bible foundation. T he Bible allows elder s the chur ch. If it can be done under a board with
in a local congregation to ONLY take care of the church support, then let us first apologize to the
benevolence at the congr egation wher e they ar e Chr istian church for opposition to boards, and estab-
elder s. T hey have no r ight or author ity to engage lish boards under which we can do all char ity work,
in general benevolence or in trying to do the benevo- missionary work, retirement work, educational work,
lent work of other congr egations ( see Acts 6 and hospital work, and a dozen other works. By now, we
Acts 11). Just because it is scr iptural for elders to are used to the old bromide, "He is opposed to or-
oversee the benevolent work of their home congrega- phans homes." T hat is an untruth. We ar e opposed
tion does not give them the author ity to collect to boards, inter posed between the church and its
money for a brotherhood work! Now read and enjoy work. Fir st let us establish that a work of the
this fine article by brother Lemmons: church; then let that work be done by the chur ch
BENEVOLENCE AND EDUCATION through and under its elders. T his we believe to be
Recent months have seen a r evival of the effort safe.
to seek church support of "our" colleges, and to "put It seems to be the most difficult thing in the world
the college in the budget of ever y church." T his issue to get brethren to really face this board issue and
seems to be like the liquor issue; you can put it resolve it. T hey seem to want it this way and they
down, but it will come up at the next election. It is intend to have it this way. We who have always
attempted to speak wher e the Bible speaks and be
Page 6

silent where the Bible is silent should be willing to

study this board issue and resolve it. It is wholly
possible that we have over looked something, and
that our opposition to boards is not legitimate. We
would be happy to be shown our error. Just address
yourself to the task of proving by the Scr iptures that
boards ar e a scr iptur al arrangement through which
the church can do its work. If this can be proven, all
opposition to the arrangement will cease, and, as an
added serendipity, we will, after we have apologized
to the Chr istian chur ch for a century of opposition
to them, find ourselves much nearer union with them.
T hese boards ar e either scr iptur al or unscr iptur al;
right or wrong. We ought to be able to decide which.
It is not right to ignore the issue because it is the T he Bible war ns of the deadly effects of hatred.
basis of much contention. L et's settle down to the Jesus taught us to love our enemies, not hate them
task of settling it once and for all. T his is a relatively ( Matt. 5:43,44). Paul said that before his conver -
simple issue, and it ought to be r esolved. sion, he and other s were "hateful, and hating one
If it be r esolved that such boards are legitimate, another " ( T itus 3:3). John tells us that if we hate
then opposition to chur ch support of colleges on our brethren we ar e walking in darkness r ather
this point at least would be settled. T here would be than light (I John 2:9- 11). He even says that hatr ed
other issues to solve, but if we could solve this one is a form of murder. Hear him, "Whosoever hateth
it would be a start. And if it be determined that his brother is a murder er: and ye know that no
such boards ar e not to be interposed between the murderer hath eter nal life abiding in him" (I John
chur ch and its work, then we would dissolve the 3:15).
boards we have and put the work these separate In his book "None Of These Diseases," Dr. S. I.
corporations are doing back under the elders of the McMillen makes the following comment concerning
church. Reuel Lemmons, Firm Foundation Mar ch hatr ed. Study it car efully:
21, 1972 "T he moment I start hating a man, I become his
slave. I can't enjoy my work any mor e because he
even controls my thoughts. My resentments produce
too many stress hormones in my body and I become
fatigued after only a few hour s of work. T he work
I former ly enjoyed is now drudgery. E ven vacations
cease to give me pleasure. It may be a luxur ious car
that I drive along a lake fr inged with the autumnal
beauty of maple, oak and birch. As far as my ex-
per ience of pleasur e is concer ned, I might as well
be dr iving a wagon in mud and rain.
"T he man I hate hounds me wher ever I go. I
can't escape his tyrannical grasp on my mind. When
the waiter serves me porterhouse steak with French
fries, aspar agus, cr isp salad, and strawber r y short-
cake smothered with ice cream, it might as well be
stale br ead and water. My teeth chew the food and
I swallow it, but the man I hate will not permit me
to enjoy it.
"King Solomon must have had a similar exper i-
ence, for he wrote: "Better a dish of vegetables,
with love, than the best beef ser ved with hatr ed"
(Prov. 15:17, Moffatt).
"T he man I hate may be many miles from my
bedroom; but more cruel than any slave dr iver, he
whips my thoughts into such a frenzy that my in-
nerspr ing mattress becomes a rack of torture. The
lowliest of the ser f s can sleep, but not I. I really
must acknowledge the fact that I am a slave to
ever y man on whom I pour the vials of my wr ath."
A few weeks ago I preached in a series of gospel
meetings for the church in Sumter, S.C. T he con-
gregation is composed primar ily of men who are
stationed at Shaw AFB, and their families. Although
small in number ( about fifty members), I found
them to be zealous, well informed, and dedicated to
 Page 7

the cause of Chr ist. T hey had one practice which I "I n short, one way to describe the Bible, wr itten
found rather unique and inter esting, and the reason by many different hands over a period of 3000 years
why I 'm wr iting this. and more, would be to say that it is a disorderly col-
At the beginning of each ser vice, the song leader lection of 60-odd books which are often tedious, bar-
would call the names of all members who were not bar ic, obscure and teeming with contradictions and
present and tell why. Yes, believe it or not, that's inconsistencies. It is a swarming compost of a book,
r ight. I was impressed. Some were sick, some on an Irish stew of poetry and propaganda, law and
duty, etc., but it seemed that all had a r eason for legalism, myth and murk, history and hyster ia."
being absent. I just thought that if such were pr ac- With friends like that, the Bible doesn't need any
ticed in most congregations there would not be time enemies! After making a statement like that, he
for the rest of the service! And then you would have goes ahead to recommend it, and much of what he
a number offended because their names were called. says is good.
Of course they would be those who could and should T he Bible either came from God or it did not. If
have been pr esent. I have lear ned that those who it did not, there is no profit in reading and obeying
could and should but didn't ar e the ones who do it. If it did, then it is not filled with "contradictions
most of the complaining anyway. and inconsistencies" for God is not the author of
But why not name those who ar e absent? T he confusion (I Cor. 14:33). T he "contradictions" in the
faithful will appr eciate it, for they want other s to Bible stem from ignorance or unbelief on the part
know why they are absent; and the unfaithful need of the r eader .
to be reproved, rebuked and exhorted.
An editorial in the Vatican newspaper recently
acknowledged that "Pope Paul VI was being cr iti-
cized by pr iests and laymen, but contended that he
was ultimately responsible only to God." T he article
was unusual in its admission that the present deep
dissent exists, a fact which has long been disr e-
garded by the Vatican.
Refer r ing to protests against pontifical decisions,
the editorial said, "T he Pope must suffer from such
lack of understanding, but this does not induce him
to change his conduct in the pastoral leadership of
the church." T he editor ial also declared, "T he last
word regarding the leadership of the church, the
universal pastor (the Pope) receives from his con-
science as successor of Peter, as center of unity and
char ity, as custodian of truth." T hey stated that his WITH FRIENDS LIKE HIM — WHO NEEDS
mandate came from Jesus. ENEMIES?
T his is further evidence that millions of Catholics,
including many in the Roman hierarchy, no longer Recently I received a copy of MISSION magazine
believe in the infallibility of the pope. If they did, which contained an article by Neal Buffaloe entitled
there would be no rebellion nor criticism of his de- "Frauds, Fools and Freedom" in which he took some
cisions. A word from him would settle such contro- ver y unusual positions for a "Chr istian" ( ?) . Now
ver sies as what to eat_, birth control and celibacy, for those who may not know who Neal Buffaloe is,
and obviate the councils and conventions wherein he is an elder in the College church of Christ in Con-
they endeavor to ascertain tr uth. way, Arkansas and a Biology teacher (who believes
in T heistic E volution) at State College of Arkansas
Beyond doubt, the doctrine of the papacy is the located in Conway. T he article has a ver y heavy
gr eatest hoax ever perpetrated on the wor ld. T her e aroma of Ketcher side's doctr ine on fellowship. I n
is absolutely no evidence in the New T estament that this article, I want to examine several of the state-
Peter occupied such a position, or that the apostles ments of brother Buffaloe.
were to have successors. T he church is built upon I n the first few par agr aphs he r elates the story
Chr ist (Matt. 16:18; I Cor. 3:11; I Peter 2:6- 8) . of a young lady who is a Chr istian coming to him to
Chr ist is the only head of the only church he ever talk about her fiancé, who was a Catholic, about the
built, and he has all author ity (Matt. 28:18; Eph. doctrine of T r ansubstantiation. She was wanting
1:22,23). some good Bible arguments in favor of truth.
If there is ever an appropriate time for me to use Brother Buffaloe said I asked her, "Let me ask you
the sword of the Spir it, it is when an attack is made something, Joyce. Do you really think L andon's
upon it. Such was done in an article "T he Book Al- present views on T r ansubstantiation are all that im-
most Nobody Reads" by Frederick Buechner in the portant?" I thought her reply was a good one. But
September Reader's Digest. Ironically, he was wr it- brother Buffaloe simply br ushed it aside ... well,
ing in defense of the Bible. One reason why so many see for yourself what was said. "Why I hadn't
people don't read the Bible is that they have the thought about that," she answer ed taken aback
same attitude toward it which he expressed in his somewhat. "But it seems to me that if the Chur ch
article. For example, consider the following state- of Chr ist is the true church, and if it teaches what
ment: the Bible teaches, then T r ansubstantiation is a
Page 8 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

false doctrine. L andon doesn't see how he could friend might be r ight, he used the following line of
come into the Church of Chr ist if he disagr ees with reasoning by Alexander Campbell. He said, "And
its doctr ines. And I don't either." Now I ask you, how can I reconcile the inconsistency that, although
doesn't that sound like good logical, scriptural, teach- this per son is a ver itable model of Chr ist- likeness,
ing? But no, brother Buff aloe is not going to let it he would not be invited to fill any pulpit in the
go at that. He then proceeds to show why she should brother hood? How do we manage to swallow this
not worry about it. He begins with the same old kind of exclusivism while extending the hand of
line of argumentation that brethr en have used for fellowship to every selfish, unloving, unChristlike
hundr eds of year s when they want to show their baptized- for-the-remission-of-sins individual who
true color s in tr ying to "soft- soap" the scr iptures. darkens the door of any building that says 'Chur ch
He said, "Do you mean a person cannot find salva- of Chr ist' over that door?" To answer brother Buf-
tion unless he acquiesces in ever y point with 'Church faloe's question I would simply say that I do not
of Chr ist doctrine?'" know of anyone who would be willing to extend the
To this answer the young lady r eplied, "No, I 'm hand of fellowship to any unChr istlike, unloving,
sure we all disagree on some points. But it seems to selfish person. If, however, he had been baptized for
me where we are unanimously agreed on some doc- the remission of sins, at least he would be a Chris-
trine like this one, that makes it official, so to speak, tian whereas the person who is a Methodist is not a
and all I 'm tr ying to find out is how to defend our Chr istian, for he has not received the remission of
doctrines." sins. If therefore, I came to know a person who was
Now it seems to me that this young lady was a a Chr istian who had the kind of attitude that brother
ver y honest seeker for truth, but she certainly came Buffaloe describes, I would try to teach him the truth
to the wrong person for help. For even according to on the points mentioned. If he would not listen I
his own admission he said. "It was an honest cr y would be for withdrawing from him.
from the heart. We talked on for some time, and I 'm Brother Buffaloe quoted Alexander Campbell's
afraid I left the poor girl in a very confused state of Lunenburg letter (or at least a part of it) in an ef-
mind." I sn't that pathetic that the devil has men fort to try to substantiate his point. Campbell said
who pretend to be Chr istians, members of the body in the letter that if he could find a Baptist whose
of Chr ist, in such influential places, positions en- life more generally conformed to the requisitions of
abling them to twist the minds of our young people ? the Messiah, who was more spir itually minded than
TITLE OF BUFFALOE'S ARTICLE
one who had been immer sed for the r emission of
sins, his approbation and love as a Chr istian would
T he whole point of his article was found in the be for the former r ather than the latter. The point
title. His point was that if people disagr ee on the that brother Buffaloe fails to recognize is the fact
Bible, those who disagr ee with us ar e either frauds that BOT H he and Campbell ar e wrong.
or fools. Now, that may be the way many think MATTHEW 9:38-40
about those who disagree with them, but I know of
ver y few people that have that attitude with honest Brother Buffaloe said that "per haps Campbell
sear cher s of truth who disagree. T hus, brother Buf- was thinking of still another of Jesus' expr essions
faloe's idea is that since most people have this kind on the subject of exclusivism:" and cited Matthew
of an attitude about scriptures on which we disagree, 9:38-40. But, brother Buffaloe missed the point on
the elder s should have liberty to settle such matters this also. Chr ist was not saying that this per son
of who will be taken into their fellowship. was not a disciple of his, but those disciples who
were closely associated with Jesus said that he was
BROTHER BUFFALOE'S METHODIST FRIEND not among them. However, Jesus made many disci-
Brother Buffaloe said, "I have a good friend, a ples, even more than John according to John 4:1-2.
Methodist, who maintains that baptism is like cir- But, to equate this person with a Methodist or Catho-
cumcision — it is a matter of the heart. Arguing lic, who has not accepted the gospel of Chr ist and
from Romans 2:25-29 through Colossians 2:11-12, been obedient to Chr ist's commands that he might
he insists that liter al immer sion simply cannot be receive the remission of sins, is foolish indeed. For,
all that important. I think I can see fallacies in his we know from the scr iptures that a sinner could not
argument, but who am I to insist that this man can- perform such mir acles. T his is exactly what the
not possibly be right, or at least, sincere?" Now no Phar isees accused Jesus of being when he healed
one questions the man's sincer ity, but he CANNOT the blind man in John 9:31. And this is exactly what
possibly be r ight if the Bible is true; for the doctrine the man who had been blind said could not be so.
espoused by the man is not in harmony with the "For we know that God hear eth not sinner s; but if
Bible's teaching. T he Bible does teach that circum- any man be a worshipper of his, and doeth his will,
cision is spir itual and of the heart, but it does not him he heareth." So, not only does brother Buffaloe
teach that circumcision is baptism, but that circum- put his dependence in the wrong source of authority
cision (cutting off the body of sin) takes place when (what Alexander Campbell believed), but he also
we are baptized. T he very passages that the "Meth- fails to under stand or else mis- applies the scr ip-
odist friend" used to try to prove his point prove that tures.
spir itual circumcision comes about during baptism Now, on the basis of his understanding of Mark
(also cf. Rom. 6:5-6). 9:38-39 and what Mr. Campbell said brother Buffa-
loe concludes, "If this was my Lord's attitude, how
ALEXANDER CAMPBELL'S REASONING then shall I say that my Methodist and Catholic
I n an effort to try to prove that his Methodist fr iends ar e not his follower s?" Well, of cour se he
 Page 9

couldn't. For when you start out on a false pr emise, place in heaven itself — the true sanctuar y er ected
you wind up with a false conclusion. by the Lord and not man, and that this heavenly
NOW FOR THE FREEDOM
service is based on the better promises of a new
covenant" ( ch. 8) .
Brother Buffaloe concludes his article by talking
about the elder s and their r ight to rule in matter s "T he first covenant had regulations of divine wor-
over which br ethren may disagr ee. He says, "It ship and the earthly sanctuar y" (9:1), but our great
seems to me that specific doctrinal problems can be priest offers in heaven a sacr ifice able to take away
handled by elders at the local level without resorting sins. "T hrough His own blood, He entered the holy
to the official party line approach. For example, I do place once for all, having obtained eternal redemp-
not consider it inconsistent that I recognize my tion" (9:12). T his is the context of the beginning
Methodist friend as a fellow Christian — if I did not quotation of our article. Chr ist was offered "once,"
do so, I could lay no claim to being one myself — and will not be offered again. To make this point, our
while agreeing with my fellow elders that we must author calls attention first to the gener al state of
insist upon immersion for membership in the local man, then to the specific case of Chr ist. Finally he
congr egation." Now seeing is believing. However, speaks of His second coming, under the figure of the
it would have been ver y difficult for me to believe high pr iest on the Day of Atonement.
that a person who claims to be a Christian, an elder, LIFE. DEATH AND JUDGMENT
and a preacher of the gospel, could have made such
a statement. T hat is Baptist doctrine pure and sim- Each human being must live, die and be judged.
ple. Not only has brother Buffaloe and his "fellow Furthermore, he must live, die and be judged — in
elder s" gone beyond the doctr ine of Chr ist in ac- that order. And finally he must live, die and be
cepting one who has had water spr inkled on him judged — but only once. T he life once lived can never
and called that scr iptural baptism, but now they be repeated when ended by death. Death can not
have invented a purpose for baptism that God has happen but one time because life is not repeated.
not author ized. God never intended for baptism to And judgment will happen only one time for each
be a requirement for one who is a Chr istian to have man because his life once lived needs but one judg-
to submit to in order to get into the local congrega- ment. What is true of mankind in gener al is true
tion. T hat is a per ver sion of the Scr iptures. John also of Christ, for He became in every regard as His
said, "Whosoever goeth onwar d and abideth not in br ethren, excepting sin.
the doctrine of Chr ist hath not God" ( I I John 9) .
T he thing that really hurts is the fact that a man in But Chr ist's case involved mor e than the life,
brother Buffaloe's position could use his influence death and judgment of one ordinar y man. For in
to do so much good for the cause of Christ. Instead, ever y respect His was a representative case. He was
according to his own admission, they are more con- standing in for others. He was the second Adam,
fused AFT E R they discuss the Bible with him than mankind's second and last chance for salvation. As
they wer e BEFORE t hey came. So, with fr iends the I sraelites and Philistines once sent repr esenta-
like that, the Lord doesn't need any enemies. tive war r ior s to battle, entrusting with those two
men their respective destinies as a whole, so man-
kind is represented in the person of the Christ. What
happens to Him will count for all His people.
Jesus lived one life, and it was for all men. He was
given a human body for that life; in it He pr epared
a human r ecord perfectly acceptable to the Father.
He came to do the will of God and, in that body, did
it fully (10:1-9). Jesus died but one time, and that
death was for all men. He was "offered once, to bear
the sins of many" (9:28). Jesus was judged for that
"And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die life, and that judgment was for all who would be
once, and after this comes judgment; so Chr ist His. For Jesus, having died, "entered into heaven
also, having been offered once to bear the sins itself to appear in the presence of God for us" (9:24).
of many, shall appear a second time, not to bear
sin, to those who eagerly await Him, for salva- T his figure is exceedingly r ich. T he Old T estament
tion" (Hebrews 9:27,28 NASB). high pr iest enter ed the second tent with the sacr i-
fices of the Day of Atonement. With this blood of
Hebr ews begins almost with ment ion of the animals he came before God — but always behind a
priestly work of our Lord who "made purification of veiling cloud of smoke (Lev. 16:11-13). Christ en-
sins" (1:3). Chapter two concludes with mention tered heaven itself — with His own life-offer ing —
again of His priestly work, and encourages His peo- and directly "in the presence of God." It is no small
ple to come to Him for help (2:17,18). Chapter three matter to face God for judgment. When Chr ist was
begins by calling the readers to "consider Jesus, the "judged," His life-sacr ifice was examined by Him
High Pr iest of our confession" (3:1). Chr ist's priest- before whom "all things ar e open and laid bar e"
hood is legitimate, having come through divine ap- (4:13). E very thought and motive, ever y secret or
pointment (ch. 5). But it is "after the order of Mel- public action, ever y word spoken — all was exam-
chizedek, and is based on the Lord's "power of an ined carefully by the Father. On this verdict would
indestructible life" ( ch. 7). The main point to be r est the final hope of ever y lost sinner. Our high
made, however , is that Chr ist's pr iestly work takes pr iest entered into God's presence to appear for us.
Page 10

THE PEOPLE WAITING BATON ROUGE, LA. PERKINS RD. CHURCH

Under the law, the people waited outside while the REGAINS HER SENSES
priests offered sacr ifices on their behalf. When the George T. Eldridge
pr iest returned the people knew the offer ing had
been accepted. When Zachar ias was delayed in the T he gr eat potential for Chr ist at Perkins Rd., the
temple by the appear ance of Gabr iel, "the people attitude of the Tolles, which is seen in their letter,
wer e waiting, and wer e wonder ing at his delay" and the cr ying need for a gospel preacher there in-
(Luke 1:21). Well might they be uneasy, for their fluenced my wife and I to move to Baton Rouge by
relationship to God depended on the acceptable pres- the end of June, 1972. We fully know that no money
entation of pleasing offerings. has been promised or indicated by any Chr istian or
If this anticipation accompanied ordinar y offer- chur ch for my wages, but we ar e going to Baton
ings, it was enormously intensified on the great Day Rouge. I will do the work of a faithful proclaimer
of Atonement. One Jewish wr iting from before the for our Lord and Saviour in that city. T he Perkins
time of Chr ist describes the waiting for the high Rd. church is not able financially to contribute any-
pr iest on that occasion. thing toward my wages yet, but I believe the breth-
T hen all flesh hasted together ren and churches will respond to my need for wages
And fell upon their faces to the earth, and money to cover my moving expense.
T o worship before the Most High, The Building
Before the Holy One of Israel.
And the sound of the song was hear d, T he money collected presently by the Perkins Rd.
And over the multitude they made sweet Church pays the $255.36 monthly payment on her
melody; building, which only has a $6,300.00 remaining debt,
And all the people of the land cr ied I n pr ayer the building utilities, and the cost for some teach-
before the Mer ciful, Until he had finished the ing mater ial. Two families (5 in attendance) ar e
ser vice of the altar And His ordinances had doing their best to handle these absolute costs.
brought him nigh T he building is located in a growing section of
unto Him. Baton Rouge. It will seat comfortably 160 to 175
T he next lines descr ibe the joy of the people when people and would conservatively have a replacement
the high pr iest came safely out to tell the people cost of $40,000 to $50,000. T he building has 4 class-
that they wer e forgiven by God. rooms, the auditorium, an empty space for another
classroom, an adequate pr eacher 's study, and a
T hen he descended, and lifted up his hands nur ser y.
Upon the whole congregation of I srael; And the
blessing of the Lord was upon his lips, And he The Money Future
glor ified himself with the name of At least five year s must pass befor e the chur ch
the Lord. will even be close to what is called self- supporting.
And again they fell down, now to receive By God's help, much work, much prayer, and de-
T he pardon of the Lord from him. clar ing "unto all the counsel of God," we will be self-
Our high pr iest has remained in the heavenly sustaining and a tower of spir itual strength. Peace
sanctuar y to mediate perpetually for His people on and fellowship does exist between this church and
the basis of His single offer ing. But He has sent a the church wher e brother Bill Cr ews preaches.
messenger ahead to His waiting people, telling them
that the offering was r eceived by God! His people What Happened to the Perkins Rd. Church?
ar e "saved to the uttermost!" Jesus had said He
would send this messenger (John 15:26) ; on the Day T he Tolles descr ibed well the attitude seen in
of Pentecost the good news came (Acts 2:32-36): "certain actions" which started the chur ch wher e
Remission of sins is fully guaranteed in Jesus' name! Bill Crews works and slowly diminished a 70 plus
As another apostle would later write, "T here is there- attendance down to two families, now numbering
fore now no condemnation for those who ar e in five in attendance!! Digesting such unscr iptur al
Jesus Chr ist!" "certain actions," weak pulpit preaching, unscrip-
Jesus Himself will come out one day to His peo- tural leadership, and the ideas of brother W. Carl
ple. When He returns, it will not be for bearing sins Ketcher side, wher e else could the Perkins Rd.
again -— that happened already and will only happen Church go but to hobnobbing with the liberals ? T he
once. He will come "apart from sin," br inging the congregation also compromised truth, lost a few
consummated salvation which His sacrifice long ago member s to the new sound chur ch and mor e to
procured for His people. His people, meanwhile, are chur ches in er r or, and then had an attendance of
"eagerly awaiting" that glor ious retur n (I Cor. 1:7; about zero.
Phil. 3:20,21; I T hess. 1:10). T he teaching of brother Ketcherside is many
Are you covered by His perfect sacrifice ? Are you sided, but please read his own wr itten word to an
presently trusting this Savior's all-sufficient offer ing admir er of his at Perkins Road.
for sins? Ar e you faithfully obeying Him as you "When we arise above the artificial walls and
await His retur n? "Hallelujah, praise the Lord, sal- bar r ier s and begin to love all of the br ethren,
vation has been brought down!" God can give us a whole new dimension of serv-
---------------- o ----------------
ice and he will. We must simply ignor e the di-
 Page 11

visiveness and factionalism of the past and Church's Present Attitude

refuse to be trapped inside the narrow enclos-
ures which men have built... A gr eat door has She will now '"hold fast the form of sound words
been opened to witness to Baptist folk, sin- . . . in faith and love which is in Chr ist Jesus"
cer e, eager, and seeking!" ( I I T im. 1:13). We know we ar e small in number,
E ven with brother Ketcherside's "speech of Ash- but we want all faithful Chr istians coming to Baton
dod" and having gone to "the plain of Ono," what Rouge to work with us. T he lazy, the unconcerned,
conclusion is dr awn from his wr iting? You don't and the indifferent person should not want to come
love the br ethren when you point out their r ejec- our way because we need workers to labour with us
tion of Bible author ity by their practices, for ex- in filling our present building with saved sinner s.
ample, of instrumental music, centralized control, Our location is easy to find: 1-10 & College Dr ive;
sponsor ing chur ch cooper ation, chur ches building 4270 Perkins Road; near Colonel Sanders; less than
and maintaining man- made organizations, one con- four minutes off 1-10.
tainer in the Lord's Supper, or Premillennialism. The City
T his admirer of brother Ketcher side and the two
young preachers of Perkins Road, who were Ken R. Baton Rouge is called the "Growth Center of the
Dur ham and L ynn McCauley, attended the A.C.C. South." Her population is a growing 200,000. She
lectures together and heard his unity speech, "Au- has four main pillars to her economy: She (1) is the
thority of the Word." He then wrote brother Ketch- state capital of Louisiana, (2) is the center of one
erside Mar ch 2, 1971 these words. "You really of the wor ld's largest petrochemical ar eas, (3) is
impressed Ken and L ynn. T hey have already been to home of two large state univer sities: Louisiana
see Max Goins at Calvar y Chr istian Chur ch and he State Univer sity and Souther n Univer sity, and ( 4)
invited L ynn to speak ther e on a Sunday evening. has a major world port.
T hey ar e also swapping pulpits with two of the Industrial Complex. T he petrochemical center of
other minister s of chur ches of Chr ist in town. the South, the growing industrial development along
T hey wer e ver y impr essed with the black the Mississippi River is based on petroleum, but it
minister and he is going to swap out with one of claims chemicals, rubber, plastics, light and heavy
them this month. When I told our 'double-trouble' metals and other products. At least 150 manufac-
team they were not letting any gr ass grow under turers employ 18,500 people.
their f eet, L ynn said, 'We've got to put all this Port of Baton Rouge. It is the seventh largest
trivia aside and get on with it.' How about that?" port in the nation. It is the farthest inland deep
T he "double- trouble team" of Ken and L ynn had water port on the Mississippi. It ser ves both deep
the r ight environment at Perkins Rd. to make cer - water and r iver transportation. Vessels from many
tain no grass gr ew under their feet. T he church was countr ies berth her e.
soft. She would toler ate error. She wanted unity at Need
any pr ice. Men of the statur e of B. Hall Davis and Brethren, pray for me. I need your financial as-
T homas Smitherman had left. T hese false teachers sistance for my wages and to pay my moving ex-
(Ken and L ynn) could view "make all things accord- pense ( I I Cor. 11:8; II T im. 1:16- 18). Also, tracts
ing to the pattern" as "trivia" (Heb. 8:5). Imagine are needed. I know you will respond because we serve
so-called preachers calling the pattern for (1) music the same God, are guided by the same Bible, are
in the chur ch, (2) chur ch work, (3) chur ch wor - inter ested in the lost souls of men, and want to go
ship, ( 4) chur ch fellowship, or (5) church coopera- to Heaven together. Also, you answer ed the call
tion as "trivia." T he false teacher s got on with their when I authored an article about the new church in
work and destroyed the chur ch mor e, but the Per- Monroe, Louisiana, which concerned H. Tom Swilley.
kins Road Church had asked for it!!! I await your answer.
T he church kept going down and down before the P. O. Box 52964
Tolles awakened. When they did get scr ipturally Lafayette, La. 70501
aroused it was too late. T he congregation was in
shambles! The church now has seven in attendance,
counting my wife and I.
T he Perkins Rd. congregation is a classic example Parksdale church of Christ, 29111 Avenue 13 1/2,
of what happens when softness is permitted, error Madera, Calif. 93637 — We are in need of a full time
is toler ated, truth is compromised, "chief men preacher for the Parksdale congregation of Madera,
among the brethren" are not Bible leaders, pulpit California. Anyone interested please contact: Doyle
preaching is weak, immature men fill the pulpit, and Webster, 1500 W. 5th St., Mader a, Calif. 93637,
unity at any pr ice is desir ed. "Know ye not that a phone (209) 674-4369 or Burt Bridges, 28881 Ave-
little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?" I Cor. 5:6. nue 13, Madera, Calif. 93637, Phone (209) 674-4288.
Page 12

Herb Braswell, 1280 Dodson Way, Sparks, Nev. T hey ar e inter ested in contacting any br ethren de-
89431 — T he church in Grass Valley, California, is sirous of starting a sound chur ch in that state. I f
looking for a preacher to work with them on a full you are interested or know of anyone who is, please
time basis. I have been pr eaching for the chur ch contact me at the above address or phone: (914)
there since the first of this year, driving over ever y 462-4788.
weekend from Reno, Nevada. T his Dec. 19th I plan
on moving to Georgia, Lord willing. T he men of the Thomas Hogland, Central church of Christ, P.O.
congregation feel that it would be best for the Grass Box 116, Charlotte, Tenn. 37036 — I have just moved
Valley chur ch to have a full time pr eacher. T his from Dallas, T exas where I worked with the St.
church is made up of about eight families, so the Augustine Dr ive church of Chr ist to begin laboring
chur ch is not able to supply full support for the with these fine brethren in Char lotte. I look forward
preacher. The preacher who moves here will have to to a prosperous and ver y enjoyable association with
arrange to have most of his financial support pro- this congr egation. If you ar e in the Char lotte area,
vided by another chur ch or churches. T his chur ch drop in and visit us.
has a nice frame building that seats about one hun-
dred people, and is nearly debt free. Any man that
could move to Grass Valley should contact Arthur
Montgomery, Rt. 2, Box 2626, Auburn, Calif. 95603;
phone (916) 885-7464; or Ray Clanton, 143 Walker
Dr., Grass Valley, Calif. 95945. After Januar y 1,
I will be available for full or part time pr eaching
work in the T ennessee, Georgia, Alabama, or Flor-
ida areas. My address is now, 1280 Dodson Way,
Sparks, Nevada 89431; and after Dec. 19th, it will
be Rt. 1, Waco, Georgia 30182.

JACK FROST, SR. MEMORIAL FUND

Several years ago we began compiling stories of
interesting, amusing, or unusual events in the lives
of gospel preachers. Such a collection was the am-
bition of Jack Frost, Sr. He thoroughly enjoyed a
good story, especially the true situations of men
who labor in the gospel. Before he was able to exe-
cute his plan to collect and publish this compilation
he was car r ied from this life. Since then we, mem-
ber s of his family, have tr ied to bring this desire
to fruition.
After many unavoidable and frustrating delays,
the mater ial has been collected and prepared for
printing. However, as we weigh the cost of publica-
tion with the good the same amount of money could
do in other ar eas, we have second thoughts. It is
our decision now, as being that which would please
him, to establish a memorial fund with Florida Col-
lege to provide loan funds to young men desir ing a
college education in their preparation to preach the
gospel. This does not mean that the book project will
be abandoned. T he material will appear as a column
in the Gospel Guardian, and at a later date if there
is a demand it then can be published under separate
cover.
We take this opportunity to thank all who have
contributed "stories," and hope that the above ar-
rangement is satisfactory.
Florida College has opened an account for the
"Jack Frost, Sr. Memorial Fund." We hope that this
fund will be of benefit to many young men, enabling
them to further their education.
— T he family of Jack Frost, Sr.
B. G. E chols, 5 Marwood Drive, Poughkeepsie,
New York 12601 — We recently had a young couple
wor ship with us who have moved to Connecticut.
 heading would water baptism be found? Certainly,
none would contend that water baptism is an Old
T estament work, and surely none would be so brazen
as to argue that baptism is a work of man's creation!
Hence, the simple conclusion would follow -- Baptism
is a work which almighty God himself has command-
While water baptism is one of the simplest subjects ed. To this kind of work James referred, "Ye see then
taught in the New T estament, it remains to be one of how that by works (works which God has ordained)
the most misunderstood and disputed Biblical sub- a man is justified, and not by faith only." (Jas. 2:24)
jects. T here has been no small amount of controversy T hose who contend that water baptism is un-
and disputation over the action of baptism, whether necessary because it is a work, if they were consistent
it is spr inkling, pouring or immersion and also over would teach that belief is also unnecessary because it
the purpose and design of water baptism. It shall not, to is a wor k, a work which God has commanded.
however, be our burden in this article to consider (Jno. 6:29) T hus, the objection that baptism is un-
these foregoing disputed aspects of water baptism, necessary because it is a work is groundless!
but rather an aspect that is characterized by an equal "BAPTISM IS NON-ESSENTIAL BECAUSE THE
amount of disputation— whether or not baptism is BLOOD OF CHRIST SAVES US AND NOT
necessary for the salvation of +.he alien sinner. Perhaps WATER"
you have heard gospel preachers teach that water Intelligent reader, those who teach that water bap-
baptism is necessary for salvation but have not been tism is necessary because the water saves you - are
fully convinced because you believe that the ob- teaching error! Nowhere does the word of God teach
jections to water baptism being essential are valid. It that the encountered water when one is baptized
shall be our design in this article to consider some of that the literal water encountered when one is bap-
these objections to water baptism being necessar y tized is capable of saving the sinner and neither do
and see if they are worthy of our entertainment. gospel preachers teach such a fallacious doctrine.
"WE ARE NOT SAVED BY WORKS Baptism is a commandment and water is simply the
AND BAPTISM IS A WORK" element. (Acts 2:38, cf. 8:36) We now raise the ques-
Many contend that baptism cannot be necessar y tion, when does one contact the benefits of the blood
for man's salvation because if it were, man would be or the death of Christ? T he apostle Paul answers the
saved by works! Friends, I say kindly but candidly question as follows: "T herefore we are bur ied with
that those who r eason thus do not understand what him by baptism into death" ( Rom. 6:4) Please ob-
the New T estament teaches concerning works. Belov- ser ve the pr eceding ver se, "Know ye not that so
ed, the New T estament does teach that we are not many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were
saved by the works of the Old L aw, Rom. 11:6, baptized into his death?" (Rom. 6:3) T hus the ob-
neither are we saved by our own works (works of our jection that baptism cannot be necessary because the
own creation), E ph. 2:8,9, T it. 3:5. But under which blood of Chr ist saves and not water, clouds the issue.
T he alien sinner when baptized is not saved by the
water but by the blood or death of Christ, which he baptize. ( Matt. 28:19, Mk. 16:15,16 compar e with
contacts in water baptism. Hence, this objection only I Cor. 1:14-16) It is obvious, therefore, that those
shows that water baptism is necessar y because we who use this passage to teach the non-essentiality of
must contact the blood of Christ in order to be saved. baptism are misconstruing it. Paul is simply saying
Again, we know that it is in the act of water bap-tism that Chr ist did not send him primarily to baptize but
that one contacts the saving blood of Christ be-cause to preach the gospel, the preaching of which involved
of the following consideration: In Matthew 26: 28, baptism. (See Acts 8:35 compare with verse 36 of the
Christ taught, "For this is my blood of the New text)
T estament, which is shed for many for the remission Dear one, do not be deceived into thinking that
of sins." Now, obser ve the language of Peter and water baptism is not necessary to salvation. T he five
Ananias concerning one purpose of water baptism - foregoing objections to the essentiality of baptism are
"Repent, and be baptized." Peter commands the the ones people most often use - but, fr iends, as you
Pentecostians, "ever y one of you in the name of have seen, they are not valid. Please consider the
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins..." (Acts 2:38, teaching of the New T estament concerning baptism
22:16) Jesus said that His blood was shed for the being necessar y, Mk. 16:15,16; Acts 2:38, 22:16;
remission of sins; the miraculously guided Peter and Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3; Acts 8:35,36; I Pet. 3:20,21.
Ananias taught that. water baptism is for the r e-
mission of sins, - thus, baptism is the act in which we
contact the blood of Chr ist, the benefit being the
remission of sin.
"IF BAPTISM WERE FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS,
THEN EVERY TIME THE CHRISTIAN SINNED HE
WOULD HAVE TO BE BAPTIZED."
Many who maintain that baptism is unnecessar y
use the foregoing "logic". T hey deny that baptism is
for the remission of sins, even in view of the plain
teaching of the New T estament to the contrary, en-
deavor ing to disprove its essentiality. Fr iends, the
simple truth -of the matter is that baptism is for the
forgiveness of the alien's sins and not the Chr istian's.
I Jno. 1:7 explains how the Chr istian obtains the re-
mission of sins, "For if we walk in the light, as he is
in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and
the blood of Jesus Chr ist his Son cleanseth us from
all sin." (See also verse 9)
"THE THIEF ON THE CROSS WAS NOT BAPTIZED
AND YET HE WAS SAVED."
Many people today try to be saved as the thief on
the cross was. (Lk. 23:39-43) Beloved, I submit that
the thief to whom Chr ist said, "Today shalt thou be
with me in paradise", lived and died under the Old
Law (Law of Moses) under which system baptism was
not required. Also to be taken into consider ation is
the fact that Christ had power on earth to forgive sins
as He chose ( L k. 5:24) because his T estament, law,
in which baptism is required was not in force while he
lived. (Mk. 16:15, 16, Heb. 9:16,17) T herefore, this
objection, like the other, is not valid.
"FOR CHRIST SENT ME NOT TO BAPTIZE
BUT TO PREACH THE GOSPEL."
Those who use this passage thus are perverting and
distorting the teaching of Paul in this passage, I Cor.
1:17. T hey reason that Paul is saying that baptism is
unimportant because Chr ist sent him not to baptize.
Fr iends, if this passage were under stood as some
would have us to understand— Paul would be stating a
falsehood; because Chr ist did send him (apostles) to
 of religious innovation. Mark that down — the sin
of Jeroboam was not one of immorality, but was
r eligious in char acter. Remember that he came to
the throne through no cleverness of his own, but was
truly given his kingship by God. God guaranteed his
throne as sure, contingent only upon simple obedi-
ence (I Kings 11:38). But Jeroboam reasoned that
when the people r eturned to Jerusalem to worship
that their hearts would again tur n to Rehoboam,
and he would lose his throne and his life (I Kings
12:26,27). T his demonstrated his astute political
acumen and cunning, and also his unbelief. He ob-
viously had no faith in God's promise that his throne
was sure. He reasoned that if God's laws were obeyed
it would be suicidal, and therefore he devised a
THE SIN OF JEROBOAM scheme of his own wisdom. T he plan of Jeroboam
T he magnitude of the sin of Jeroboam is seen in is not to be faulted for lack of human wisdom. It
the fact that it is mentioned over twenty times in was politically sound and accomplished the immedi-
the inspired record. It was the prime cause of the ate and practical objectives he had in mind. We could
downfall of Israel (the ten tribes). "Jeroboam drave unhesitatingly say, from his viewpoint, that his plan
Isr ael from following the Lord, and made them sin succeeded. He set up places of worship conveniently
a great sin. For the children of Israel walked in all located for the deliber ate pur pose of keeping the
the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed people away from Jerusalem ( I Kings 12:28- 32).
not from them; Until the Lord r emoved I sr ael out In the same connection he introduced other substi-
of his sight. . . So was I sr ael car r ied away out of tutes and innovations designed car efully to appeal
their land to Assyr ia . . ." (II Kings 17:21-23). to the desires and seeming best interests of the peo-
Jeroboam was obviously a man of tremendous ple. L et us speak more particularly of the specific
ability, great militar y valor and astute political in- acts, innovations and ar guments of Jeroboam in
sight. He was promised and appointed to the throne another study, and focus our attention for now on
of Israel by Jehovah himself. God blessed him with the fact and spir it of his enormous sin. He dis-
the additional assurance that his "house" would be obeyed God. And he taught and encour aged I srael
established in I sr ael as David's was in Judah ( I to disobey as though religious violations are inno-
Kings 11:37,38). This meant that his descendants cent.
would r eign securely in I srael even as the sons of Religious sins need to be seen in perspective. T hey
David ruled in Judah. When Rehoboam (successor are real and horrifying, not because of social injur y
to his father Solomon as king over Judah and Is- or physical harm resulting (ordinar ily neither of
rael) spoke harshly to Israel at his "inauguration," these are immediate effects), but because they can
trigger ing the r evolt and division that left him as only spring from (1) ignor ance in ar eas wher e one
king only over Judah, Israel turned to her outstand- is supposed to be a leader or (2) exhibit utter faith-
ing and distinguished hero, Jeroboam. Popular with lessness and r ebellion. Religious sins committed
men and favored of God, few men in all history have with piety seem ever so innocent and even mer i-
enjoyed the abilities, opportunities, honor s and torious, and gently but sur ely drive people to sin.
powers given Jeroboam. T hey incr ease faithlessness and subtle self- satis-
But he sinned a great sin. Its root was faithless- faction, for they make the will of man equal (or
ness, its spir it disrespect for God, and its action that pr efer able) to the will of God. Mark it that no man
Page 2 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

ever imposed his own will or substituted his own

ideas in the place of or alongside what God had
given, until first of all he had lost confidence in
God's way as being best. Or put another way, man
never imposes his own way until he has first lost
faith in God. Man wants change because he imag-
ines improvement.
T he frequent references to and the terrible con-
sequences of the sin of Jeroboam should be a sober-
ing war ning to all religious men. His message that
men did not necessar ily have to go to Jerusalem was
the exact equivalent of saying they did not strictly
and technically have to obey God, and his unauthor-
ized imitation of the worship in Jerusalem salved
consciences and comforted men in their disobedi-
ence. In so doing he led a nation into sin and disaster
as terrible as any ever suffered because of immorali-
ties. He name lives in infamy and his poster ity is
cut off from the earth (I Kings 13:34). The "house"
that could have been secur e on the throne is de-
stroyed, and only a sad linger ing "what might have
been" remains. O Jeroboam, you had it all and threw
it away for lack of faith and respect, and for count-
ing r eligious sins as a small thing. And shall we,
gentle r eader, have heaven within our reach only
to lose it for the same reasons ?
 Page 3

hold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed

upon us, that we should be called the sons of God . . ."
( I John 3:1) .
While love is the ver y natur e of God, and this ex-
pr ession of love pr ovided salvation f or man, it does
not follow, as some seem to think, that love will
excuse man in his disobedience and r ebellion against
God. E ven the love of God (we mean the benefits of
His love) is limited by the channels of His wor d. No
man can expect to benefit from the love of God as it
is given thr ough the death of His Son unless that
man is willing to appr opr iate that love by obedience
to God's wor d. Nevertheless, millions today have
been led by denominational doctrines to believe that
the love of God will save under any and all conditions.
T he philosophy seems to be: Pr of ess r eligion; do as
THE BIBLE MEANING OF LOVE you please, and the love of God will save you. Such is
the doctrine of the Devil and in no sense the love of
L ove is one of the gr eatest wor ds in the E nglish God.
language and one of the key wor ds in the r evelation Jesus made it clear that love is shown in obedience
of God to man. However, ther e ar e two things about to his commands. "As the Father hath loved me, so
the use of this wor d that will determine whether or have I loved you: continue ye in my love" (John 15:
not it is scripturally used. T he f i r st is the object 19). But how does one continue in his love? T he next
of love. T he Bible tells no man to love without tell- ver se: "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide
ing him the object of that love. We ar e not to love in my love .. ." Could it be plainer ? We must continue
the wor l d ( I John 2:15), but we are to love truth in his love, but to continue in his love is to keep his
( I I T hess. 2:10). T he second is the natur e of love commandments. T his means that the benefits of the
that is pur e and right. Unpr etended and pur e love love of Chr ist abides when we keep his command-
of the things of God is the only kind acceptable to ments. By the same token, we show our love f or
God. Christ by obeying his commandments. "If ye love me,
I n this column in the last issue of Searching the keep my commandments" (John 14:15). Now then,
Scriptures I made some obser vations of Carl Ketch- when one does not obey the commandments of Christ,
er side's use of the term love. I in no way insinuate he does not love Christ and Christ's love does not
that Car l i s incapable of loving people or t h at he abide in him.
does not in f act love people, especially those who One came to Jesus while he lived upon earth and
try to ser ve God. I do believe, however, that Carl asked what he should do to inher it eter nal lif e. Jesus
misuses the wor d by assuming that the love of an told him to keep the commandments. He answer ed:
immer sed believer, to say the most for his view, "Master, all these have I obser ved f r om my youth."
will ignor e that per son's unscr iptural practices and T hen Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto
disobedience to God in both attitude and deed, and him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatso-
allow f ellowship with such. T his is not Bible love. ever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt
have tr easur e in heaven: and come, take up the cr oss,
WHAT IS BIBLE LOVE? and f ollow me" (Mark 10:21). Jesus LOVED this
S ever al year s ago I wr ote on the subject of love man, but when he went away and would not do as
as it is descr i b ed in the wor d of God. At that time the L or d had dir ected, Jesus did not follow him and
I had no thought of Carl Ketcher side or anything in beg him to r econsider. Even though Jesus loved this
r ef er ence to what he teaches or practices. I reprint man, his love would not bless him in his disobedience.
two articles from Searching The Scriptures on the T his is the limit of God's love.
subject: the first one fr om June. 1965 and the second In this age we live under a differ ent covenant from
from May, 1962. T his would be as objective as I the one Jesus told this man to keep. We ar e not under
know how to be in discussing this theme in the pr es- the law, but the gospel. When those to whom Peter
and the apostles pr eached on P entecost in Jer usalem
ent setting. I bid you r ead them car efully. asked what to do — and of cour se they wer e asking
what to do f or the r emission of sins — P eter did not
tell them to keep the law. He told them to "Repent,
HOW FAR WILL LOVE GO? and be baptized ever y one of you in the name of Jesus
L ove is one of the gr eatest wor ds to the human Christ for t he r emission of sins . . ." (Acts 2:38).
r ace, especially as it concer ns man's eter nal hopes. T hose who obeyed this command showed their love
L ove is the key wor d to God's provision f or man's f or the L or d, and, of cour se, the love of Christ began
salvation. "F or God so loved the world, that he gave to abide with them. On the other hand, those who
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in r efused to obey this command indicated that they
him should not per ish, but have ever lasting life" did not love the L or d, and the benefits of Christ's
(John 3:16). "But God commendeth his love toward love wer e not their s.
us, in that, while we wer e yet sinner s, Chr i st died T his concept of God's love that He will save men
f or us" (Rom. 5:8). "Beloved, let us love one an- in any state r elating to His wor d is nowher e taught
other : for love is of God; and ever y one that loveth in the Bible. It is one of the doctrines of the Devil
is bor n of God, and knoweth God" (I John 4:7). "Be- and its consequences will drive millions mor e into the
Page 4

eter nal destiny of the Devil and his angels. God's Diotr ephes, who loveth to have the pr eeminence among
love will save if we will love him. We love him when them . . ." (Ill John 9); "For they loved the praise of men
we obey his will. mor e than the pr aise of God" ( John 12.43). We ar e com-
manded to love God ( Matt. 22:37, the tr uth (II Thess.
2:10), the br ethren (I Pet. 1:22), and our enemies ( Matt.
5:44). It may be that one has once loved the right things,
THE REAL MEANING OF LOVE but has lost this love. "And because iniquity shall abound,
the love of many shall wax cold" ( Matt. 24.12). "Neverthe-
H. E. Phillips less I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left
Denominational views ar e gener ally known by the subjects thy first love" ( Rev. 2:4).
that ar e discussed in pulpits and paper s, and the subject of THE TRUE MEANING OF LOVE
LOVE occupies a top place in nearly all r eligious gr oups. I For a long time the denominational world has contended
would like to sear ch the scriptures with you on the Bible that member s of the chur ch of Christ do not have love in their
meaning of love in an effort to see if this subject is any mor e hearts, and the pr oof of it is in the fact that they debate and
accur ately r epr esented by denominational teacher s than many oppose "other chur ches". Love to these people means a kind,
other subjects with which they deal. loving, compr omising, soul who will agr ee with and endor se
Love is one of the key wor ds in the wor d of God. The fact almost any kind of r eligious teaching. Now some denomina-
that God loves man is again and again stressed by ever y in- tional minded br ethren have adopted this same view of love,
spir ed man who was used by the Spirit to reveal the will and they cr y that anyone who exposes their weak and un-
of God. I John 4:7-21 is an example of the importance placed scriptural doctrines lacks true love.
upon love by the wor d of God. Sever al facts ar e given in God is love. John the inspir ed apostle said so. How does
these ver ses which show that love is indispensable to fellow- God r eact to sin and disobedience in those who ar e his chil-
ship with God. John says that "God is love" and that 'love is dr en? In the Old T estament "ever y tr ansgr ession and dis-
of God". Since God loves us, we ar e instructed to "love one obedience r eceived a just recompence of r ewar d" (Heb. 2:2).
another ". "If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and In the New T estament "he that doeth wr ong shall receive for
his love is perfected in us." "God is love; and he that dwelleth the wr ong which he hath done: and ther e is no r espect of
in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." This is the theme per sons" (Col. 3:25). The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23),
of John in this section of his epistle, and he concludes the and the death he speaks of is the second death. "And death
chapter by saying: "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his and hell wer e cast into the lake of fir e. This is the second
br other, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his br other whom death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of
he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? life was cast into the lake of fir e" ( Rev. 20:14,15). God is
And this commandment have we fr om him, That he who love, but he deals with sin just as he pr omised. It follows
loveth God love his br other also" ( I John 4:20,21). that love is not incompatible with strong dealing with error
The question arises, What does love f or my br other re- and sin.
quir e of me? I was recently told that I did not have pr oper When I was a child I sometimes wonder ed how my father
love for my br ethren (some of them) because I spoke against and mother could say, "Son, this is because I love you," when
their views and teaching on certain subjects. I have been told they applied the r od wher e it would do the most good. If
a number of times that the "Spirit of the Anti gr oup is with- they loved me, why did they have to show it by a thrashing
out love". Now if that be tr ue of me, I am wr ong. No man second to none? But by and by I became a man and a father
can please God without love in his heart. No matter how myself. I had to do for my children exactly what was done
much tr uth and power he has, if he does not have love, he to me. Then I knew what they meant when they said, "This
is nothing (I Cor. 13:1-3). But what is the real, scriptural is because I love you". I know now as you know, love de-
meaning of br otherly love? What does it requir e in my re- mands correction and chastisement when it is needed to make
lationship to my br other ? the per son you love better. "For whom the L or d loveth he
Love is an action of the heart. "Seeing ye have purified chasteneth, and scour geth ever y son whom he r eceiveth"
your souls in obeying the tr uth thr ough the Spirit unto the (Heb. 12:6).
unfeigned love of the br ethren, see that ye love one another Many think love r equir es absolutely no hate for anything.
with a pur e heart fer vently" (I Pet. 1:22). It is also an action If one hates anything he cannot have the love of God in his
of life motivated by a heart filled with love. "My little chil- heart. The writer of Hebr ews quotes God as saying of Christ:
dr en, let us not love in wor d, neither in tongue; but in deed "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity" (Heb.
and in truth" ( I John 3:18). Love, then, is the state of heart 1:9). Christ hated iniquity! Christ writes to E phesus: "But
or attitude of mind that responds in wor d and deed. It is this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans,
what we do and say that is pr ompted by an attitude of heart which I also hate" ( Rev. 2:6). T o the angel of the chur ch in
called love. Per gamos Christ said: "So hast thou also them that hold the
In I Corinthians 13 we have a description of the love that doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate" ( Rev. 2:15).
is appr oved by God. It suffer s long, is kind, does not envy, Christ hated the deeds and the doctrine of the Nicolaitans,
is not puffed up, does not behave in an uneven manner, does yet he is the embodiment of love. Seven things ar e listed in
not seek its own, is not easily pr ovoked, does not think evil, Prover bs 6:16 that God hates, yet God is love. It follows that
nor rejoice in sin, but does r ejoice in truth. Love endur es all true love does not mean that hate cannot exist in the heart
things. This state of mind and conduct of life may be dir ected of the per son. He must love what he should love and hate
towar d the wr ong object. Many love, but they love the wr ong what he should hate.
things. "For men shall be lover s of their own selves . . ." Many think love will not permit discipline. Any sign of ex-
(II Tim. 3:2); "lover s of pleasur es mor e than lover s of God er cising discipline against those who sin is a sign of the lack
. . ." (II Tim. 3:4); "For Demas hath for saken me, having of love. Paul writes the Corinthians about a man who was
loved this pr esent world . . ." (II Tim. 4:10); "For the love living in adulter y, and tells them "to deliver such an one unto
of money is the r oot of all evil . . ." (I Tim. 6:10); "But Satan for the destr uction of the flesh, that the spirit may be
 Page 5

saved in the day of the Lord Jesus" (I Cor. 5:5). Because of

their "puffed up" state he writes in the last ver se of I Cor. 4:
"What will ye? shall I come unto you with a r od, or in love,
and in the Spirit of meekness?" Now, Paul, you should not
write that way. Don't you know it is not a sign of love to
speak so har shly to br ethren? But in the 13th chapter Paul
tells what love is, and says that if he does anything without
love it does not pr ofit him anything. E vidently he under stood
a harmony to exist between discipline— strong discipline— and
true love. Remember, Paul wr ote the commandments of the
L or d (I Cor . 14:37). We ar e commanded by the authority
of Christ to deal with false teacher s ( Rom. 16:17), and with
the unr uly and vain talker s (Titus 1:10), and to do it
"sharply" (vs. 13). The God of love r equir ed this, ther efore
it must be in harmony with tr ue love to r ebuke sin and
false br ethren.
Many think love r equir es a compromise. False br ethren of MAKARIOS, "BLESSED"
Paul's day "privily" came in to spy out the liberty of Chris-
tians in or der to bind them again to bondage, but Paul said T he fir st section of the Sermon on the Mount is
of them: "to whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for often called the "Beatitudes," a term that comes
an hour; that the tr uth of the gospel might continue with from a L atin wor d which means "blessing."
you" (Gal. 2:4,5). Paul even r ebuked another apostle Matthew's account of the Beatitudes is r ecorded
( P eter) by withstanding "him to the face" because he in 5:1- 12. I n these ver ses Jesus r epeatedly pr o-
"walked not uprightly accor ding to the truth of the gospel" nounces certain people as "blessed." T he term
(Gal. 2:11,14). L ove for God and the gospel will never per - "blessed" is translated from the Gr eek makar ios.
mit compr omise with anyone. On the other hand, love f or T his Gr eek word is not a ver b in these passages;
God, the gospel and men in sin will call upon us to sound that is, Jesus is not saying "having been blessed"
out the wor d "in season and out of season" without com- is so and so. The term makarios is a Greek adjective
pr omise at any level. which has a ver y long and interesting history and
Many will ar gue that love substitutes for obedience. How use. T he present article is a br ief study of this ad-
many have you hear d say, "God is love, and He will not send jective.
a man to hell for doing a little thing that is wr ong"? They
mean by this that God's love is such that He will overlook IN CLASSICAL GREEK
our failur e to obey Him and save us anyway. I believe some T he root of the term makarios goes all the way
br ethren think that is the kind of love we should have towar d back to Homer. In its earliest use the term was al-
each other. But Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep my com- ways applied to the gods, and was descriptive of the
mandments" ( John 14:15). John said, "And this is love, that surpassing bliss of the gods who lived apart from
we walk after his commandments" ( I I John 6 ) . Paul said, the trials and troubles of humans.
"Be ye follower s of God, as dear childr en; and walk in love, About the time of Ar istotle the term makarios
as Christ also hath loved us and hath given himself for us came to be applied to humans. It often descr ibed
an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour" those who were physically r ich; hence, the makarios
( E ph. 5:1,2). Real love r equir es obedience to God; obedience man was able to live above the struggles of the poor
to God r equir es that we oppose sin and false doctrines wher e man.
ever they be found (Rom. 16:17; T itus 1:10; E ph. 5:11; I I There is some indication that makarios sometimes
T h ess. 3:6). described non-physical characteristics. For example,
a knowledgeable man might be a makarios man.
WHAT DID JESUS MEAN?
Who is the "blessed" man of the Beatitudes ? We
sometimes say that the term means "happy." It is
my judgment that "happy" is not a ver y meaning-
ful translation. How is the man who mourns (Matt.
5:4) a "happy" man?
"FORTUNATE"
If the term "happy" be used in its original sense
of "fortunate," etc., it would suffice as a good trans-
lation of makarios; but, usually, when we use
"happy" we use it in the sense of the emotion of
happiness, and this is not what Jesus is speaking of.
I believe that Jesus is telling us that the man who is
in a r ight relationship with God is "blessed"; that
is, he is truly a fortunate man; not because he is
necessarily physically blessed, but because he has the
hope of a continuity of life in eternal happiness.
----------------------------- o--------------
 November, 1972

Dear Reader:

As we come near the close of the thirteenth year of continuous

publication, I f eel the need to call upon you again to lend a
helping hand in incr easing the cir culation of t his media of
spr eading the wor d of the L or d.

Some of you have r eceived this paper f or sever al year s through the
generosity of a f r i end or r elative. Someone was inter ested in your
soul. It is now time that you became inter ested in your own soul as
well as the souls of other s.

T he gr eat major ity of t he population of this country is so cold and

apathetic towar d spir itual things that almost nothing will r each their
hear t s. Billions of printed pages of "garbage" f or the mind ar e
distributed each year . Doesn't it stand to r eason that a healthy and
sound mind depends upon sound r eading material?

Be a friend and do your brethr en and neighbor s a f avor : send them

Sear ching the Scriptur es for one year . T he price is $ 5 . 0 0 per year , or
thr ee subscr i ptions for $12.00. Do this today so they will begin
r eceiving the paper January, 1973.

A number of chur ches ar e ordering a bundle each month to distribute to

those they believe would best benefit from Sear ching the Scr i ptur es. I f
the chur ch wher e you wor ship is unable to do this, why will you not
do so for one year ? T he prices ar e listed on the second page. Above all,
r enew your self. We want you as a r eader of th is journal. If you are on
the ARP send your r enewal in the amount you sent last year .

I thank you so much f or every word of encouragement, ever y act of help,

and your p r ayer s f or the continuation of this ef f or t . A special thanks to
those who have helped so long and continue to do so. May God bless
you richly.

BIBLES • COMMENTARIES • REFERENCE BOOKS • TRACTS • L I T E R A T U R E • TAPE

 Page 7

which it can function. Furthermore, the sum total

of divine revelation reveals a threefold mission,
namely, evangelism, benevolence, and edification.
T he church in this sense controls its own fellowship
and is "joined" by mutual agr eement on the part
of those involved, in harmony with the word of the
Lord (Acts 9:26-28). It is a ver y active relationship
involving grave responsibilities, which, in the final
analysis, are accounted for on an individual basis by
those making up its member ship.
I n this sense, while the organization exists all
the time, not ever y act of the individuals is an act
of the organization as such. In this sense it is some-
what comparable to civic clubs, e.g., Lions, Kiwanis,
Parent Teachers Association, etc. T he organization
NOTE: During the construction of our new audi- functions through the framework of its organiza-
torium and the remodeling of our former building, tional structur e when its member s jointly partici-
my study was in an almost continual state of con- pate in something that has been duly author ized by
fusion. For a few weeks it was in storage, and hence, it. It also functions through one or more of its mem-
in disuse altogether. During this period some ques- bers who being duly authorized by the organization
tions for this column were misplaced and lost. Will act in behalf of the whole.
those who sent questions of late please submit them One of the functions of the local church is to as-
again? I am now in position to give such prompt semble or "come together into one place" (I Cor.
attention. — M. E. P. 11:20; Acts 14:27; 20:7; Heb. 10:25). T hat the
local church does exist before, between, and after
QUESTION: Is there a local congregation when assemblies, i.e., coming together into one place, is
the members, after worship per iods, depart to their evident from the language used in Acts 14:27:
houses and while they go about their daily duties? "And when they were come, and had gathered the
I know we belong to the chur ch univer sal all the chur ch together, they r ehear sed all that God had
time, with privileges to pray or sing praises to God, done with them, and how he had opened the door of
but does the church, locally, exist between worship faith unto the Gentiles." It was the chur ch before
or assembly time? — S. P. it was gathered together, while it was being gath-
ANSWER: T he answer to the above questions er ed, and after it had been gather ed together. It
is to be found in a study of the word "church," the was the local church all the time.
differ ent senses in which it is used, and what the T he word "church" is also used to identify an as-
Bible teaches concerning each. sembly of saints or an assembly of the local chur ch
T he word "church" is from the Greek word "E k- ( I Cor. 11:18; 14:28,34). In this sense the local
klesia," which according to scholar s means "the church churches, i.e., the local assembly assembles
called out; an assembly." — those "called out" and assembled together in a
I n New T estament times it did not necessarily spir itual and local sense assemble or come together
have religious significance. It was used to identify into one place. Furthermore, in this sense it is proper
assemblies of men as well as assemblies of God's to say what would otherwise not be true, namely,
people. It is twice applied to the mob in E phesus, "Saints go to chur ch." T hey go to the assembly
once to the proconsular court, and once to the people which is called "church" in the above Scriptures.
in the wilder ness (Acts 19:32,39,41; 7:38). T he Sometimes brethr en ar bitrarily limit the use of the
context must determine whether reference is made word church and thereby over look other scr iptural
to a church of men or a church of the Lord. uses and concepts.
T he word "church" is used in the Bible to identify
the Lord's people in different senses. It will suffice
to answer the above questions to examine three of
these uses in this article.
It is used in the univer sal sense (Matt. 16:18;
E ph. 1:22) . I n this sense it includes all the saved
of all the earth. It is a spir itual r elationship. It is
not joined, but rather the Lord adds to it daily such
as should be saved (Acts 2:47). He controls its
fellowship, and does so accurately. It has no earthly
organization. It has no earthly structure or arrange-
ment by which it can function, and, consequently,
has no mission. It is a passive, spir itual relationship
in which its member s r eceive and enjoy blessings
and privileges.
T he word "chur ch" is also used in the local sense
(I Cor. 1:2). In this sense we find a tangible arrange-
ment or organizational structure (Phil. 1:1) by
Page 8 __________________________________________________________________________________________________

the Bible as far as it being the r evelation of God's

will to man is concer ned. T he Bible, when under-
stood as to what it actually is and why it truly ex-
ists, will not be relegated to a charm or a means of
divination. T he Bible, in contrast to the uses made
of it, as illustrated in the for egoing examples, has
a lofty and divine pur pose and ignor ant, car eless,
and flagrant mishandlings of it only serve to cheapen
it and impair its good influence.
What is the Bible? When we speak of the Bible
in its true and strictest sense, we do not mean a
mer e volume of printed pages, a liter al book; but
we mean its contents, its teaching, God's revelation
to man. Comprised of sixty-six books, man's redemp-
tion is its theme, and like a golden thr ead it runs
E ven the ver y slightest observation of the above from Genesis through Revelation. It is the word of
question upon the part of one who believes that the God (John 8:32; 17:17; Ps. 19:7; 119:105; II T im.
Bible is the word of God would prompt him to an- 3:16,17; Heb. 4:12, etc.). We believe that it is verb-
swer in the affirmative. Yet, many who sincerely ally inspired, that not only did the Holy Spir it reveal
believe that they need the Bible indicate by what the thoughts to the wr iters but the ver y words. (See
they believe and teach that they r eally do not Matt. 10:19 and II Pet. 1:21.) Paul wrote to the
need it. chur ch at Corinth: "Which things also we speak,
While ther e ar e some who believe that the Bible not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but
is essential to their understanding of what God re- which the Spir it teacheth; combining spir itual things
quir es of them in order to go to heaven, there are with spir itual words" ( I Cor. 2:13). T he Bible is
many other s who appar ently recognize their need God's final and complete revelation to man (Jude 3);
of the Bible for other reasons. T here are some who therefore, it should be read, properly divided, and
feel mor e secure simply because they have a copy obeyed.
of "the old book" around, and that by doing so. they (To be continued)
have better touch with what is sacred and holy. T o 12528 E . Alaska P lace
such people the Bible is a special book, a precious Aurora, Colorado 80010
bound volume of pages which affords special powers
by its ver y pr esence, and so actually it is a fetish.
In some parts of Scotland the sick were fanned with
the leaves of the Bible, and a Bible was placed under
the head of a woman after child birth and into the
cradle of new-born children (McClintock and Strong,
Cyclopedia of Biblical. T heological, and Ecclesiasti-
cal L iter ature, Vol. 1, p. 810). A copy of the Bible
also serves as a convenient file for others who place
their objects of devotion in it for safe keeping.
Various usages are made of the Bible, revealing a
conglomeration of ideas as to what it is and why it
exists. Divination by means of the Bible, known as
Bibliomancy, taking passages of scr ipture at hazard
and drawing futur e things from them is an old
established practice. A few examples of Bibliomancy
are inter esting. "I n former times, among the com-
mon people in E ngland and Scotland, the Bible was
consulted on New Year's day with special formality, Fathers who will not provide for their own have,
each member of the house, before he had partaken denied the faith and are worse than infidels accord-
of food, walking to it, and placing his finger at ran- ing to I T im. 5:8. Young women are encouraged to
dom on a ver se — that verse declaring his fortune marry, bear children, guide the house, and give no
for the next twelve months. T he Bible, with a six- occasion to the adver sar y to speak r eproachfully
pence inserted into the book of Ruth, was placed ( I T im. 5:14). If par ents wer e taught to love their
under the pillows of young people, to give them children as they should there would be fewer needy
dr eams of matrimonial divination. A Bible and a children. A great number (in fact nearly all) of the
key were sometimes employed to detect a thief. A childr en in orphan homes have par ents — at least
suspected witch was taken to church, and weighed one par ent. Par ents should take car e of their own
against the gr eat chur ch Bible. If she outweighed even if it is difficult. A mother should be the best
the Bible she was acquitted, but if the Bible out- matron under the sun for her children. L et us begin
weighed her, she was condemned" (McClintock and up the scale for the sake of the childr en who now
Strong, Vol. 1, p. 810). live and for the sake of those yet unborn. We can all
Certainly the Bible was never intended to ser ve agree that this is good and teaching helps. Let aged
as a charm or a means of divination, but if such con- women teach younger women to love their childr en,
ceptions be the truth, then there is no r eal need for to be discreet, sober and chaste as suggested in T itus
 Page 9

2:3.4. What one sermon does not accomplish, a thou- yourselves know, that these hands have minister ed
sand sermons might. More teaching needs to be done unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.
on the home. I have showed you all things, how that so laboring
Children should be taught to take care of their ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the
widowed mother s. I Tim. 5:4 says, "If any widow words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more
have childr en or nephews, let them shew piety at blessed to give than to receive." We need to mem-
home, and to requite their parents: for this is good orize this! Paul showed each Chr istian that it is r ight
and acceptable before God." Verse 16 of the same for one to provide for the weak. He taught the mes-
chapter says, "If any man or woman that believeth sage of the Lord that the giver is blessed above the
have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the receiver. We receive a hundred fold here and eternal
chur ch be charged; that it may r elieve them that life in the world to come if we comply with the Lord's
are widows indeed." We should first work on the will. It is the Master's will that a man find an honor-
home in this matter of benevolence. Here is where able occupation and earn in order to give to him that
piety begins. Here is the point of special responsi- hath need. Can any doubt it? "To do good and to
bility according to the Lord's plan. T he chur ch is communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God
the pillar and ground of the truth. It has responsi- is well pleased" (Heb. 13:16). You want to please
bilities in the field of benevolence, but it should not God, do you not? Her e is scr iptur al advice on how
be assigned tasks that belong to one group of par- to do it.
ents or to another group of children. Work under "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of
the hood if the knock is in the motor! Start teaching daily food, and one of you say unto them, depart in
home r esponsibilities, if that is wher e the trouble peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye
lies. give not those things which are needful to the body;
Where shall we go next? We need to go to the what doth it profit? E ven so faith, if it hath not
neighbor's house. What can he do? What should he works, is dead, being alone" ( James 2:14- 16). He
do? To find the answer to practical questions like did not say, "T ell it to the chur ch." He taught that
this we should turn to the Bible. "Let him that stole you should give to that brother or sister yourself or
steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with be classed as being as unprofitable as faith without
his hands the thing which is good, that he may have works. If the church gave, it would have to get its
to give to him that needeth" ( E ph. 4:28). What is money out of your pocket or from some other indi-
the well man to do? He is to work to provide for vidual.
himself and for his family, and to have to give to I John 3:17-19 says, "Whoso hath this world's
him that needeth. T he more this is done the less goods, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth
pressure there will be on the church to give. Some up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth
might like to take this out of the Bible because they the love of God in him ? My little children, let us not
like the package plan. T hey would like to drop a bill love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in
in the collection basket on Sunday and feel no truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth
further r esponsibility. T hey say that they have and shall assure our hearts before him." It is as evi-
nothing left after they give to the church what they dent as can be that the man who would keep himself
think they should give. unspotted from the world and have pure and unde-
T hey hur r y to add that they want the chur ch to filed r eligion must himself visit the father less and
get the glor y! Where does the Bible say the church the widows in their afflictions. T his will cost him
should get the glory ? T he Lord should get the glory! money, but that is one reason for his ear ning. T he
If the individual Chr istian does his work, the Lord Lord will bless. T he good Samaritan ministered with
receives the glor y. "Let your light so shine before his own hands and paid the bill from his own pocket.
men, that they may see your good works, and glorify Any plan that makes it so a congregation of one
your Father which is in heaven" ( Matt. 5:16). Is hundred fifty members can give $15 a month (100
this not clear ? "T ake heed that ye do not your alms per member) to some heavily endowed society and
before men, to be seen of them . . . but when thou leave all feeling relieved of any personal responsi-
doest alms let not thy left hand know what thy r ight bility toward those of their acquaintance who may
hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secr et, and be in need is an unhappy and unscr iptural plan.
thy Father which seeth in secr et himself shall r e-
ward thee openly" (Matt. 6:1-4). T he more blessed
r ewar d is to the giver. It would be easy to find a
dozen places that teach this plainly in our New Tes-
tament. E ach is to do his own benevolent work, ac-
cording to the Lord, and the Lord watches and re-
wards. T he same chapter that talks about secr et
alms says "L ay not up for yourselves treasures upon
earth . . . but lay up for yourselves treasures in hea-
ven ... for where your treasur e is ther e will your
heart be also" ( Matt. 6:19- 21) . How may I put
treasures up there? I s it not by giving unselfishly
rather than by laying up for self? E ach is to lay up
his own treasures. T he Lord keeps individual records.
In Acts 20:33-35 we find this statement, "I have
coveted no man's silver or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye
Page 10

church. If they were elders the only benevolent work

they would be responsible to oversee would be in
their local congregation (See Acts 11:27-30; I Pet.
5:1- 2). It is in dir ect violation of the scr iptur es for
a group of elders to try to oversee a brotherhood
benevolent program. T his is where brother Lemmons
missed the boat. He was correct in condemning the
board but wrong in justifying a brotherhood elder-
ship to oversee general benevolence. T his was not
done in Bible times.
Now, gentle reader, if you will forgive the use of
names let us note the agreements between brethren
Nichols, Lemmons and Hogland. First, we all agree
that the orphan home has a r ight to exist as a hu-
manitar ian institution. T her e is not disagr eement
"NO DEAD ISSUE — No. 3" here. I am not talking about abuses. Second, we agree
T his is the third and last in a ser ies on the above that an individual could give to such an institution
title. T he first, dealt with an article by brother Gus just as he could give to a hospital or the cancer fund.
Nichols in the Boles Home News. The second was on Permit me to make it clear that the individual could
the position espoused by brother Ruel Lemmons and not give if the institution takes money from church
appeared in the Firm Foundation. T he prominence treasur ies!
of the men involved and the r ecent dates on the Now let us consider the disagreements. Brother
articles show they do not consider this a dead issue. Nichols believes that a church may give to a home
It has never been my pur pose to feed br ethren a with a board of directors. Brethren Lemmons and
steady diet on any one subject. However, I believe Hogland object. Brother Lemmons objects simply
when we are goaded into complacency in regard to because the home is under a board and not under
this subject the devil will once again gain the ad- elders. Hogland objects not only because of the board
vantage. and what they are doing but because they are trying
In this third series I plan to point out the difference to do a brotherhood benevolence work. He objects
between br ethren Nichols and L emmons in r egar d also because they are trying to care for people who
to the orphan home question. T hese brethren are are not saints or Chr istians. I n summar y, all thr ee
supposedly on the same side of this issue but it will brethren agree that individuals could support Boles
become appar ent they ar e as far apart as the two Home if they would divorce it from the church. It
poles. Brother Nichols takes the position that would then be a humanitar ian institution like the
"homes" under a board of directors may take money Red Cross or cancer fund. Brother L emons thinks
from the treasur y of churches. On the other hand, the board should be ousted and a local eldership put
brother Lemmons takes the position that "homes" in its place. T his might be a little closer to the truth
under boards have no scriptural r ight to take money but that LOCAL E L DE RSHIP is out of its place
from church treasur ies. It is apparent that both of when it over sees any more than the work of the
these men cannot be r ight. T he odd thing about this LOCAL congregation. T aking care of children from
is that these br ethren will sleep with one another all over the country who are not saints is not the
but won't sleep with me. Now, don't mis-understand function of the local church. People on the outside
me, "I ain't hanker ing to sleep with either ! " But ar e to be car ed for by individuals (See Jas 1:27,
these brethren exchange pulpits and act as if no Gal. 6:10). If it be argued that the individual cannot
difference exists and yet one can read their articles take care of all the widows and orphans of the world
and see a great chasm between Nichols and Lem- — may I say neither can the chur ch. I will go one
mons. step further and say neither can the United States
Government! Does this make it scr iptural for the
Brother Nichols takes the old Guy N. Wood po- church to do it? Nay verily. Gentle reader, we need
sition that the board is in existence only because of scr ipture and not emotionalism for all we do. T hink
the demands of the state. It is a legal matter. What it over.
brother Nichols and his colleagues need to lear n is
that Bible students have never objected to what the
men are called but rather to what they are DOING.
You can call them boards or bees and the violation
is the same. If this is the benevolent work of the
church it is to be done under local elders where the
benevolence is needed. However, if it is not the work
of the chur ch they have no business giving to it in
the first place! I don't object to a group of men being
called a board. I object to any group of men usurping
the function of the elders. You can call them any-
thing you want. E ven if the men over Boles Home
were not members of a board it would still be un-
scr iptur al because they ar e not elder s in a local
 Page 11

ples that I feel are clearly evident in the above

scr iptures. For the benefit of such individuals, I feel
it might be helpful for us to consider a few facts
from the scientific point of view. For instance, it has
been established that:
T he heartbeat of the unborn fetus begins between
the 18th to 25th day.1
T he question of abortion is a ver y live issue in E lectrocardiogram recordings can be taken at
both the religious and the political realm in modern nine or ten weeks.2
Amer ica. T his problem must be dealt with upon E lectric br ain waves ( electroencephalogr am)
certain eternal principles. Most Christians will have have been recorded as early as 43 days.3
little difficulty coming to gr ips with this issue, if Actual skeletal movements of the unbor n baby
they free themselves to study the problem objec- begin at six weeks. T4he mother cannot feel them,
tively. however , at that time.
BIBLE PRINCIPLES ARE INVOLVED
At nine to ten weeks he squints, swallows, moves
his tongue, and if you stroke his palm will make a
T her e ar e at least two Bible pr inciples involved tight fist. At eleven to5 twelve weeks, he is sucking
in the abor t ion question, (1) ther e is life befor e his thumb vigorously.
birth and (2) that life is human. L et us examine By eleven to twelve weeks, he is breathing fluid
Luke 1:36- 44. Note particular ly verse 36, "T his is steadily and continues so until birth. At birth, he
the sixth month with her ;" ver se 41, "T he babe will br eathe air. He does not drown by br eathing
leaped in her womb," and verse 44, "The babe leaped fluid within his mother, because he obtains his oxy-
in my womb." T here are two indications in this pas- gen from his umbilical cord. T his does, however,
sage of scripture that there is human life in the un- develop the organs of respiration. His stomach se-
bor n infant, (1) he leaped (movements indicates cretes gastric juice by eight weeks. Finger nails are
life) and (2) he was called a "babe" (Greek, bre- present by eleven to twelve weeks; eyelashes by six-
phos). T he Greek word, brephos is used in the N.T. teen. All his body systems ar e pr esent by eight
to identify a human infant, either bor n or unborn. weeks, and are all working by eleven weeks. E lec-
See also Luke 2:12, 16; 18:15; Acts 7:19; II T im. trical waves at six weeks indicate brain function by
3:15; I Pet. 2:2.) Luke, qualified both by profession that time.6
(Col. 4:14) and by inspiration used this same word In fact, there is ever y indication that there is full
to describe the infants put to death in ancient E gypt human life in the infant befor e birth. With these
under the command of Pharaoh, "they cast out their facts in mind, let us see what effect abortion has on
young children (Gr. brephos) to the end that they this life.
might not live" (Acts 7:10). If the par ents of John FOUR BASIC TYPES OF ABORTION
the baptizer had secur ed the services of an abor-
tionist dur ing the sixth month of E lizabeth's preg- T here are four basic types or methods of induced
nancy they would have been doing the same thing abortion, (1) dilatation and cur ettage (D&C), (2)
that was done by Pharaoh recorded in E xodus the suction method, ( 3) hyster ectomy and (4) the
l:15ff; they would have been casting out their saline solution method.
"babe" (Gr. brephos) to the end that he "might not In D&C the baby is cut into pieces while still in
live." the uterus and scr aped out into a basin.
T he fact that the un- bor n infant has life is not In the suction method a hollow plastic tube at-
to be disputed in the face of his movements in the tached to a powerful suction appar atus is used to
womb. And a Bible-believer could not afford to doubt tear the baby to pieces and suck the pieces into a
that wher e ther e is life ther e is a spir it, "For the bottle. "Most careful abortionists won't use these
body without the spirit is dead" (James 2:26). Cer- methods (D&C, suction) after the twelfth week."7
tainly a fetus may die at birth (or befor e) but as
long as he is alive, the human spir it is within him, T he hysterectomy is like a Caesar ian section. T he
for without the spir it, his little body would be life- mother's abdomen is surgically opened and the baby
less. is lifted out. "This method is used after the 14th to
In view of the natural laws that God set in order 15th week of development. . . One hundred percent
"in the beginning" (see Gen. 1) that all of God's of all babies aborted by hysterectomy are born alive.
creatures produce "after their kind" it could hardly T hey must either be then killed or left to die from
be denied that the spir it in the un- born infant is a lack of attention. One baby in New York that was
human spir it. He has a human father and a human 'aborted' in this manner refused to die and has been
mother; he could be nothing but human himself. All adopted. (U.P.I., Dec. 19, 1970)... One surgeon in
he needs to become a useful member of society is our area who used this method removed a tiny baby
nutr ition, oxygen and time. who breathed, tried to cry, and was moving his arms
Other passages of scripture in which these same and legs — so he threw the placenta on top of the
indications of life before birth include Genesis 25:22 baby and smother ed him."8
and 38:28-30. "If a baby is bor n alive, as in hyster ectomy, then
dies, he or she may be used as a full deduction on the
SOME SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE parent's federal income tax."9
Some with whom I have discussed the abortion T he saline method involves the use of a large
question have been slow to acknowledge the princi- needle which is inserted through the abdominal wall
Page 12

of the mother and into the infant's amniotic sac. A tion (emp. crj) and is continuous whether intro- or
concentrated salt solution is injected into the amni- extra-uterine, until death. T he ver y considerable
otic fluid; the baby swallows it, is poisoned, and gymnastics which are required to rationalize abor-
usually dies within about an hour. About a day later tion as anything but taking a human life would be
the mother goes into labor and delivers a dead baby. ludicrous if they were not often put forward under
T his method cannot be used much before10 the 16th socially impeccable auspices."
week, but can be used any time thereafter. It is time for Chr istians to lift their voices in
ABORTION HAS COST MORE AMERICAN this matter and use their influence to restore sanity
LIVES THAN WAR to the laws of the land concer ning the sanctity of
human life, both befor e and after birth.
According to Dr. Paul Marx, a sociologist at St.
John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, the FOOT NOTES:
liber alizing of abortion laws in r ecent year s has 1 James M. Tanner, et al., Growth (Life Science L i br ar y,
T ime-Life Books, p. 64
cost more Amer ican lives in one11year than the toll of 2 Ibid.
all the wars in American history. 3 J. W. Still, J. Washington Academy of Science, "Vol. 59,
Dr. Heather Morris, Canadian obstetrician and 1969, p. 46
4 Hooker, Davenport, The Prenatal Origin of Behavior,
gynecologist, speaking in Ontar io, Canada voiced Univ. of Kansas Press, 1952
the view that any countr y accepting abortion has 5 A. Helleger s, M.D., Fetal Development, 31, Theological
descended into an abyss of cruelty and can no longer Studies 3, 7, 1970, pg. 26
be called civilized. "A civilized society is judged on 6 Life Before Birth, Life Magazine r eprint, pg. 13
7 Dr. and Mr s. J. C. Willke, Handbook on Abortion, Hiltz
how it takes care of those who can't take care of Pub. Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, 1972, page 26
themselves," the doctor stated on the campus of 8 Ibid., pg. 27
McMaster University. Dr. Morris further stated, 9 Ibid., pg. 29
"Abor t ion is a situation in which life is killed. 10 Ibid., pg. 27
11 (EP) dateline, Seattle. Inquir er, June 1972, pg. 14
Human life starts at conception. A complete, unique 12 Christian Cr usade Weekly, May 21, 1972, pg. 6
human being is the result."12 13 Vatican Radio via Inquir er , June 1972, pg. 14
In the Federal Republic of Germany ever y year ---------------- o ---------------
there are from 100,000 to 500,000 interruptions of
pregnancy, mostly illegal. More than 100,000 human
lives were suppressed last year in E ngland through Herschel E. Patton, 4605 Dyshel Dr. S.W., Hunts-
abortions. Some 3,000 abortions were performed on ville, Ala., 35805 — I have been living in Huntsville,
foreign women in Great Britain.13 Ala., working with the Jordan Park church since the
WHERE WILL IT ALL END? first of August. Raymond Har ville followed me at
Mt. Pleasant, Tenn. He has been well received and I
Many informed individuals see permissive abor- am sure he will do a fine work with the Locust St.
tion laws as the first step toward a society in which church there. T he work at Jordan Park in Huntsville
euthanasia (mercy- killings) will be socially and is thr illing and challenging. T here have been three
legally acceptable. baptisms, three restorations, and three to place
Attempts to justify abortion often employ argu- membership since my coming. Please announce in
ments that the aborted babies would have been un- Searching the Scriptures that my tract on "T he
wanted, battered children, perhaps deformed or de- Seriousness of Marriage" is now back in print and I
ranged, and eventually candidates for the welfare have a good supply on hand. T hey sell for 100 each
rolls. It is reasoned that they should be put to death or $10.00 per hundred.
for their own benefit, and for the convenience of
society.
W. E. Bowers, 519 Cedar Rock, Pickens, South
T he next step, after abortion has become so- Carolina, 29671 — A congregation of the Lord's peo-
cially acceptable, might well be to systematically ple is now meeting in Pickens, South Carolina. T hree
"put to sleep" the aged, the infirm, the mental pa- families presently make up the membership of the
tient, the deformed and diseased,... then the un- Pickens church which meets in a rented building at
skilled, and who-knows-who might be next. 123 E. Main Street, Pickens. T his is the only church
An editorial in the September, 1970 issue of the meeting near Clemson Univer sity that stands firm
official journal of the California Medical Association for the truth of God's word. T he chur ch would like
stated, "Since the old ethic has not yet been fully to hear from students who may be attending Clem-
displaced it has been necessar y to separate the idea son or plan to in the near future. James Hahn of
of abortion from the idea of killing, which continues Scottsville, Kentucky was with the church for meet-
to be socially abhorrent. T he result has been a cur i- ings in July and October of this year. The Pickens
ous avoidance of the scientific fact, which everyone church is interested in finding a man to move into
really knows, that human life begins with concep- this area to labor with them in preaching the gospel.
Partial support could be provided. If interested write
the Pickens church of Christ, P.O. Box 626, Pickens,
South Carolina 29671; or phone (803) 878-4203.

DEBATE
J. T. Smith and James Ivy will debate on the sub-
ject of predestination and election. T he dates are
December 11, 12, 14, 15. T his debate will take place
at the meeting house of the Northeast chur ch of
Chr ist in Conway, Arkansas.

NEW RELIGIOUS JOURNAL

A new religious semi- monthly per iodical to be
called The Bible Standard. The editors will be Kent
E llis and R. L. (Bob) Craig. This paper will be pub-
lished twice each month, containing not fewer than
12 pages per issue. To begin the first of November.
Subscr iption pr ice: $3.00 per year, $5.00 for two
year s, $10.00 for five year s. One year subscr iption
or extension free to anyone sending in ten subscrip-
tions. All subscr iptions and articles should be sent
to Kent Ellis, 3807 Woodmere, Br yan, T exas 77801.
Arnold A. Granke, Jr., OSI District 12, APO San
Francisco 96274 — I am currently assigned at Clark
Air Base, Republic of the Philippines, and worship Rizal province. T hese br ethr en need clothing and
with the church in adjacent Angeles City. Brother food. Many lost their crops, and due to similar dam-
Castorio F. Gamit, the regular preacher, and I have age throughout the general ar ea, the pr ice of food
been attempting to gather information concerning has become considerably higher than usual, causing
the welfar e of faithful br ethren during the recent them an extreme burden. We have not heard from
flood. Our information is still incomplete, but inso- any brethren in Pangasinan and T ar lac provinces
far as we know, none suffered any ser ious injur y. which were also heavily flooded. Damage here at
Some have been rendered needy, however. We know Angeles City was relatively light. Any churches or
of about 20 souls in nearby Macabebe, Pampanga, brethren desir ing to send relief to Chr istians in the
about 75 in the vicinity of Subic, Zambales, and ap- affected areas may wr ite me for the names of breth-
proximately 100 scattered about in small towns in ren to whom they should addr ess it.
 instead of one, two order s of worship instead of
one, utterly unauthorized imager y, rival priesthoods
and competitive feasts. And one of Jeroboam's es-
tablishments was in Bethel, a scant twelve miles
from Jerusalem, a brazen declaration of the division
and disregar d for true wor ship. For a man to ac-
complish so much, even for the wrong, requir es
ability and an insight into the wants and weak-
nesses of a people. T he arguments of Jeroboam
r eflect his possession of this insight.
1. He appealed to comfort, convenience and self-
indulgence: "It is too much for you to go up to
Jerusalem" (I Kings 12:28). Jerusalem was indeed
a long way away for those who had no problem of
pollution from automobile exhaust. It was a trip
JEROBOAM'S ARGUMENTS FOR INNOVATIONS that consumed consider able time and expense. No
doubt many of the less zealous wer e glad to hear
Psychiatrists tell us that most people who are de- a man of Jeroboam's prominence and per sonal vi-
ceived wanted to be deceived. At least they had their talit y and for ce say it was 'too much' to expect.
minds set to try to believe a certain type of message. He understands. And who would be so narrow-
T his is the tremendous advantage the medical quack minded as to say that God would condemn worship
has with the ser iously or incurably ill — they want in Dan but accept it in Jerusalem?
to believe him. T he false teacher enjoys exactly the 2. He appealed to their sense of piety and wor -
same advantage when he says what is pleasant and ship: "Behold they gods, O I sr ael, which brought
desir able to his hearer s. T hese pur veyor s of false thee up out of the land of Egypt" (12:28). Do not
hope are not without ability and usually exercise under estimate Jeroboam's clever ness by charging
themselves to develop a smooth, reasonable and him her e with trying to tell Jews that Jehovah is
credible presentation. But the real element of de- not God. T his would likely have so offended a point
ception is not ordinar ily so much the ability to of fact and faith so basic that it would have been
intellectually confuse as it is the ability to under- near ly impossible to believe. But the people did
stand and pander to peoples' wants and weaknesses. delight in having a tangible repr esentation of deity.
T his is the key to successful religious innovation, Perhaps it was patterned somewhat after the cher u-
ancient and modern. bim, as some suggest, which would have augur ed
Jeroboam's arguments in leading I sr ael into well for Jeroboam in appealing to the people to iden-
tragic apostasy is a vivid case in point. Notwith- tify God with his calves and to seek him ther ein.
standing his position as king, his success is aston-
ishing in bringing about a dr astic and popular 3. He appealed to pride: T he Israelites had already
change in the religious devotions of a nation in a bolted from Judah in a huff upon hear ing the r ash
single gener ation. His own appointed places stood words of Rehoboam. They had rebelled, saying
as rivals with Jerusalem as seats of worship (Deut. "What portion have we in David? neither have we
12:14; I Kings 12:28,29), and the people have three inher itance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O
holy places instead of one. He instituted his own Israel" (I Kings 12:16). Yes, Judah offers us
distinctive features, such as images and non-Leviti- nothing! Let's go home! Jeroboam offered them holy
cal priests (I Kings 12:28, 31). He changed the dates places in their homeland! Israel is as good as Judah.
of the feast days according as "he had devised of Dan and Bethel ar e as satisfactory as Jerusalem.
his own heart" (Lev. 23:34, 39; I Kings 12:33). So Sectional pr ide can run strong.
instead of religious loyalty and unity among the 4. He appealed to nostalgic and precious memories
people, we have a deep division: three holy places by the ver y selections of Dan and Bethel as holy
Page 2

places, and Shechem as capital. Aside from its con-

venience to the people in the north, Dan would be
associated with the worship of God through the
teraphim covered with silver (Jud. 18:15-31). Jero-
boam devised a calf of gold. Bethel was strongly
associated with Jacob and Samuel and thus was
tender in their sentimentalities histor ically, and be-
came the site of a pretentious temple. Shechem
r ecalls the days of Abraham, and was a pr iestly
city. T hese ar e "our " cities.
5. He implied that all is well: it is simply the
old worship for those who have no portion in Judah
and no desir e to support her establishments. It was
a r eligious r evolution, but it is doubtful that most
of the people r eally knew it. What he said, they
liked, and wanted to believe, and did believe. De-
ceived, and in error, all the while thinking all is
well and we serve God!
All successful innovations mor e or less possess
the same ties to popular taste, convenience, pr ide,
apparent reasonableness and innocence, and piety.
Howbeit all were not deceived. Some stubbornly
resisted the innovations, preferring God's authority
for man's "just as good as ..." T hough to all ap-
pearances and for his purposes Jeroboam succeeded,
he never had the author ity or approval of God,
and his apparent success not only led Israel to its
downfall but wrested the kingdom from Jeroboam
and destroyed his poster ity from off the face of
the earth. And still some say, "You can't argue with
success." You'd better argue with it, my fr iend, and
go all the way back to Jerusalem.
 Page 3

make one free. If you really want to be free, obey

the word of truth and the Son will make you free
indeed.
Freedom is a great blessing, but it car r ies a great
responsibility. Absolute freedom without regard for
the obligations of that freedom is not possible in
our society. T his kind of "freedom" would allow
one to kill any per son he wanted to kill. He could
take another 's property without payment because
he had this "freedom."
All genuine freedom is subject to two conditions.
It must consider from what one is made free and to
what he is made free.
To be made free from sin does not allow us to do
"I WANT TO BE FREE" anything we please. If we have been made free from
sin by obeying the truth, we cannot continue to live
Freedom is one of the most univer sal and cher- in sin ( Rom. 6:18, 22).
ished desires of the human race. Like love, freedom By the "law of the Spir it of life in Chr ist Jesus"
has been misunderstood, misused and abused so that we have been made free from the law of sin and
many who think they are free are really deep in death (Rom. 8:2) and enjoy the "glor ious liberty
bondage. Some who have enjoyed freedom have lost of the children of God" (Rom. 8:21). It is in obedi-
it because they did not properly use it. ence of the law of liberty that we ar e made free
T he political slogan all over the wor ld is "free- (James 1:25) and by the law of liberty that we be
dom" and peace. T he chief repr esentatives from judged (James 2:12). Consequently we must "stand
most nations of the world assemble in the chambers fast in the liberty wher ewith Chr ist hath made us
of the United Nations, each with a political philoso- free, and not be entangled again with the yoke of
phy guaranteeing freedom to those who accept it. bondage" (Gal. 5:1) .
But freedom does not mean the same to all. The T he Holy Spir it said, "For, brethren, we have
Communist speaks of freedom as the pressure upon been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an
people to abandon all political ideology and embrace occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another"
Communism. T he dictator identifies freedom as the (Gal. 5:13). Some would spy out our liberty which
opportunity to obey his ever y demand without ques- we have in Chr ist in order to bring us unto bondage
tion. T he wild, r ebellious demonstrators in the (Gal. 2:4).
streets and public buildings identify freedom as T he freedom of which I speak — the freedom
their permission to engage in the destruction, bur n- that is gr anted by the Son in obeying the truth —
ing, looting, and injur ing of innocent people, all for has two characteristics by which it may always be
the purpose of defying properly constructed author- identified.
ity and getting public attention. T hey call this their Fir st, it frees from the consequences of sin, the
"civil r ights." bondage of the law, and the hopelessness in death.
T he angr y and r ebellious youth of this decade We should no longer practice sin ( Rom. 6). We
who have no parental care or control think of free- should not retur n to live under the bondage of the
dom as the license to disrobe and insult the self- law of Moses (Gal. 2:4, 5; 4:1- 11; 5:1- 4). We ar e
respecting public by emphasizing nudity, the un- free because of the hope in death (Heb. 2:14, 15) .
ashamedly practice illicit sex and incredible orgies, Second, the freedom from sin makes us bond ser-
drunkenness and drug addiction. Why? because they vants of Chr ist. We have been r edeemed by his
have "freedom" to do with their lives what they blood ( E ph. 1:7), we have been bought with a price
want to do. T o these unloved, untaught, undisci- (I Cor. 6:19, 20; I Peter 1:18. 19). T his kind of
plined drop-outs of society, fr eedom means their ser vant is r eally fr ee under t he law of liber t y
r ight to sink lower than brute beasts in thought, ( James 1:25). T hose who disr egard this law of
speech and action. liberty become unfaithful ser vants and are brought
T here are as many movements and organizations back into bondage (II Peter 2:19- 22) .
promising and promoting "freedom" as there are I want to be free in the only real sense of the
groups of people, minorities, or majorities. T he black word: separated from sin and a faithful servant of
people want freedom; the white people want free- Chr ist to obey his will and not that of man. I must
dom; the women want freedom; youth wants free- please Chr ist to be his servant (Gal. 1:10).
dom; the employer s want freedom; the labor er
wants freedom. E ver ybody wants freedom, but
hardly anyone knows what it really means and how
to use it.
Jesus said, "And ye shall know the truth, and
the truth shall make you free" ( John 8:32). "If the
Son ther efore shall make you free, ye shall be free
indeed" ( John 8:36). T hese two statements from
the word of God confine genuine freedom to one
source and one agency. It is the Son of God who
makes one r eally fr ee, and the word of God (truth
— John 17:17) is the only agency that will r eally
Page 4 __________________________________________________________________________________________________

QUESTION: How can church discipline, as taught

in I Cor. 5 and I I T hess. 3:6 be justified in the light
of our Lord's teaching I n the parable of the tar es
(Matt. 13:24-30) ? He said for the good and bad to
remain together until the end of the world. — A.M.
ANSWER: Any time verses of Scripture appear
to contradict, one may be assured that the contra-
diction is not in the Scr iptures, but rather in his
own mind. He simply does not understand the truth
concerning one or both passages under study. When
he does come to an understanding of truth concern-
ing both passages, harmony will always be apparent.
When Jesus explained the meaning of this parable
(verses 34-43) he pointed out carefully the applica-
tion to be made of it and what each thing r epre-
sented. E ver ything, then, must be understood in the
light of His explanation.
T here is nothing in our Lord's explanation to in-
dicate church action of any kind — discipline or
otherwise. T he concer ned ones (the ser vants of
verse 27) are the angels of ver se 39, who are ex-
plained further to be the r eaper s who gather the
har vest at the end of the wor ld. T hey are the ones
who ar e told not to separ ate the tar es from the
wheat, i.e., right now, but wait until the end of the
wor ld. T hey wer e to "let both grow together until
the har vest."
Jesus further explains that the field in which both
the good seed and the tares are found growing to-
gether is the wor ld — not the chur ch ( ver se 38),
and that the good seed are children of God and the
tares are childr en of the devil. T he obvious lesson
is that Chr istians must live "in the midst of a
crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine
as lights in the world" (Phil. 2:15), not being taken
out of the wor ld, but keeping themselves from it
(John 17:15). Paul also wrote in recognition of this
situation when dealing with the ver y matter of
chur ch discipline ( I Cor. 5:10). If the angels wer e
to destroy or gather out of the wor ld all evil men
r ight now. it would result in severe and detrimental
consequences to the welfare of the saints and the
benevolent design of God in behalf of His children.
Hence, children of God and children of the devil are
to remain in the wor ld together until the end of
time.
T he expr ession "gather out of his kingdom" in
ver se 41 cannot mean that the tar es ar e gather ed
out of a spir itual relationship once sustained in His
kingdom, but r ather it must be under stood in the
___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Page 5

light of its context and the above explanation.

Furthermore, a study of the Greek preposition "ek,"
which is t r anslated "out of" in this particular
phrase, confirms this, and brings to light truth that
harmonizes this phrase wonderfully with all else in
the parable.
Scholar s show that the Greek "ek" may be trans-
lated "out of," "from the midst of," or "from."
T her efore, the phrase "gather out of his kingdom"
must mean, in the light of its context, that His
angels will gather the tares not "out of" His king-
dom ( a spir itual r elationship), but "from the midst
of" His children (those who make up His kingdom)
among whom they are permitted to dwell until the
end of the world. T hus, the word "kingdom" in this
instance is used to identify not a spir itual relation- "I NEEDED MIRACLES . . . NOW !"
ship, but rather the children of God among whom
the tar es have been scattered and ar e permitted to On a recent visit to the campus of Oral Roberts
grow until the harvest. Both the tares and the wheat University in T ulsa, I was given a package of lit-
are gathered out of the field which is the world. But er ature. I n a little book called "Daily Blessing"
also, the tares ar e gathered "from the midst of" the which is described as "a guide to seed-faith living,"
wheat. Hence, the gathering of ver se 41 refer s not there is an article by Pat Boone entitled "I Needed
to the removing of some from a spir itual r elation- Mir acles... NOW!"
ship, but to the separ ating of the good and the bad I shall give the article in its entirety, then offer
at the har vest time. T his separation demands gath- some comments which I trust will be inter esting
er ing the tares from among the childr en who make and informative. T he article follows:
up the kingdom, both of which have grown together "I 've always been a faithful chur chgoer. But I
dur ing their time in the wor ld. went through some really tough per iods in spite of
the fact that I was regularly attending' chur ch. My
Consider the following: whole life was disintegrating. People didn't know
"41. Out of his kingdom (ek tes basileias autou). about it, but my marriage had just about dissipated.
Out from the midst of the kingdom, because in ever y Shir ley and I really felt we didn't love each other
city the good and the baa ar e scatter ed and mixed anymore. T his was only four years ago. My four
together. Cf __ in 13:49 "from the midst of the daughter s, who wer e coming into teen- age year s,
r ighteous." What this means is that, just as the had alr eady seen thr ee or four Pat Boones. T hey
wheat and the darnel are mixed together in the field wer en't sur e which one was r eally their daddy —
till the separation at har vest, so the evil ar e mixed the Pat Boone on TV, the Pat Boone at church, or
with the good in the wor ld (the field). Jesus does the Pat Boone they saw at home. When they needed
not mean to say that these "stumblingblocks" (ta the strong guidance of their father, I realized I had
skandala) ar e actually in the Kingdom of heaven lost a lot of their r espect for me. I n addition, I felt
and really members of the Kingdom. They are simply my car eer and business life had lost its meaning.
mixed in the field with the wheat and God leaves I NEEDED MIRACLES!!
them in the world till the separation comes. T heir
destiny is "the fur nace of fire" ... (Word Pictures "I 'd always been taught that mir acles don't hap-
in the New T estament by A. T . Robertson, Vol., pen anymor e. Fr ankly, I used to listen to people
p. 110) talk about miracles ( including Oral Roberts) and I
thought they wer e deluded. But here I was needing
"T he pr eposition ek (or ex) which fr equently a mir acle in my life TODAY... NOW! So I began
signifies 'out of or 'from the midst of,' has a var iety to cry out to God, Lord, if there is a way to put my
of meanings, among which is 'from,' as virtually marriage back together, to br ing my family back
equivalent to apo, away from, e.g., II Cor. 1:10, together, and to put my career back together, please
'who delivered us out of so great a death, and will do it!
deliver;' since death was not actually exper ienced, "I knew it would take some miracles ... and mir-
but was impending, ek here does not signify 'out of acles happened. But they didn't 'just happen.' T hey
the midst of.' I n Acts 12:7 it is used in the state- came only as I committed my life to Jesus again,
ment 'his chains fell off from his hands.' I n Matt. and I came to know Him not only as my Savior but
17:9 it is used of descending from a mountain, not as LORD of my life. T here is such a big difference
'out of;' 'We ar e not to suppose that they had been at this point. As I came to know Jesus as Lord
in a cave' (Dr. A. T. Robertson, Gram, of the Greek through the Holy Spir it dwelling in me, my life
N.T .)." (An E xpositor y Dictionar y of New T esta- changed. And God put my marriage back together.
ment Words By W. E . Vine) Shir ley and I love each other now mor e than we
T he above scholarly notes help further to confirm ever thought we could. And I have four bright-eyed
the conclusions reached in this article. Hence, what teen-aged girls who love their daddy and who know
Jesus taught in this par able and what is taught he is just one guy all the time. And, boy! T hose are
elsewhere in the word of the Lord concerning church miracles!
discipline is harmonious. "I believe strongly in the church. But I've learned
that after I've gone to church I still haven't won
the battle. T he most important thing in life for me
Page 6

is being a Christian — having not only my own per- sever al television programs.
sonal r elationship with Jesus but also having a daily Those who think that they must rely upon mir-
avenue of communication with God through the acles and miraculous r evelation today, deny the
Holy Spirit. T his new under standing has brought power and purpose of the written account of true
miracles into my life!! " miracles ( John 20:30,31), the promise of Christ to
What Pat her e states is a condensed ver sion of the apostles ( John 16:13), and the completeness of
the message in his book "A New Song." After read- the Spirit's wor k.
ing his book, I r eached the following conclusions:
L ike so many other s, Pat was "r aised in the chur ch"
and mor e or less inherited his r eligion and "convic-
tions." Consequently, ther e was much truth that he
never knew or under stood from a per sonal stand-
point. T hen it is obvious that he did not practice
much of the tr uth which he knew. He made the
mistake of going to Hollywood and becoming asso-
ciated with the worldly people of the movie, tele- Webster 's third definition of "pontifical" r eads
vision and entertainment industry. T his led him thusly, "having the pomp, dignity or dogmatism of
further from the tr uth, his r esponsibilities to his a pontiff: often used to imply arrogance or haughti-
family, and his financial obligations. Under such ness." Such a spirit doubtless ruled Diotr ephes, and
deteriorating cir cumstances, and with still enough those it rules it ruins. God war ns against the ponti-
r emembr ance of truth and right to desire a better fical spirit in words that manif est his scor n and con-
way, he convinced himself that it would take a tempt f or it. In like manner does the word of the
miracle to corr ect his troubled life. About that time, L ord show God's gr ace and f avor toward the meek,
he became associated with some misguided religious quiet, and condescending hear t ( Rom. 12:3, 16).
fanatics who convinced him that mir acles wer e pos- A pontifical attitude may be both audible and
sible and had influenced his life. visible. T he Phar i see of Luke 18:9- 14 is an ex-
But did he need mir acles? Wer e mir acles per - ample, but we must exer cise car e in our judgments.
formed in his life? I think not. E v ery cor r ection Har sh and censorious surmisings ar e as sinful as
and improvement in his life came as a r esult of his arrogance and haughtiness. Men of God have been
obedience to truth which had alr eady been r evealed labeled and libeled as being possessed and ob-
by the Holy Spirit. sessed with a domineering demeanor. Occasionally,
T ake a look at his problems and needs: (1) He the charges ar e founded on false standar d s.
needed to BE a Christian, r ather than simply "going
to chur ch." (2) He needed to love his wife and di- THE PONTIFICAL SPIRIT IS NOT FOUND
rect his children. ( 3) He needed to be honest and 1. Just because one cites false doctrine: T he
successful in his car eer and business life. (4) He epistles of the apostles ar e permeated with citations
needed a r eal, meaningful, daily r elationship with of false teacher s and their teachings. Hymanaeus
the Lord and an avenue of communication with God. and Philetus' doctrine, which said "that the r esur -
I maintain that he could have had all of these with- rection is past alr eady," was revealed, r ebuked, and
out a single miracle, and if he now has them, they r epudiated. I n I Cor. 15:12 Paul asked, "Now if
came as a r esult of obedience to the r evealed will Christ be pr eached that he rose from the dead, how
of God. Instead of f ur nishing mir aculous guidance say some among you that ther e is no resurrection
and r evelation today, the Holy Spirit h as al r eady from the dead?" Was Paul a proud, prating pontiff
guided us into all truth (John 16:13) which may because he named an er r or ? No, a man should not
be lear n ed from the scriptures which fur nish the be unjustly charged with having a pontifical spirit
man of God "unto all good works" (II Tim. 3:16,17). because he cites a particular er r o r .
Her e ar e the scriptures (listed to corr espond to 2. Just because one fights false doctrine: Some
his four needs) which offer the guidance and in- will admit that a certain doctrine is f alse. They will
fluence which he needed: ( 1) James 1:27; T itus cite it, but they will not fight it, and they brand
2:11,12: Rom. 12:1,2:1 Peter 4:14-16. (2) E phesians anyone who will as a dogmatic dictator. A man may
5:25. 28; 6:4. (3) Matt. 6:33; E ph. 4:28; Rom. be arrogant and haughty, but he is not so simply
12:17. (4) I Cor . 2:10- 13; I John 1:7; Gal. 5:16; because he is willing to negate a f alse position or
Rom. 8:11- 14; I John 2:1- 6. pr actice. I s a man to be consider ed suspect by r ea-
We must conclude, ther ef o r e, that Pat did not son of the f act that he is "set for the def ence of
need nor r eceive miracles. He, like all of us, needed the gospel?" I s a man to be castigated because he
only to be guided by that message which was mir- is willing to "earnestly contend f or the f aith?" I s a
aculously revealed by the Holy Spirit — the New man to be likened unto a pompous pontiff because
T estament. I n spite of his unsupported claims, there he is instant and urgent in season and out of season
ar e at least three r easons why we must deny that to repr ove, r ebuke, and exhor t ?
he has received any mir aculous guidance or indwell- CONCLUSION: Ther e is no def ense or excuse to
ing of the Holy Spirit: (1) The Spirit has r evealed be given for those who exalt themselves. T her e is
all truth and guides us through the written word nothing more repulsive or r epugnant than the "look
( John 16:13; Acts 1:8; 2:4; E ph. 3:1- 5). (2) The at me — I know it all" attitude. But let us not allow
Spirit would not lead one to compromise the truth our sympathy for er r or or our friendship f or its
and associate with denominational er r or (Gal. 1:7-9; proclaimer s lead us to an unf air, uncharitable, and
II John 9- 11). (3) The Spirit would not lead one to sinful condemnation of one who is standing on the
look, act or speak as I h ave obser v ed in Pat on firing line wher e we ought to be.
 Page 7

that only the ceremonial part of the L aw of Moses

was abrogated. But to my surprise instead of show-
ing this, he merely showed that some commands are
MORAL and some CEREMONIAL. There is no con-
troversy over this. I would agree that some of God's
laws are Moral and other ceremonial. He said, "T here
is a definite distinction, positive and powerful, be-
tween the cer emonial laws and the mor al laws of
God's Book." To this I would agree but this is not
what he claims the Bible teaches. We need the scrip-
ture which says the ceremonial laws (such as offer-
ing animal sacrifices) have all been done away but
the Moral ones have not. In this he dismally failed.
One can r ead his book and see that NO scr iptur e
was given to prove his assertion. Webster says moral
means, "Relating to, dealing with or capable of mak-
"THE SABBATISMOS" ing the distinction between right and wrong in con-
In Hebrews 4:9, the writer says, "T here remaineth duct." Certainly no one would argue with Mr. Thur-
therefore a rest to the people of God." In the margin mon that some of the commands of God ar e mor al
of some bibles the word rest is render ed "Keeping in natur e. Mr. Webster also tells us that "Cere-
of a sabbath." Because of this many Sabbatar ians monial" means "An established system of r ites or
formal actions connected with an occasion as a re-
insist that the old testament sabbath should be ob- ligious r itual." Certainly no one would argue that
served today. T his word "rest" from "Sabbatismos" some of the commands of God fall into this category.
is used only one time in the New T estament. T he Just because Mr. T hurmon found these two types
word "Sabbaton" is used in Mark 2:27 and other of commands proves nothing. One might as well
places in the New T estament when the Old T esta- argue that we are to have animal sacrifices in the
ment sabbath is mentioned. T he words are basically church because one can read about "bulls and goats"
the same except for one big factor and that is one is in Heb. 9:13. We still need the scripture which says
NEUTER gender and the other is MASCUL I NE . the ceremonial was nailed to the cross but the moral
Both words are singular nouns, third person, nom- r emains. T his he will not find!
inative case and used as the subject of sentences. On page ten of his booklet Mr. Thurmon says,
It must be remember ed that the word sabbath al- "God is the author of all things written in His Book,
ways comes from "Sabbaton" and not "Sabbatis- the Bible. All laws concerning both moral actions
mos." T he "Rest" of Heb. 4:9, refers to the eternal and ceremonial obser vances or iginated in the mind
rest which all chr istians anticipate and not the sab- of God, and holy men of God spoke as they were
bath of the Jews. moved by the Holy Spir it. At different places it is
It has been my obser vation through the year s stated that God gave the 'law of Moses;' some scrip-
that most Sabbatar ians are ver y aggressive in the tures, such as II Chronicles 34:14, teach that Moses
doctrine they have espoused. A few of them will sign gave the 'law of the Lord.' T her e is certainly no
propositions for public debate. It is also amusing conflict her e; neither is ther e any suggestion that
that many of their preachers claim they were former all the ordinances of the Old T estament were in-
member s of the chur ch of Chr ist. When I met Burt cluded in the one term 'T he law.' T here is a definite
F. Marrs in debate he boasted publicly that he had distinction, positive and powerful, between the cere-
been a member of the church. He also asserted that monial laws and the moral laws of God's book."
his father before him and possibly his grandfather It is r ather strange that Mr. T hurmon would ad-
were all members of the church. I had no way of mit so much in one par agr aph. He fully admitted
confirming or denying his allegation. However, I did that the terms "law of Moses" and "L aw of the
point out that in the history of the chur ch many Lord" are used interchangeably. T his is some ad-
had left the one body. I called his attention to Paul's mission for a Sabbatar ian. He tr ied to soften the
statement about Demas, "Demas hath forsaken me, impact by saying ALL ordinances were not included
having loved this present world" (II Tim. 4:10). I in the term "the law" but gave no proof for his
insisted that Demas, like Mr. Marrs, had left the denial, (more to follow)
church; but unlike him we have no record of his
br agging about his departure!
Another Sabbatar ian preacher who claims he was
a former member of the church is Roy B. T hurmon.
Mr. Thurmon put out a little book called, "T he sab-
bath today" in which he also makes the claim of
being a former member of the church. In his intro-
duction he tells of attending Fr eed-Hardeman col-
lege and other r elated matter s. His little booklet
was published largely as a reply to Brother A. G.
Hobb's tract on the sabbath. It is not my purpose to
enter into the discussion of these men but r ather
to take up the arguments of Mr. Thurmon in regard
to the sabbath.
In the first chapter Mr. Thurmon attempts to show
Page 8

is a direct oper ation of the Holy Spir it upon his

heart. Again, this theor y is the antithesis of what
the Bible teaches; namely, that men ar e not born
sinner s, but rather, those responsible become sin-
ner s when they violate God's law ( I John 3:4). Sin
is the transgression of the law and infants have not
violated any law; therefore, they are not bor n sin-
ners. When man becomes a sinner because he sins,
he is saved by obeying the gospel which is God's
r emedy for sin ( see Rom. 1:16; 6:17; Acts 2:38
etc.). If we ar e to be convinced, however, that one
is bor n a sinner and that he is so dead in sin that
he cannot act, and that he is nothing mor e than a
passive recipient in salvation — only a checker in
We now consider the question, "Do We Really God's hand to be moved by God's impulses, then why
Need the Bible?", from another point of view other have the Bible which teaches man how to act? T here
than those whose notions and superstitions convey would be no need for the Bible.
that they do not even know what the Bible truly is, T he above are but a few of the doctrines of men
and therefore improperly use it, as we have pointed which have been considered, but obviously if these
out in our previous article. Let us examine this ques- doctr ines be true, ther e would be no need for the
tion now from the standpoint of those who acknowl- Bible and our answer to the question at the head
edge that the Bible is the word of God, but who of this document would have to be in the negative.
demonstrate by their doctrines ( if they be true), On the other hand, .if definite things ar e true, then
that they do not r eally need the Bible. we do really need the Bible. Please note that if the
One of the doctrines, Univer salism, is a system following conditions be true, then we do really need
which avows "the final harmony of all souls with the Bible: (1) if we desire to know God's will (Matt.
God" (Statement of Faith, 1899). T he belief that all 28:19,20; E ph. 5:17), (2) if we expect to have faith
men will ultimately be saved is diametrically op- ( Rom 10:17) , (3) if we ar e to please God (Heb.
posed to the teaching of the Bible at every turn (see 11:6), (4) if we are to come into relationship with
Matt. 7:13.14; Heb. 5:8,9 etc.). One thing can be God (Rom. 5:1; Acts 17:30,31; Rom. 10:10; Mark
deduced: if such a doctrine is true, there is no need 16:16; Acts 2:38; Gal. 3:27; II Cor. 5:17, etc.), (5)
of the Bible. If we ar e to be convinced that all will if we ar e to become a part of God's family (E ph.
be saved anyway, then why have the Bible? 5:23), and (6) if we eventually go to heaven (Matt.
Predestination, another of these doctrines, is the 7:13,14). T he Bible r eveals two ways: the way of
theory that "God, from all eternity, did, by the most life and the way of death. Salvation is obtained
wise and holy counsel of his own fr ee will, freely through Chr ist and His chur ch and this truth is
and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass" revealed in the Bible, the word of God.
(Presbyter ian Confession of Faith, ch. 3, sec. 1). It We have viewed our question, "Do We Really Need
is known as the doctr ine of unconditional election the Bible ?" circumspectly; and in spite of what peo-
and is stated in the cr eed: "By the decr ee of God, ple think of the Bible, r egardless of how they may
for the manifestation of his glor y, some men and use it, and in disregard of all man-devised doctrines
angels ar e predestined unto ever lasting life, and which contradict it, we really do need .the Bible. We
other s fore-or dained to ever lasting death. T hese need to respect its teaching, obey it, and live by it
angels and men thus predestined and fore-ordained, in order that we may someday live with God eter-
ar e particular ly and unchangeably designed, and nally in heaven.
their number is so certain and definite that it can- 12528 E . Alaska Place
not be either increased or diminished ..." (Ibid, Aurora, Colorado 80010
ch. 3, sees. 3,4.5). T his doctrine, too, is a contradic-
tion of the Bible which teaches that all mentally
capable and morally responsible men may come to
God for salvation (Matt. 11:28-30; II Pet. 3:9; Rev.
22:17 etc.). This much can be concluded: if God
chooses or elects to save some and predestines others
to be lost unconditionally, man's destiny is already
settled and there is no need of the Bible.
Another of these doctrines is total depravity, the
Calvinistic view that as a result of Adam and E ve's
sin in the garden of E den, "all mankind are now
sinner s not by constraint but choice; being by na-
ture utterly void of that holiness r equir ed by the
law of God, positively inclined to evil; and therefore
under just condemnation, without excuse" ( T he
Standard Manual For Baptist Churches, E dward T.
Hiscox, p. 60). It is believed that man is born a sin-
ner, and being dead in sin, he cannot act until ther e
 __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Page 9

A place to come together (I Cor. 11:18-20) is

necessar y and revealed but not specified. Whatever
provisions the chur ch makes for such a place in-
her es in the r evelation to "come together."
INDIVIDUALLY APPLIED REVELATION
T here are also matters revealed by God that what-
ever the New Testament teaches about them, they
find their application with the individual before God.
Some such matters have affected the peace of some
local chur ch. Such ought not so to be.
Such questions as (1) the cover ing of I Cor. II.
(2) Should a Chr istian engage in car nal war ? (3)
Should a Chr istian attend ball games? (4) What
about a Chr istian going to a movie? (5) Is a cer -
MAY WE WORSHIP TOGETHER tain posture in prayer required? (6) Should a Chris-
tian enforce capital punishment? (7) How many
While Chr istians meet to worship God, ther e is childr en should an elder have? (8) The style of
a need always to check our attitude toward those dr ess within modesty and many mor e must be
with whom we worship. T here are some questions settled in the light of New T estament teaching.
that should be consider ed and my attitude toward However, what the New T estament teaches about
them and others in order to worship God properly. these and other such related matters will find their
NO REVELATION application with the individual Chr istian. You may
believe one thing on each of these questions and I
T her e ar e some matters that we do not have any believe another and each r espect each other and
r evelation on from God. What kind of a bush was work and worship in the same congr egation. Some
the bur ning bush? ( E x. 3:1- 5) Why was it Nico- of these questions could also come under considera-
demus came to Jesus by night? (John 3:1-2) What tion for our wives. Each of them could believe dif-
was Paul's thorn in the flesh ? (II Cor. 12:7) T hese ferent things and yet sit together and worship God.
questions and others the Bible does not answer. What one pr acticed would not affect the wor ship
T her efore, I have no attitude about them. of another befor e God.
REVELATION I have worked with br ethren in meetings that
held different views from mine on the above ques-
T hen ther e ar e matter s that God has r evealed, tions. Preacher s have worked with congregations
in fact in some instances even in specific language. where I have preached who did not agree with my
God specified "gopher wood" for the ark (Gen. views on the above matter s. If brethren could all
6:14). Faith before baptism is specified (Mark have the attitude of being under standing of each
16:16). A plur ality of elders in ever y chur ch is other and not push their understanding of such
specified (Acts 14:23). Singing is the kind of music matter s, both they and the chur ch would be better
God has specified in the worship of the church (Eph. off.
5:19; Col. 3:16). Men have no choice to obey God May you worship with me ? Will I push my under-
but accept such specific instructions. To these most standing of such questions to the point that you
brethren would agr ee. can not wor ship and work with me? Not if I am
REVELATION NOT SPECIFIED
making an effort to keep the "unity of the spirit"
( E ph. 4:1- 3). May I worship with you? Will you
T her e ar e matter s that God has r evealed but push your under standing of such matter s to the
which He did not specify. Whatever is involved in point that I can not wor ship and work with you?
obeying God in these matters inheres in the very On such matters a difference of understanding
command of God. T he Lord's Day (Acts 20:7) is the doesn't divide people into different groups. It is the
day specified, but the time on the Lord's Day to pushing of such matters in order to get to "agree"
eat the Lord's Supper is not revealed specifically. that divides. "Hast thou faith? have it to thyself
T he time of day is author ized since the time inher es before God" (Rom. 14:22).
in the day.
T eaching is authorized of God (Matt. 28:18-20; I
T hess. 1:8), but while we have r evelation we have
no specific means or methods the church must use.
T he chur ch has r evelation that it is to relieve
certain needy ( I T im. 5:8; Acts 6, 11:27- 30) , but BOUND VOLUME
since the New T estament has not specified any
method or means that the chur ch must use in do- SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES
ing this, we understand that whatever means the TWO YEARS
church uses inhere in the revelation to relieve. We 1966 - 1967
have r evelation that the local church is the organ-
ization specified (Acts 6) to do the work and gospel Bound in beautiful Fabricord covering, navy blue, printed in gold.
A companion volume to previously bound volumes of Searching
preachers have contended for that specific organiza- The Scriptures.
tion doing its work. However, no gospel preacher to
my knowledge has ever bound any specific means $7.50
or method upon the chur ch.
Page 10

record cards. All in perfect condition functionally

A NEW PUBLICATION and appearance-wise. Original cost was $149.50 plus
shipping. Will sell for $110.00 and pay the postage
We are happy to announce the beginning of a new myself. This is a good opportunity to pick up a
semi-monthly periodical called The Bible Standard. piece of good equipment many of you have probably
T he owner and publisher will be Kent E llis and the been wanting.
editor s will be Kent E llis and R. L . (Bob) Cr aig.
T he Printer will be Bob Cr aig. This new paper will Don Martin, Route 1, Box 251, Pineland, T exas —
be published twice each month and will contain no Since the last progress r eport in July of 1971, we
fewer than 12 pages per issue. It is to begin Novem- have enjoyed, I believe, good, sound growth. In the
ber 1,1972. T he subscription price per year is $3.00, past four years, the time that I have been working
$5.00 for two years, $10.00 for five years. One year with the church and therefore personally know about
subscr iption or extension free to anyone sending in what she is doing, the Pineland chur ch has had
ten subscr iptions. All subscr iptions should be sent one hundred percent increase in the contribution and
to Kent Ellis, 3807 Woodmere, Br yan, T exas 77801. other improvements in pr actically ever y phase of
the work. T he culmination of much work and plan-
Charles D. Lindsey, 553 Riverside Dr... Ormond ning was recently realized in the building of a nice
Beach, Fla. 32074 — We need a full time worker house for the pr eacher located next door to the
within the next six months, or sooner if possible. church building. T his house was badly needed and
We are small in number and the only congregation will be an asset to the chur ch her e. I have men-
in a metropolitan area of 100,000 that takes a firm tioned the progress of the church in Pineland not
stand against the support of any and all human in- trying to put a feather in my own cap but to com-
stitutions from the church treasur y. We can assume mend the chur ch for their good works and to let
most, if not all, of the financial support for the r ight others know of her existence. When thinking about
man. If inter ested in a challenging work contact r etirement or moving into the Sam Raybur n or
me at the above address or call 677- 1825. Toledo Bend area, worship with the Pineland church
of Chr ist.
Arnold A. Granke, Jr., OSI District 42, APO San
Francisco 96274 — For your information, I am cur-
rently assigned at Clark Air Base, Republic of the PREACHER WANTED
Philippines, and worship with the church in adjacent
Angeles City. Brother Castorio F. Gamit, the regular D. B. Coakley, for Greensburg church, Greens-
preacher, and I have been attempting to gather in- burg, Ky. — T he church of Chr ist meeting on Court
formation concer ning the welfar e of faithful br eth- Street in Greensburg, Kentucky is seeking a gospel
ren residing in the areas of Luzon which were heavi- preacher to work with them full time. We are in-
ily damaged dur ing the recent flood. Our information terested in a man of about middle age, sound in the
is still incomplete, but insofar as we know, none suf- faith, who will preach with truth in love without
fer ed any ser ious injur y. Some have been render ed respect of persons. We are working together towards
needy, however. We know of about 20 souls in nearby converting the lost to Chr ist and strengthening the
Macabebe, Pampanga, about 75 in the vicinity of saved. We need a man to work and build with us on
Subic, Z ambales, and approximately 100 scattered Chr ist the only foundation. If inter ested, wr ite or
about in small towns in Rizal province. T hese breth- call collect: D. B. Coakley, 123 Public Square,
ren need clothing and food. Many lost their crops, Greensburg, Ky. 42743; phone: (502) 932-4857 or
and due to similar damage throughout the gener al 932-4488.
ar ea, the pr ice of food has become consider ably
higher than usual., causing them an extreme burden. PREACHER WANTED
We have not heard from any br ethren in Panga-
siaan and T arlac provinces which were also heavily Curry Lynch, 1330 Milton, Las Cruces, N. M.
flooded. Damage here at Angeles City was relatively 88001 — T he church of Chr ist, 1325 Panlener St.,
light. Any chur ches of brethren desir ing to send Las Cruces, New Mexico is a self supporting congre-
relief to Chr istians in the affected ar eas may wr ite gation and would like to contact a preacher of the
me for the names of brethren to whom they should gospel. I n inter ested, please contact: P. R. Smith,
addr ess it. 325 Capr i Arc, L as Cruces, N. M. 88001; phone:
(505) 526-9734.
Ralph Joiner, P.O. Box 387, Clermont, Fla. 32711
— For sale: Jule Miller's "Visualized Bible Study L. L. Applegate, General Delivery, Okeechobee,
Series" Home Bible Study equipment. Complete cot- Fla. 33472 — I began work for our Master in Okee-
tage meeting package including the "Graflex 500" chobee, Fla. on October 15, 1972, and would like to
projector with slide changer, 5 film-strips (1969 re- thank my br ethr en for helping me with their pray-
vision) , 5 records, 30" x 40" screen, several sets of er s, support and bulletins. Please pr int the follow-
student manuals and close to 100 enrollment and ing as our liberal brother Young has made it public:
 Page 11

The Okeechobee News, Thursday, June 29, 1972 FAMILY PROBLEMS SERIES
A CLARIFICATION I am now in process of scheduling my series on
"Solving Family Problems" for 1973. At the end of
E ditor: 1972 I will have delivered this series 85 times, most
of which have been on week ends. I now have ap-
We would like to clarify an ad that appear ed in proximately one- half of the week ends scattered
your paper recently concerning the Church of Chr ist through 1973 booked, and I will be glad to visit any
that meets in the Woman's Club. T he Okeechobee congr egation as soon as I can get to it when dates
Chur ch of Chr ist that meets at 1401 Parrott Ave. are not alr eady r equested. Sever al brethren across
does not endorse or support this work. T he group the country have spoken to me about coming sooner
began because the church here supports widows and or later for the series. Many of these were oral con-
orphans out of the church treasury. We believe the tacts with scheduling left indefinite. In several of
Bible teaches us that we should car e for widows these cases I do not even remember the persons who
and orphans out of the church treasur y. We stand made contact since it was not official. I will appre-
upon the Bible and invite your questions at any time. ciate a contact at the earliest possible date from
Yours truly, any of the chur ches anticipating the ser ies in 1973.
William H. Young, Minister Out of all the times this particular ser ies has been
Okeechobee Church of Christ offered, about 35 of the churches have set all-time'
1401 Parrott Ave. attendance records sometime during the period. T his
is explained not by the particular ability of the
pr eacher but by the fact that I am talking about
I have answered our brother Young in the paper matters where all of us live ever y day. I thank God
that will come out next week and will send a copy for the physical strength to carry on the r igorous
to any one who may r equest it. schedule I have pur sued for the last sever al year s.
I suspect that I will have traveled well over 100,000
miles this year, much of which has been on week
THE CHURCH AT OROVILLE, CALIFORNIA ends in addition to my r egular duties at Florida
College.
John Wilson Again, if ther e ar e those anticipating this ser ies
T he church which meets at 12th and Plumas in in 1973, I need to hear from you in the immediate
Oroville had its beginning with three families in the future.
fall of 1962. In February 1963, brother Charles L im- James R. Cope
berg began with them as full time preacher, being Florida College
supported by Southern California churches. He re- T emple T errace, Flor ida 33617
mained with them five year s dur ing which time
many were added to the number, lots were paid for NEW CHURCH IN VALDOSTA, GEORGIA
and a commodious building was erected by the
brethren themselves. Brother Jack Adams has been T he North Valdosta Church of Chr ist was estab-
preaching for the brethren there since Brother L im- lished in July 1972 with about 35 people present for
berg left and has done an excellent job. the first worship service. For the first few weeks,
services were held in var ious homes of the members.
Due to the fact that industry is scar ce in this We are pr esently r enting a large house at 104 E ast
area, the work has fluctuated and has not as yet be- Force Street, Valdosta, Georgia. Our first Gospel
come self-supporting, but are able to supply a good meeting was held in October with Pete McKee doing
amount of the pr eacher 's support. Their building the preaching. Bro. McKee is presently working for
will be paid for in a few months and they will then the Lord in Pensacola, Fla. Another meeting was
be able to do more toward carrying their own load. conducted in December by Hollis Creel, formerly of
I will begin work with the Oroville church Novem- Valdosta, and now with the church in Paragould,
ber 1st, other churches supplying my needed sup- Arkansas. We are presently in search of a preacher
port. My hope is to be able to reach out into other to work with us and to further the cause of New
counties in Northern California where there is no T estament Chr istianity in a predominantly liber al
church. community. We would appreciate any assistance in
Oroville nestles against the lower bosom of the this matter, your encour agement and your prayer s,
Sier r a Nevadas in North Central Califor nia where on behalf of this work. For further information,
the mountains level out into the fertile plains of the please r efer to the Dir ector y in this publication.
Sacramento Valley. Oroville is about 65 miles north
of Sacramento and 150 miles northeast of San Fran- Mike Dubose, 1144 Chickasaw, Paris, T ennessee
cisco. It is the site of the highest earth- filled dam 38242 — After two years of working with the Ken-
in the United States where Lake Oroville fur nishes tucky Lake Road Church of Chr ist in Buchannan,
167 miles of beautiful shoreline. T he vast wilderness Tenn., my family and I will be moving to work with
of the Sierra mountains, r iver s, lakes and streams the Shacklett church out from Nashville, Tenn., the
fur nish ever ything in water- mountain r ecr eation. faithful brethren here in 1973. Only partial support
For those who look for a retirement paradise, here it is available. Anyone interested in this work may
is with a chance to work and wor ship... WHE RE contact: Kentucky L ake Road chur ch of Chr ist,
YOU ARE NEEDED. Route 1, Buchannan, T enn. 38222 or call J. R. Gean
1154 Plumas Oroville, (901) 642-2910.
Calif. 95965
Page 12 __________________________________________________________________________________________________

APECHO, "I HAVE"

PREDESTINATION AND ELECTION
By the time you r ead this article, the Lord will- During His earthly ministry Jesus sever ely r e-
ing, I will have completed a four night discussion buked the r eligious leaders of His day for their
with Mr. James I vy on the following proposition: hypocr isy. He usually addr esses these people as
"T he S cr iptures teach that, before the foundation "scr ibes and Pharisees;" however, I doubt that
of the world, God elected or chose a definite number Jesus meant to condemn ever y scr ibe and ever y
of people and ordained them to eter nal life; that Phar isee.
their salvation is unconditional and, therefore, cer- In a part of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus simply
tain through the death of Chr ist, who died for them refers to these people as "the hypocrites." In Matt.
and only them." In issues to come, I want to explore 6:2, 5, 16 Jesus says that these people "have their
this doctr ine, what men teach concer ning the mat- reward." T he word that is translated "have" is from
ter , and what the Bible teaches — or at least what the Greek apecho. In contemporary Greek this term
I believe the Bible teaches on the subject. was commonly used to describe a note that had been
I n this article, I want to set forth what I under - "paid in full." Jesus was probably saying that the
stand to be the basics of this doctr ine. It is com- hypocr ites had been "paid in full;" that is, they
monly referred to as the doctrine of "Calvinism" were seeking the praises of men; they had received
because Calvin was one of the fir st to set forth the the praises of men; and that was all they would re-
idea and to tr y to defend it as scr iptural. It would ceive. T hey were "paid in full;" there would be no
be foolish, indeed, for me to say that the Bible does further r eward in the eternal world after this life.
not teach the doctrine of Predestination; for it A RELIGION OF HAVING
does, in fact, teach such a doctrine. However, the
Biblical position on predestination and election and In one sense, Chr istianity is a religion of having.
Calvin's position ar e as far apart as the north and In John 5:24 Jesus says that the true believer "has"
south poles. ever lasting life. In I John 1:7 we lear n that by walk-
T her e are five major teachings set forth in Cal- ing in the light we may "have" fellowship with God.
vin's doctr ine on pr edestination. Actually they can In II John 9 we ar e taught that by walking in the
be remember ed by recalling the letters of a ver y doctr ine of Chr ist we may "have" both God and
familiar word T-U- L-I -P. T he thoughts expr essed Chr ist. Many other illustrations of "having" could
by the letters of this word ar e: (1) Total depravity; be given.
(2) Unconditional election; (3) Limited atonement; BUT NOT IN FULL
( 4 ) I r r esistible gr ace; (5) Per sever ance of the
saints. T hese ideas are clearly set forth in the above As it has been obser ved, Chr istians ar e taught
proposition. T he difference, in a nutshell, of those that they "have" many things in this life in Chr ist.
who believe in Bible election and Calvin's brand of But the gr eat hope of the Chr istian is that he may
election is simply: Does God choose all who shall "have" in the complete and full sense a continuity
believe? or, does He choose his elect, and will they, of life after the death of the body.
as such, believe? In other words, is belief the result I n other words, the faithful Chr istian does not
of God's election, or is God's election the results of "have in full" her e and now. He has eter nal lif e
man's faith or belief? I believe the Bible teaches with God to look forward to. On the other hand,
the latter instead of the former. the "hypocr ites" that Jesus descr ibed were "paid in
In lessons to come, we will discuss what we mean full;" that is, they had no further r eward to hope
by the word "predestination" and also we will dis- to receive from God.
cuss individually the five points of Calvinism. WHY DO WE WORSHIP?
Undoubtedly, many motives stimulate "worship."
It is simply a matter of fact that if our "worship"
SEND A CLUB TODAY ! is prompted by ulter ior motives (the pleasing of
husband or wife; the seeking of social acceptance,
Three for $12.00 per year etc.) we ar e certainly going to be "paid in full" in
this life. T he rewards of those ulter ior motives ar e
the only rewards we shall r eceive.
 RADIO EDITORIAL ON ABORTION our state and "a number of smaller cities." If you
want an abortion, they'll r efer you to a New Yor k
(Following is a KDXI Radio E ditorial as broad- clinic.
cast on 12-6-72, 1360 KC, Mansfield, Louisiana, Anthropologists are now studying an Afr ican tribe
Bennett Strange, General Manager. We publish called the Ikys. T hey have no love at all. Children
it here to underscore the need for factual infor- are put out at three year s of age to fend for them-
mation on this subject — E ditor.) selves. If they try to return to their par ents, the
We are disturbed by the seeming acceptance of par ents will lock them up, leave and r eturn when
abortion as an answer to what is termed "unwanted the child has star ved. T he elderly ar e killed off as
pregnancies" — a term we're not too sure is a correct soon as they become too weak to defend themselves.
one. If we continue with our liberal attitude toward
It is our opinion that an abortion for anything abortions, we'r e just one step away from the I kys
except clear clinical reasons where the mother's life and that step is to terminate life for any convenient
is in eminent danger is homicide. reason. We'd have terms like "unwanted aged," "un-
We could go into a long list of reasons why we are wanted teens" and "unwanted spouses." You might
opposed to abortions. If you want a good, short have an organization formed to refer you to some
defence of our stand, we'd refer you to an item on Chicago gangster for the deed.
this in the November, 1972 issue of Searching the In br ief, we don't buy the concept of abortion for
Scriptures. T here Clarence Johnson of Springhill less than critical clinical reasons. We find such an
presents a good br ief on this topic. organization as the "Louisiana Clergy Consultation
T he r eason for this editor ial at this time is the Service on Problem Pregnancies" to be an affront to
fact that we have just become aware of a group in us and we hope that it has a short- lived career.
this state to which we have no sympathy at all. It's
called the "Louisiana Clergy Consultation Service HAVE YOU CHECKED YOUR EXPIRATION DATE?
on Problem Pregnancies." We don't know who these RENEW TODAY
clergymen ar e but the liter ature claims that they
have 40 clergy staff per sons in ever y major city of