Watchman Magazine

It is never proper to quote men, however holy and informed they may be, as authority in religion. We have however, in the church today, a new generation, many of whom are unfamiliar with the battles waged in the past against digression and the tendencies that developed into it. They appear to be blind to any dangers, and like Galileo of old, “care for none of these things.” Some, who by reason of age and experience, ought to know better, appear to be in this class. Some voices from the past are significant, in view of some problems the church faces today. Enthusiasts, hot-heads and the generally forward, are making and putting plans into operation that make it necessary to fight over again the battles of the past. The lessons of the past are forgotten and history repeats itself.

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The Gospel Guardian, Vol. 1, #40 ~ February 16, 1950

The New Testament teaches that the church promised in Matthew 16:18 was established on the first Jewish Pentecost after Christ’s ascension, as recorded in Acts 2. That institution is “the pillar and ground of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:14, 15.) Paul says, “Unto him be the glory in the church.” (Ephesians 3:21.) The New Testament reveals that the church is the only institution for executing Christ’s program. It also reveals that during the lifetime of the apostles no organization larger or smaller than the congregation was ever used for that purpose. Though congregations “cooperated” by sending money to support evangelists in different places, as well as in relieving distress, even then there can be found not one trace of any organization tying the churches together, over the churches, separate and apart from the churches, directing either the churches or their work. Nor is there any record of any congregation sending money to any organization except another congregation, as in Acts 11:27-30.

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The Gospel Guardian, Vol. 1, #36 ~ January 19, 1950
 The Work of EvangelizingAll men and women have come under the sentence of spiritual death because of the guilt of sin. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe. (Romans 1:16, 17.) The church is the agency by which the gospel is to be preached; it is the pillar and ground of the truth. (1 Timothy 3:15.) These solemn facts should set the heart of every Christian on fire to teach the truth. Christian individuals are under obligation to use their influence and ability at every opportunity to accomplish this purpose. The church in the community is to exert its strength in doing this work. The task has not been accomplished until the whole world has heard the gospel of Christ. Here is the primary challenge of Christian duty; for souls that are damned depend upon it for salvation.

Jesus taught that the word of God is the seed of the kingdom. (Matthew 13:19.) Until the seed is planted, the kingdom cannot be grown either in the life of an individual or in the community. Without the preaching of the gospel, the kingdom of God cannot be extended. Its borders are enlarged only by the teaching of the truth. God depends on no other agency than the church in the propagation of his word. If the church of the Lord does not preach the gospel of Christ, it will not be preached.

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The Work of MinisteringThe second great phase of the church’s mission, as outlined by Paul in Ephesians 4:11, 12, is “for the work of the ministry.” One of the fundamental principles taught by Christ was that men should have the right attitude toward one another. This is essential to the Christian character. It is evidenced not only in attitude, but must be exercised in actual service rendered. “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” (John 3:18.)

In this area belong many of the “good works” which believers in God are to maintain. (Titus 3:8.) It is a fruit borne by Christianity in the life of a disciple of the Lord, and through which God is to be glorified. This grace begins at home in the Christian’s obligation to care for those who have the right to depend on him for support. Paul taught that “if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” (1 Timothy 5:8.)

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The Gospel Guardian, Vol. 1, #33 ~ December 22, 1949

There is no more comprehensive statement of the nature, plan, and purpose of the church in the New Testament scriptures than that found in Ephesians 4:1-16. We need to study this passage carefully, and fix in our minds the place God intended the church to fill in serving his purposes and the plan by which it is to be done. Especially should we notice verses 11 and 12:

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfection of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”

Here is outlined a divine order for a divine purpose and both are the plan of God. From verse 12 we learn that the purpose and mission of this divine arrangement are three-fold: (1) for the perfecting of the saints; (2) for the work of the ministry; and (3) for the building up of the body of Christ. This sets forth the mission of the church in its entirety. Any other purpose or act would be ultra vires– without warrant or authority.

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Hebrews 11:4: “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.”

The Bible speaks of many great men of faith, men who were gallant soldiers of the cause for which God had called them to serve Him. These men’s lives are examples for us. 1 Corinthians 10:11: “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” The Lord intends us to look at the lives and work of others so that we might gain knowledge, wisdom and insight into life and the service of God.

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In the first chapter of the book of James, verses 12 – 18, James writes, “Blessed {is} the man who endures temptation; for when he has been proved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.”

 

This text is one of my favorites in the entire book of James. And it is characteristic of the entire book. James takes a very difficult concept that was much misunderstood in his time, and is may I add very misunderstood today, and presents the truth concerning that concept with clarity and simplicity. I can’t imagine anyone misunderstanding what he has written in this passage, if they take the time to examine closely his reasoning.

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Some of the evidence supporting the divine authorship of scripture can be found within scripture itself. And this only makes sense, because if the Creator of the universe chose to reveal His will in writing, clearly He could do so in such a way that we could verify its origin. But the internal evidence is not the only kind available to us. There is also external evidence based upon various phenomena we can observe, as well as information provided by various disciplines of science and history. This month, we will consider an example of external evidence which comes from a seemingly unlikely source: the Chinese written language.

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Gospel Advocate Publishing Company, 1898

PrefaceThe demand for this tract seems as great today as it was when the first edition appeared, more than three years ago; and the fifth edition, which is pubblished by the Gospel Advocate Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, is herewith given to the public. The widespread and increasing demand for a publication which is in direct opposition to the popular use of instrumental music in the worship of God is one of the significant and encouraging signs of the times and with special reference to the logical merits of the argument presented in the following pages, a prominent Episcopalian bishop writes: “If the premises you lay down are true, your conclusion is irresistible.” My confidence in the correctness of the premises laid down not only remains unshaken, but is strengthened by a more extended survey of the field of evidence, and thus far no one has made a formal attempt to meet the argument submitted. If those who know the truth on the issue involved will not become discouraged, but continue to “cry aloud and spare not” against all presumptuous interference with the divinely appointed worship many churches of the present age will yet be saved from this high-handed sin; they will be made to feel the force of the solemn apostolic admonition “not to go beyond the things which are written.”

 

M.C. Kurfees Louisville, Ky., March, 1898

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Under Judaism, or the Old Law, people were born into God’s family by having Jewish parents, and then they had to be taught to “know the Lord.” Jeremiah, the prophet, said that the day would come when “they shall teach no more every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord…” (Jeremiah 31:34). This passage is quoted in Hebrews 8 and applied to the New Testament. Therefore, under the New Covenant, people must be taught to “know the Lord” before they can enter God’s family.

Jesus emphasized the importance of teaching when he said, “It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard from the Father, and hath learned, cometh unto me” (John 6:45). In Matthew’s account of the “great commission,” Jesus said, “Teach all nations” and, after baptizing them, “teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 20:18-20). Christ also stressed the importance of teaching when He said that “the seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11). Just as there can be no harvest without seed, there can be no child of God without the word being taught and obeyed.

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Introduction:

The pioneer preachers who blazed the trails in truth that we have come to regard as the “Restoration Movement” were able to do so only as they wrestled with sectarian doctrines and creeds and returned to the “old paths” of Bible truth. Much of the religious error of early America with which Barton W. Stone, Walter Scott, James O’Kelley; the Campbells, Ben Franklin and other noble preachers contended was that known as Calvinism.

So far as the churches of Christ are concerned, the fundamental teaching of truth during the Restoration Movement was so effective (cf: “The Scheme of Redemption,” by Robert Milligan) that it eradicated practically every vestige of Calvinism among Christians. From the early 1800′s until our generation, classic Calvinism (TULIP) has been recognized as the error it is and has not been a source of internal strife (must less a cause of division) within local congregations. However, history will record that it has become the task of our generation to combat these errors again.

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Editor’s note: You may or may not agree with the conclusions of this article. In either case, please respond to it, if you are of such a mind. Respond to the author by postal mail at Ralph E. Price; P. O. Box 3174; Beckley, WV 25801. For the record, I believe that it is not a congregation’s expectation that matters, but, rather, it is God who demands of all of His children that we serve Him to the very best of our ability, and that ability includes choices that each one has the capacity to make.

Larry H. Fain

 

Consider the following text in Matthew 9:9-13, “And as Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man, called Matthew, sitting in the tax office; and He said to him, ‘Follow Me!’ And he rose, and followed Him. And it happened that as He was reclining at the table in the house, behold many tax-gatherers and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, ‘Why is your Teacher eating with the tax-gatherers and sinners?’ But when He heard this, He said, ‘It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means, “I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,” for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’” (NASB)

These five verses reveal for us an important truth about what God expects from men and women, and it is clear that Jesus wanted all to understand this truth. He commanded the Pharisees, “But go and learn what this means…” (Matthew 9:13). Then He quoted a passage from Hosea 6:6, “For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”

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Si queremos emprender un estudio sobre el tema de la divina providencia, es algo difícil abordarlo ya que en toda la Biblia jamás se encuentra la palabra providencia. Sin embargo, viene siendo un concepto bien sobresaliente de la Palabra. La mejor manera de considerar el tema, pues, será de investigar unos ejemplos específicos.

Antes de todo, nos conviene definir el vocablo providencia. El diccionario Larousse lo define así: “suprema sabiduría de Dios, que dirige todas las cosas”. Está relacionado con la palabra proveer. Por su omnisciencia, Dios sabe de nuestras necesidades hasta de antemano, y por su omnipotencia él nos sostiene.

A veces hay confusión entre lo que es la providencia y lo que es un milagro. Yo afirmo que los milagros ya no son necesarios y que la Biblia enseña que han cesado. Pero yo además afirmo que la providencia siempre ha existido y que todavía obra hoy en día. Dios bien puede dirigir las cosas sin emplear milagros para hacerlo.

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