Watchman Magazine

“He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:15-19 ).

In Matthew 16:18 Jesus promised to build His church. In Mark 16:15-16 he instructed his disciples to teach all nations his word baptizing those that believe. On Pentecost following the ascension of Jesus those saved by obedient baptism were added by the Lord to the church Acts 2:37-47. To what church were they added by the Lord? Acts 2:47 simply states “the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” What is meant by “the church” in this verse? We understand there was a group of God’s children working together in the area of Jerusalem to teach the Gospel. Was this the church to which the Lord added the saved? Is this the church that Jesus promised to build? If this is the church Jesus built then I must be a part of that assembly. To better understand the phrase “the church” we must understand what church means.

• Continue reading

This subject is perhaps the most argued, the most denied, and the most misunderstood among people who say they believe in God, in Christ, and say they are saved. I myself have debated this subject twice between November of 1998 and March of 1999. I affirmed that baptism was necessary for the remission of sins and my opponent denied this. Why is this such a controversial topic? Why such division on this subject when the New Testament is filled with references concerning the necessity of baptism?

Defining “Baptism”Baptism, as the word is used in the Bible, is “consisting of the processes of immersion, submersion and emergence …. to dip” (Vine’s Amplified Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, p. 62). Mr. Thayer defines baptism as, “to immerge, submerge …. to overwhelm, to be overwhelmed with calamities, of those who must bear them” (Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon, p. 94). Therefore, baptism itself is an immersion in something. The context tells us the element. This will be made clear in our next point.

• Continue reading

The apostle John wrote, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the son of God, God abides in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15). A genuine profession of faith, upon which a faithful life is then predicated, creates a special covenant relationship between man and God, in which the two dwell together and in one another.

The New Testament goes so far as to make oral confession of faith a condition of salvation. Paul wrote, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10). One needs an obedient mouth as much as a believing heart in order to accept the offer of grace from the father of lights.

There will be those who see the word “condition” in paragraph two and immediately object, stating that confession is not a condition of salvation, but merely a component of faith, which alone does save. Such a Calvinistic suggestion is easily refuted by proving that it is possible to believe without making confession.

• Continue reading

“… but unless you repent you will all like-wise perish.” (Luke 13:3) The same requirement here stated regarding certain ones is elsewhere applied to all people, for “God commands all men everywhere to repent.” (Acts 17:30) Because it requires a change of mind and subsequent life, repentance probably is the most difficult command of the Lord to obey. Involved in such obedience is a change from whatever cherished beliefs, practices, and attitudes conflict with God’s will to a life of service to God. Necessary to this change is one’s admission of his own wrongdoing, as well as the producing of fruit befitting repentance. (Acts 26:20) From such a course there is no recourse for one desirous of pleasing God. The coming judgment is used by the Lord’s apostle in Acts 17:30 to promote repentance.

In this study notice the emphasis placed upon repentance throughout the New Testament.

• Continue reading

IntroductionGod made man upright (Genesis 1:26,27; Ecclesiastes 7:29). Adam and Eve lived in perfect communion with God until sin separated them from Him (Genesis 3; Isaiah 59:1,2). When sin entered the picture, something else entered: A plan to save man. To the serpent, God said, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). Sin made salvation necessary.

God purposed man’s salvation: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:3-6).

• Continue reading

IntroductionNo subject is more important than that of religious authority. This is made clear by Jesus’ presentation of the judgment scene when some will say, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:22-23). Iniquity is working without law, or violating existing law. These persons had done “many wonderful works,” but by the wrong authority. They claimed to have done them in the name of Christ, that is, by His authority, but Jesus denied it. Jesus did not question their sincerity, or their morals, but their authority. Sincerity, good morals, nor anything else can substitute for the proper authority in religion.All people understand the necessity of having a singular standard of authority in every realm but religion. We all are happy that we have a singular standard of authority in money, weights, measures, time, etc. What if you went to the bank to cash a check and the teller said, “Come on back and help yourself, we have no standard here.” You might think that would be great, but it wouldn’t be if your creditor used the standard of 500 or a thousand cents to the dollar. What if everyone could set his own standard in weights and measures? One merchant uses 16 ounces to the pound and another 26? What if you go to the airport to catch a plane to Chicago scheduled to leave at 12 noon, and the clerk tells you that plane left early this morning. You say, “but my ticket says it was to leave at noon.” The clerk says, “Oh, well, we don’t use those standards here, we just fly whenever we decide to.” Without standards of authority the world would be in hopeless chaos. That is precisely what we have in religion. Every man is a law unto himself, as in ancient Israel, “…every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6). Sincerity, good morals, majority view, good feelings, emotion, etc. are all substitutes men use for the authority of Christ.

• Continue reading

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1).

So opens the most popular book in the world. The first verse also opens the book of Genesis, the record of man’s beginnings. One might think that such a book would open with a reasoned defense of why man should believe in God. It does not. Rather, it assumes the existence of God and begins with an account of creation.

The creation narrative cannot be separated from the Bible without undermining its foundation. Rejecting the creation narrative would undermine the following doctrines:

• Continue reading

This issue of Watchman Magazine marks a renewal of publishing the magazine after a two month lapse. Faithful visitors to the Watchman site are aware of the fact that the last issue of the magazine was posted at the beginning of November, 1999. I want to spend a moment giving a short explanation of what was “going on” behind the scenes, and to let you know what to expect in the future from Watchman.

First, let me thank you for your expressions of concern and support. Many emails were sent, and several phone calls were made. Some were curious as to my personal health, and others expressed concern that the voice of Watchman might cease. I feel I need to apologize for giving rise to such concern. In reality, the cause for the momentary cessation of publishing the magazine was much less serious.

Basically, the reason is I got very busy, and also that I got a small case of “Internet burnout”! Additionally, my fellow editors, Larry Fain and Tom Roberts have recently relocated. Larry to Lafayette, LA, and Tom to Longview, TX. This has precluded them taking as active a part in the magazine for the past several months. In fact, Tom is at present just now getting “settled in” at Longview, and most probably will not be actively involved in the magazine for the next 2 or 3 issues. I want to express my sincere appreciation to Larry for the editing of the theme this month, Rudiments of the Gospel. His help has allowed me to get a semblance of a schedule back for the magazine, and will help to ensure that future issues of the magazine are posted expeditiously.

• Continue reading

The question about abortion is certainly an emotional one. It has legal ramifications as well as moral. It has impact on a woman, her family, and her doctor. Ultimately, however, the question about abortion is a deeply rooted faith issue.

On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled, in a Texas case entitled Roe, et al. v. Wade, “The Court’s opinion decides that a State may impose virtually no restriction on the performance of abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy.” (Justice William Rehnquist, dissenting). This case set the nation on a course of legalized abortion in unimaginable numbers. Over the first fifteen years after the Court’s decision, an average of 1,500,000 babies annually were aborted under the protection of Roe v. Wade. Doctors, hospitals and clinics all were faced with the ethical and moral question of whether or not to allow the legal procedure to be done or not.

The decision to abort reached into families, of the mother carrying the baby, of the man who fathered the child, and of the couple themselves. Emotional scars and division were the result of many decisions to simply remove the child from the consideration of a future life of parenting.

• Continue reading

(At the Parking Lot)

“And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left” (Luke 23:33).

“And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull…then they crucified Him” (Matthew 27:33-35).

Visitors coming to tour Jerusalem learn rather quickly that it is a modern, living city. While our biblical knowledge of Jerusalem forever seals it in the past, ancient and timeless, unchanged and undisturbed, today’s reality is quite different. The blare of car horns, hordes of tourists, electronic technology and modern architecture compete with ancient ritual, bearded men, cloaked women and sites where holy events took place. If ever there is a dichotomy of space and time, it is Jerusalem with its contrast of old and new, sacred and profane, reverent and blasphemous.

• Continue reading

The beginning point of the gospel for many people is the famous statement which Jesus made to Nicodemus, a Bible student who came to him by night lest his colleagues discover his interest in the Christ. Jesus said to him, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The love of God then is the genesis of the scheme of salvation and his intentions toward men. The reciprocal love of men for God is also the foundation of our discipleship, our service to our Maker and to all his creation, especially those of a like, precious faith, our brotherhood (1 Peter 2:17, 2 Peter 1:1). But the devil has succeeded in clouding the world’s understanding of love, diminishing the Bible definition. Since the world at large has submitted to the deadly disease, the devil has at last turned his full attention upon the church of Jesus Christ. How shall the disciples of Christ define and practice love?

We are regularly told that law and love are antithetical, but when we allow our Bibles to comment, we learn differently. Paul said, “I delight in the law of God according to the inward man” (Romans 7:22). In the same book, he said that “love is the fulfillment of the law” (13:10). True love can only be known and expressed within a genuine comprehension of reverence for God’s law.

• Continue reading

Introducción.

A. Algunos dicen que creen Gén. 1, pero también dicen que el universo tiene unos 15 billones de años de edad y que la tierra tiene unos 4.5 billones años de edad.

B. Estos dicen que rechazan la evolución y que tampoco son evolucionistas teistas (los que tratan de armonizar la creación con la evolución), pero aunque renuncian a la evolución orgánica (evolución de la creación animada), sí aceptan la evolución de la creación inanimada (el universo, la tierra). Es muy importante observar y recordar este punto, porque a pesar de lo que profesen éstos, en realidad son evolucionistas teistas, pues quieren armonizar la Biblia con los conceptos de evolución.

C. Advertencia seria. Es muy importante recordar que muchos de los que comenzaron dudando de lo que la Biblia dice claramente en Gén. 1, terminan dudando de los milagros registrados en la Biblia, la Deidad de Jesús, el nacimiento virginal y resurrección corporal de Jesús, la inspiración de las Escrituras, etc.

• Continue reading

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3:16-17)

Here in the Colossian epistle, Paul gives several exhortations which are rather closely tied together. Simply, they are:

1. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly with all wisdom.
2. Teach each other by singing spiritual songs with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
3. Do all things by the authority of Jesus Christ.

Underlying each of these is an emphasis on the importance of doctrine in the life of those who name the name of Christ. Jesus said, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Interestingly, a search in the New King James version of the New Testament reveals three other times where the phrase “know the truth” is used. The way in which the phrase is used is significant.

• Continue reading

Editor’s Note: This article is the final article brother Larry Hafley will write under the heading “Queries and Explications.” Question and Answer columns are common in magazines, and Q&A formats are common on the internet as well. However, we have found that utilizing the column format on the internet in this way to be rather unworkable. Too often the questions sent in were not conducive to answering in this format. Some thought that the feature was a research tool, and used it to request information we could not supply. One visitor who obviously had not read any of our articles asked for a list of denominations with predominately black memberships in the Philadelphia area! Others were simply asking for advice from Larry. Many expected that every query would receive a response, something that is obviously not possible due to Larry’s time constraints. The intention was to supply a list of questions that could be answered from month to month in this forum. So, though this noble experiment is coming to an end, we are by no means saying goodbye to Larry. He will continue to write a monthly column which will come out under another name beginning with the March issue. Too, we will depend on his prodigious pen to complement our magazine with other materials from time to time. This will free Larry from the constraints of a Q&A column, and allow him to write on those issues he feels are greatest in importance.

Question: “The advocators of musical instruments (in the Philippines) are using Old Testament verses. They say, “Musical instruments are sanctioned by God because they are found in the Old Testament.” How do you answer them?

• Continue reading

Producing Written Translations  Paul wrote in Romans 10:14, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” Hearing this many missionaries might ask, “How shall they understand what the preacher is saying without proper translation?” From the time a worker enters into a work where a language barrier exists he will have to overcome it in order to be effective. This is especially true when producing written translations.If the Lord lets time go on, the tracts, correspondence courses, books, etc., that brethren today are producing will still be useful in teaching the word long after all of us have passed from the scene. Hence, it behooves us to spend some time considering things relevant to the process of producing such translations.

• Continue reading

The New Testament writer, James, said, “But he that looketh into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and so continueth, being not a hearer that forgetteth but a doer that worketh, this man shall be blessed in his doing” (James 1:25). There are several important lessons to be learned from this passage.

(1) IT IS A “LAW.” This body of truth which is the source of all pure religion is here called a “law.” There are some who would have us to believe that the Old Testament had law, but no grace; and that the New ,Testament has grace, but no law. They therefore teach that we should preach “the Man” but not “the Plan,” else we become legalists.

However, a law is simply a “rule of action.” If there is no prescribed rule of action (i.e., no law), then it would be impossible to sin, since sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4). The body of truth that guides us is elsewhere called the “law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2; 1 Corinthians 9:21), the “law of the Spirit of life” (Romans 8:1,2), and here it is called “the law of liberty” (Jas.. 1: 25; 2:12). It is true, however, that we are not under the law of Moses (Romans 6:14), but this does not mean that we are under no law at all.

• Continue reading

I remember learning the General Theory of Evolution as a schoolboy. I remember that I was taught that the theory was supported by an overwhelming body of evidence. My teachers did mention that there were still people on the planet who did not believe the General Theory. However, they also mentioned that there were still people who believed the earth to be flat. In other words, the implication was that anyone who did not believe in the General Theory was backward and ignorant. At the time, it did not occur to me to question this point; like most school children, I merely accepted it and tried to learn it so as to do well on the tests. As I grew, however, I began to learn to think for myself, and eventually came to realize that the “evidence” for the General Theory is not so overwhelming, after all.

It is important to note that evolutionary processes do take place. Over time, we see new breeds of dogs being developed. We see new types of bees result from the crossing of two or more similar species of bee. I do not know anyone who questions the fact that such changes occur. However, all of these changes occur within the same kind. What we do not see – and what no one has ever seen – is a completely new kind of creature evolving. No one has ever seen, either in nature or in the laboratory, one kind of creature evolve into another kind of creature. In other words, microevolution – evolution within natural boundaries – is a proven fact. The theory under question – and the theory that contradicts the Bible – is the General Theory, or macroevolution. Macroevolution teaches that all forms of life currently on the planet evolved from the same single-celled organism. Moreover, macroevolution teaches that all life is the result of natural processes, and not the design of an omnipotent Creator.

• Continue reading

“Form of God” and “Form of a Servant”

The New Testament begins in Matthew with the introduction to Jesus Christ as He came in His humanity and ends in Revelation with the declaration of the eternal power which is His as deity. The two views are not contradictory, nor did the one develop over time out of the other. The same Gospel of Matthew that declares the humanity of Jesus in His birth also announces Him as Immanuel, “God with us” (Matt. 1:18-24). The same book of Revelation that portrays the deity of Christ also proclaims Him as the “offspring of David” (Rev. 22:16). Throughout the word of God, the humanity and deity of Jesus are presented as co-equal facts. Both elements are seen to exist in unity in the person of Christ. While one may be given emphasis in a particular passage to stress a point under consideration, no writer denies or seeks to lessen either the divine or human nature of Christ while on earth.

Despite the clear teaching of God’s Word in revealing the twofold nature of Christ, men have compiled various man-made doctrines regarding the person of Christ. Colin Brown has an excellent synopsis of such doctrinal conflicts throughout history in his article on the “Person of Christ” in the new ISBE. Some have totally or partially denied the deity of Jesus while others have totally or partially denied His humanity. It is interesting to note that the first dispute in the early church arose over the fact of Jesus’ humanity. Those closest to the eyewitnesses and other pertinent evidence about the life of Christ had no question about His deity. Almost twenty centuries later, the modernists of our time readily accept Jesus’ humanity, but concoct increasingly absurd theories of interpreting the New Testament aimed at denying His deity. In this article, we will concentrate on the plain teaching of the Bible regarding the twofold nature of Christ in the unity of His person.

• Continue reading