Watchman Magazine

Much has been preached and written on the first chapter of Genesis by men who are more qualified than I, and are much better known. However, the controversy seems to be growing rather than abating.

Some think the days described in Genesis one may not be seven consecutive twenty-four hour days. They try to reconcile creation with current scientific conjecture. Paul warned us that having this much unquestioning faith in science is a dangerous road to travel (1 Timothy 6:20-21). With all the conflicting teaching, I know of no one who does not believe that God has the power to have accomplished the creation in six literal, twenty-four hour days. Those who find problems with the literal days say other scriptures make it improbable, if not impossible, for the creation to have occurred in six literal days (God resting on the seventh). They attempt to reconcile the discrepancy by saying that even if each item of God’s creation had been in an embryonic, or youthful, state and then allowed to mature (evolve) until time for the next day’s creation, it would still have been God doing the work – part miraculously, and part through his laws of providence. If we but give him the credit, he will not mind what we believe (has a familiar ring, doesn’t it?). Of course, since creation was not completed until after the sixth day, all his providential laws would not have been enacted and in force on day one, two, three — in fact until all creation was complete. Even without all his natural laws being in force, this maturing, or evolving, still occurred and could have taken thousands or millions of years.

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Romans 1:16

Materialism is a very dangerous and powerful sin that entangles and entraps people in a downward spiral that quickly leads them away from God. This sin is easily recognized in the world. Unfortunately it has seeped unnoticed into many churches. Unless it is recognized it will grow like leaven, overtake, and eventually destroy the church. Therefore it is important to know the warning signs that pass unnoticed by those ignorant of the devil’s devices. We are told in Ephesians 5:15 to "walk circumspectly", that is, we are to be ever watchful and careful not to let evil come in among us. Following this admonition, we will look at one way in which this sin of materialism is manifest in the church.

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek" (Romans 1:16).

The gospel is said to be the "power of God to salvation" in Romans 1:16. But the gospel’s power is being denied by many in the church, even among those who call themselves gospel preachers. How is it being denied? By men straying away from dependence and trust upon God’s word, instead relying upon human wisdom and human means to teach a lost and dying world. It is easy to see in denominations that entertainment has replaced God’s inspired word as the means to draw souls because of their pageants and fairs and various styles of "preaching". But among those who claim to be preachers there are those who seem to be following a similar path. There are those who say that a sermon should not contain more that one or two passages, or that if the sermon exceeds twenty minutes the interest of the audience will be lost. There is a trend to turn the ministering of God’s word into more stories and humor than the viewing of God’s word. My friend, this attitude is very dangerous and will lead, (if not in this generation, in the next), the church closer to the social gospel. To deny God’s power through the gospel is to deny the divine inspiration and authority of the bible and that is blasphemy!

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The veneration and exaltation of the Bible, that blessed old Book, is admirable and commendable if it be accompanied by understanding and application. But multitudes are deluded by a reverence that is nothing but superstitious sentimentalism. Souls in sectarian societies consider themselves members of the body of Christ because their "Pastor" is a "Bible toting, Bible quoting fundamentalist." The Bible is "interpreted strictly and literally" as their "only rule of faith and practice," so they think not to examine themselves whether they be in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5).

A similar form of authority has been espoused by Christians. Since we "speak where the Bible speaks and are silent where the Bible is silent," we need not question our practices. After all, the preacher is allied and identified with "our Christian Colleges," and the elders endorse and encourage all that we do, so what fear have we? Oh, of course, we raise an eyebrow at some things that seem out of harmony with the past, but the young people are interested, so it must be right — we are just not used to it. The sole, whole authority for minds that are thus steeped in church traditionalism is the fact that "we have always been a Bible-based people." That being true, as it is assumed to be, then we are justified.

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The eighth of nine "fruit (-s) of the spirit" listed in Galatians 5:22-23 is the virtue of gentleness. The term is translated meekness in both the King James and American Standard versions of the Bible, and is the greek term praiotes. The term is evocative of peace and humility, and is certainly an attribute worthy of our attainment as God’s children.

Gentleness Defined

Though more commentary than definition, Vine gives us some interesting insight into the term:

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The fight for modest attire has taken an ugly turn.

Exhausted from fighting short skirts and tube tops, parents are now being dragged onto yet another battlefield, the T-shirt with a message. Every sale circular, department store and mall corridor is teeming with teenage girls expressing their empowerment beneath their chins.

One tight T-shirt on a thirteen year old girl reads “Boy Scout.” Get it? Maybe her daddy didn’t and let her buy the shirt thinking it would assist her in getting across the street. No, the shirt means that she is boy crazy and that interested parties should approach and apply for her affections.

Another T-shirt is even more blunt. The fifteen year old girls graduate to the message “Bad Girl.” True boy scouts may not approach her, but any sex starved pubescent male will. Ladies used to complain rightly about wolf whistles and lewd comments, but now they invite them at the youngest ages through their abbreviated attire and perverse mottoes.

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Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. 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. By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. (Hebrews 11:1-8)

There is not, nor can there be successful refutation of the fact that the center of the religion known as Christianity is based on faith.

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Someone said, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” Naturally, we are inclined to think that our times are worse than any others that have ever been and while such isn’t so, these times are our times so we are the ones who are being tried today.

Without a doubt, souls are being tried and tested.

Moral Trials

Young people are experiencing tremendous temptations on every hand. Sex is pictured as being the most desired part of life and few are remaining virtuous. There is a constant stream of influence through TV shows that portray boys and girls, men and women living together, in bed together, having babies without wedlock, dancing, scantily dressed, and with few morals. The norm in our day is to view sex without the sanctity of marriage as acceptable. Movies also are an influence toward evil as every conceivable moral code is violated. Some movies have been advertised that portray incest, child abuse, sadism, homosexuality, adultery and every form of illicit sex.

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Have you ever noticed how many people refused to answer the questions of Jesus? The chief priests and elders of the people in Matthew 21 refused to answer His question about the origin and authority behind John’s baptism. Very few gave a straight answer.

Much the same thing happens today as many in religious circles refuse to give a straight answer to spiritual questions posed in our time. One of their tricks is to talk around a subject for a while, but when they are done, they have said nothing. If that does not work, the old "I’m not sure what I believe — I’m still studying it" dodge will do the trick. Never mind the fact that some brethren may have been "studying" it for years without conclusion (compare 2 Timothy 3:7).

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The world has a surfeit of wicked people. One does not have to look far to find a drunkard, a liar, a cheat, etc. Not only do they surround us on every hand, but the effects of their drinking, lying and cheating invade our privacy and affect our lives. It is well nigh impossible for anyone to escape the effects of wickedness in this world. As Paul said, "We must needs go out of the world" (1 Corinthians 5:9) to escape its pollution. Since we cannot leave this world, we must learn to live with sin and sinners as best we can, trying to convert them to Christ.

But my point is not that we have so much wickedness around us. Rather, I would like to emphasize the need for good people in the face of such wickedness. This need is so often overlooked and good people are so often discounted that we fail to appreciate their value. They are often taken for granted or simply tolerated as uninteresting. Perhaps those of us who are Christians do not appreciate the value of being good.

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People often comment on how much things change with the passing of time. We also see this with things found in the New Testament. Many things we find therein are very different from what we see in modern day religion. A good example of this is seen when we compare cases of conversion from the book of Acts with some modern day concepts. Let us read of the case recorded in Acts 8:26-39:

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(The article below with the title above was sent to me with the request that I review it. I have done so in segments, interspersing my remarks with his. Mr. Mattingly’s comments appear in italics.)

Gary Mattingly – Christian Church preacher

First and foremost, we must see that there is a fundamental difference in the hermeneutics (This is the interpretation of Scripture) between the two groups. The non-instrumental brethren see the ‘silence of the Scripture’ to be a prohibition. If the scriptures do not have a "thus saith the Lord" on a subject, then, to this group, we must not do it. They feel that the New Testament says nothing about instruments, therefore, they should be refused in worship.

We, within the Christian Church/Church of Christ, use a hermeneutic that says for the most part, if there is silence in Scripture, we can use liberty on the subject. If the Scripture does not say ‘thou shalt use an instrument in worship’, we find this a liberty. We can use it or not use it. This is the underlying cause for our differences today in the instrumental issue. You must see this clearly before you can talk about this further. This is a must to see!

Silence Of The Scriptures A Prohibition?

First, before we begin, let it be noted that Gary Mattingly has admitted that he can find no scriptural authority for mechanical instruments of music in worship. If he had such authority, he could not argue has he has done in this treatise. If the premises of his reasoning in this essay are true, instrumental music cannot be justified by any reference to Scripture. Forevermore, he has cut himself off from every appeal to the Bible to justify their use. He cannot cite the Old Testament. He cannot reason that the scriptural terms, "sing," "psalms," or "make melody," include the instrument in their meaning. No, he can never make such arguments, for he here contends that the use of such instruments is without a "’thus saith the Lord’."

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Just what happened on the mount of transfiguration?

The events themselves are simple enough to reconstruct with the inspired account of the beloved physician, Luke. In his gospel narrative, we learn that Christ led Peter, James and John up into the mountain to pray, where his appearance was transfigured into something glorious and majestic. Through drowsy eyes, the three apostles witnessed both this transformation and a subsequent conversation that Jesus had with Moses and Elijah, lawgiver and prophet respectively. Their discussion concerned our Lord’s impending death in the city of Jerusalem.

Aroused and impetuous, Peter offered to construct three tabernacles for the Christ and his two Old Testament friends, indicating his notion that they were equally deserving of this special treatment. Just then a voice came out of the cloud and corrected the apostle, "saying, ‘This is my beloved son. Hear him.’" The lawgiver and prophet had disappeared and Jesus alone remained before them.

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We have read a few criticisms of the computer in the work of the preacher recently and wish to accept the warning and issue our own.

Advertisements seeking new evangelists at various churches have stated that they do not want a man who will be trying to convert his machine or spending too much time at the keyboard. There seems to have developed the idea that the kingdom is being slighted when the preacher is on the Internet and his phone line is tied up. One wonders if the invention of the telephone itself brought similar controversy, but we digress.

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