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THE GOSPEL OBSERVER
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"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching
them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you
always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20).
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February 26, 2006
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Contents:
1) Attitudes Toward the Truth (3) (Morris W. R. Bailey)
2) News & Notes (Ardie Brown's Audio Sermons)
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Attitudes Toward the Truth (3)
by Morris W. R. Bailey
As we continue our study of attitudes toward the truth as
revealed by New Testament writers, we observe that another
unfavorable attitude, while not specifically named, is
nevertheless implied in Paul's description of the apostate
condition of the Gentiles, as recorded in Romans 1:24-25.
"Wherefore, God gave them up in the lusts of
their hearts unto uncleanness, that their bodies
should be dishonored among themselves: for that they
exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped
and served the creature rather than the Creator, who
is blessed for ever. Amen."
Here we have an attitude of presumptuousness that dares to
elevate the wisdom of men above the wisdom of God in that they
Exchanged The Truth Of God For A Lie
The keynote of the epistle to the Romans is sounded by
Paul in verse sixteen! "For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for
it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that
believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." Paul then
proceeded to show man's need of salvation, tracing his course
from a state of belief in God to a state of unbelief, from
whence he descended to the lowest depths of moral depravity.
That is obvious from the words of verses nineteen to
twenty-three.
"Because that which is known of God is manifest
in them; for God manifested it unto them. For the
invisible things of him since the creation of the
world are clearly seen, being perceived through the
things that are made, even his everlasting power and
divinity, that they may be without excuse. Because
that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God,
neither gave thanks; but became vain in their
reasoning, and their senseless heart was darkened.
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
and changed the glory of the incorruptible God for
the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of
birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things."
It was in that context that Paul said that they had
exchanged the truth of God for a lie.
A Recurring Phenomenon
Many times since, men have exchanged God's truth for the
philosophies of men. That disposition is manifested in those
who turn away from the Bible account of creation to a theory
that would account for the origin of things on a non-miraculous
basis. Just as the existence of the universe, with its harmony
and order, bore witness to the ancients that God is, so also it
bears witness to us today that "the hand that made them is
divine." So, if those of whom Paul wrote were without excuse in
failing to recognize God as the Creator, then it is certain
that with our tremendous increase in knowledge in the various
branches of science today, man has even less excuse than they
when he turns from God as the Creator to the speculations of
human philosophy.
It is the simplest of logic to conclude that the universe,
with its evidence of design, harmony, and order, is the product
of not only a Creator, but also of one possessed of a high
degree of intelligence. That is obvious from the following
illustration.
I drive an automobile. Of course every one will agree that
at some point in time it came into existence. Moreover, every
one will agree that it is not the result of mere chance,
produced by some spontaneous action that threw a lot of
disassociated debris together and, thus, formed an automobile.
Nor would anyone suggest that it was the result of a long
evolutionary process that began with a tiny piece of metal that
grew in size and in complexity, resembling at one time a
wheel-barrow, later a two-wheeled chariot, and still later a
stage coach of frontier days, and finally, after having
acquired a two-cylinder motor, it evolved on up through the
model T Ford stage to emerge as the high powered V-8 of today,
and all this, bear in mind, untouched by human hands and aided
only by forces resident in itself.
Of course, no one who had their head on straight would
suggest either accident or evolution as the explanation for the
existence of an automobile. Reason tells us that someone with
intelligence made it. But that is as far as reason can take us.
Who made the automobile is a matter of revelation. Under the
hood of my car I see a name-plate that identifies its
manufacturer, General Motors of Canada. In the light of so
reasonable an explanation, would it not be sheer folly to
suggest that the automobile was the result of spontaneous
generation, or of a long evolutionary process?
That the universe exists is an indisputable fact. That it
bears strong evidence of design, harmony, and order cannot be
denied. Reason tells us that behind it all is a maker of
infinite intelligence and wisdom. But that is as far as reason
can go. For the answer to the question of who made the
universe, we are dependent on some form of revelation. That
revelation is provided for us in the Bible account of creation
in the first chapter of Genesis. There we have an explanation
that meets all the demands of reason. For it ascribes the
existence of the universe with its harmony and order to an
all-wise, all-knowing, all-powerful being who "spake and it was
done...commanded and it stood fast" (Psalm 33:9). Therefore,
when men turn away from the Bible account of creation to a
theory that ascribes the existence of the universe to
unintelligent forces acting on dead matter, they have exchanged
the truth of God for a lie.
Human Creeds
The attitude of presumptuousness that tends to elevate the
wisdom of men above the wisdom of God rears its head within
religion when men adopt human creeds. The writing of the human
creed is an admission on the part of its author(s) that they do
not believe in the all-sufficiency of the Bible. Yet the Bible
claims to be all-sufficient (2 Tim. 3:16,17).
Moreover, human creeds teach error on various subjects.
The Methodist Discipline, in one of its articles
states,"...that we are saved by faith alone is a very wholesome
doctrine, and very full of comfort." Obviously, there is
something wrong with the attitude that finds comfort in a
doctrine that so obviously contradicts the Bible. James said,
"Ye see how that by works a man is justified, and not only by
faith" (James 2:24). Twice in the book of Romans, Paul wrote
about "the obedience of faith" (Rom. 1:5; 16:26). Assuming, as
we must, that Paul and James wrote the truth, we must conclude
that when men turn from the Bible to the doctrine of salvation
by faith alone, they have exchanged the truth of God for a lie.
Some human creeds teach the doctrine of inherited total
depravity of the newly-born child. In the Larger Catechism of
the Presbyterian Confession of Faith, we find this statement:
"Original sin is conveyed from our first parents to their
posterity by natural generation, so that all that proceed from
them in that way, are conceived and born in sin." This is a
vastly different picture of little children from that portrayed
by Jesus who taught that we must become like little children to
enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 18:3). Moreover the Bible
teaches that sin is an act of transgression (1 John 3:4). It is
therefore not transmissible from parents to children (Ezek.
18:20). The doctrine of inherited depravity therefore replaces
the truth of God with a lie.
And Now, Some Brethren
It is a sad fact that the disposition to exchange the
truth of God, once held, for a lie has made its appearance
among some of our brethren. This is, perhaps, not surprising
when we remember that Paul foretold that there would come a
time when some would "turn away their ears from the truth, and
turn aside unto fables" (2 Tim. 4:4). It has become manifest in
that there are some who deny the role of approved example in
establishing scriptural authority for faith and practice.
Up until the early 1950's, it would have been rare to find
any of our brethren who would deny the authority of approved
example. I realize, of course, that unanimity among even a
large majority of brethren is not the deciding factor in
determining truth. That can be determined only by an appeal to
the scriptures. But it was with sound scriptural reasons that
brethren taught the role of example, as the following,
scriptures reveal.
1. In giving the great commission to His apostles, Jesus
instructed them to teach the baptized disciples "to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:20). If, we
are correct in assuming that the apostles were faithful in
discharging the responsibility committed to them, it is logical
to conclude that anything practiced by the early disciples with
apostolic approval would reflect the will of the Lord on that
particular matter, and thus would furnish an example for us to
follow today.
2. Paul, himself, taught the authority of apostolic
example when he wrote, "The things which ye both learned and
received and heard and saw in me, these things do..." (Phil.
4:9). Thus Paul ascribed equal authority to what they heard
(command) and what they saw (example). Other scriptures that
may be noted are Phil. 3:17; 1 Cor. 11:1.
3. Moreover, it is a fact that much of what we know about
how people were converted in New Testament times, the early
church, and how it functioned in the work of evangelism and
benevolence are learned by example. The book of Acts is a book
of examples. To deny the role of approved example is thus to
deny the utility of one of the most important books of the New
Testament. It is by example that we learn that elders were
appointed in every church (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5). It is by
example alone that we know when to eat the Lord's supper (Acts
20:7).
But as the issues concerning institutionalism and
sponsoring churches began to intensify, and it was pointed out
that the examples of evangelism and benevolent work in the New
Testament did not include things that some brethren were
promoting, they were faced with the dilemma of abandoning their
unscriptural projects, or denying the authority of examples.
Many of them chose to do the latter. That this is not an
unsubstantiated charge is apparent from the following facts.
1. In his book entitled "We Be Brethren," J.D. Thomas,
after a long and complicated argument on Acts 20:7 said, "This
then is the reason why some good brethren have concluded
against the establishment of pattern authority by examples
alone."
2. Another writer, Milo R. Hadwin, writing in the Firm
Foundation said, "The conclusion of this study is that New
Testament examples have no role as related to Bible authority.
The actions of individuals or churches recorded in the New
Testament have no authority to require imitation today."
Other like-quotations could be given from other brethren,
but these are sufficient to confirm our charge that some
brethren are denying the authority of examples. When we
consider the plain and emphatic teaching of the Bible on this
subject, we can only conclude that they have exchanged the
truth of God for a lie, and worship and serve the creatures of
their own invention rather than the Creator.
-- Via Truth Magazine XXIV: 8, pp. 133-135, February 21,
1980
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News & Notes
The recent gospel meeting we had with Ardie Brown went
very well, and we were glad for all the visitors who had come
out to be with us. I have made available, on the Internet,
three of the six sermons Ardie preached:
http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/audioser.html
Just click on his name after going to the above website,
and you will also see the main points of each of his sermons.
These sermons are audio; and each of Ardie's main outline
points is a separate file, so you can select specific sections
to hear. And because of the size reduction (by converting the
WAV files to MP3s, reducing the bit-rate from 128k-bit to 8k-bit,
and switching from stereo to mono), clicking on the link for
one of these points will begin playing much sooner, even if you
are using just a regular dial-up Internet connection.
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MYRTLE STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST
1022 Myrtle Street
Denham Springs, LA 70726
(225) 664-8208
Sunday: 9:15 AM, 10:00 AM, 4:00 PM
Wednesday: 7:00 PM
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520
e-mail: tedwards@onemain.com
web site: http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go
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