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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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March 12, 2006
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Contents:
1) Attitudes Toward the Truth (5) (Morris W. R. Bailey)
2) News & Notes
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Attitudes Toward the Truth (5)
by Morris W. R. Bailey
In this article in this series, I shall point out that a
wrong attitude toward the truth is implied in the fact that
there are some who become
Enemies Because Of The Truth
The epistle to the Galatians is, perhaps, one of the most
controversial of the New Testament epistles. It was written,
primarily, to expose certain Judaising teachers who were
endeavoring to bind circumcision and the law of Moses on
Christians. It was a problem that Paul encountered many times
during his apostolic career, and which often brought him into
sharp conflict with the purveyors of this error. In recalling
one particular clash with such false teachers, he described
them as, "...false brethren privily brought in, who came in
privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus,
that they might bring us into bondage." Then in speaking of the
uncompromising manner in which he opposed them, Paul said, "To
whom we gave place by way of subjection, no, not for an hour;
that the truth of the gospel might continue with you" (Gal.
2:4,5). It was obviously a hotly contested battle; but in the
end it was a victory for the truth. Methinks, however, that if
some of our brethren who want peace at any price had been
there, they would have been shocked at the unyielding attitude
of Paul, and would perhaps have suggested that he should not be
so dogmatic. They might have even recommended that Paul take a
course on "How To Win Friends And Influence People."
Paul's Concern For the Galatians
Paul's intolerance of error is seen in his concern for the
Galatian Christians who were being led astray. Early in the
epistle, he expressed surprise and implied disappointment that
they had been "so quickly removed from him that called you in
the grace of Christ unto a different gospel; which is not
another gospel: only there are some that trouble you, and would
pervert the gospel of Christ" (Gal. 1:6,7).
In chapter three, Paul begins on a note of rebuke, with
the question: "O foolish Galatians, who did bewitch you, before
whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly set forth crucified?" (Gal.
3:1). He thus regarded their conduct in forsaking the gospel
and seeking to be justified by the law as the result of having
fallen under some enchanting spell cast over them by false
teachers.
In chapter four, Paul again expressed deep concern over
their defection from the truth when he said, "But now that ye
have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how turn
ye back again to the weak and beggarly rudiments, wherein ye
desire to be in bondage over again? Ye observe days, and
months, and seasons, and years. I am afraid of you, lest by any
means I have bestowed labor upon you in vain" (Gal. 4:9-11).
It was in this context of concern because of their seeking
to be justified by the law that Paul, in an impassioned appeal
to their better nature, asked them the question of verse
sixteen: "So then, am I become your enemy, by telling you the
truth?"
Hitherto Paul had seemingly been held in the highest
esteem by the Galatian brethren. Something of their warm
feelings toward him is implied in the following words: "I
beseech you brethren, become as I am, for I also am become as
ye are. Ye did me no wrong: but ye know that because of an
infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you the first
time: and that which was a temptation in my flesh ye despised
not, nor rejected; but ye received me as an angel of God, even
as Christ Jesus. Where then is that gratulation of yourselves?
for I bear you witness, that if possible ye would have plucked
out your eyes and given them to me" (Gal. 4:12-15).
Whether or not Paul did incur the enmity of the Galatians
because of the truth he had told them, we are not told. We do
know, however, that it was his sad experience in other places.
Often he had been the victim of those who became his enemies
because of the truth which he preached. Paul had preached the
truth without fear or favor. To the elders of the church at
Ephesus, he said, "Wherefore I testify unto you this day, that
I am pure from the blood of all men. For I shrank not from
declaring unto you the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:26,27).
No one ever had any trouble knowing where Paul stood on any
issue. And it mattered not to him whether or not it pleased
men. To the Galatians, he said, "For am I now seeking the favor
of men or of God? or am I striving to please men. If I were
still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ" (Gal.
1:10). So, without fear or favor he had exposed the error of
false teachers (Gal. 6:12,13) and rebuked the sins of church
members (2 Cor. 12:20,21). He had one all consuming purpose,
and that was that the gospel might be preached and souls saved
(1 Cor. 9:19-22).
The Grim Result
The sad story is that Paul's determination to preach the
truth often incurred the ingratitude, and even the enmity of
those whom he was trying to save. Sometimes he was
misunderstood. His unbounded zeal was mistaken for a misguided
fanaticism (Acts 26:24). Sometimes his good intentions were
misconstrued. Some in Corinth suggested that he was afraid to
come there (1 Cor. 4:18) when in fact he had purposely delayed
his coming in order to give them the opportunity to repent of
sins that needed to be corrected, so that his coming would be
an occasion of joy and not one of administering severe
discipline (2 Cor. 12:19-21). Saddest of all, he was often the
victim of violence. The eleventh chapter of second Corinthians
tells us indignities he suffered at the hands of enemies of the
truth -- imprisonments, beatings, once stoned and left for dead
(vs. 23-25).
Paul was not the only one to experience the displeasure of
those who were enemies of the truth. No sooner had the apostles
began preaching under the great commission than the same spirit
that led men to persecute and crucify the Lord Jesus Christ was
unleashed in all its fury on them. The fourth chapter of Acts
tells of an imprisonment of Peter and John, instigated by the
priests and Sadducees who "were sore troubled because they
taught the people, and proclaimed in Jesus the resurrection
from the dead" (vs. 1-3). The fifth chapter tells of an
incarceration of all the apostles, and from which they were
released only after they had been beaten, and charged not to
preach any more in the name of Jesus (vs. 1-3, 40). Chapter
seven tells of the death of Stephen, the first martyr, the
result of his blistering indictment of Jewish conduct, both
present and past (51-60). Chapter twelve tells of the death of
the first apostle, James, the brother of John (vs. 1, 2).
An Ongoing Disposition
Human nature has not changed since the days of the
apostles. There are those today whose attitudes toward the
truth is such that they regard the preacher of truth as their
enemy, and thus, in effect become his enemy. It is somewhat
disturbing to hear someone make the claim that in years of
preaching he has never made an enemy, or to hear someone
praising the diplomacy (?) of some preacher who "never says
anything to offend anyone." Make no mistake about it! The
gospel preacher who preaches the same gospel that Paul
preached, with the same zeal, and in the same uncompromising
manner will make enemies because of that truth just as Paul
did. It may not result in death or even imprisonment, but in
other ways he will be made to experience the displeasure of his
foes. If he preaches that there is but one plan of salvation,
one church, one way of getting heaven, he will be branded as
narrow-minded. If he preaches as Paul preached that those who
do not obey the gospel will be lost forever (2 Thess. 1:7-10),
he will be accused of judging.
Enemies From Among Brethren
Enmity on the part of the unconverted, though a sad
experience, is, to some degree, to be expected. Paul said, "For
the word of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness" (1
Cor. 1:18). What is even sadder, however, is the fact that some
of the most bitter enemies Paul encountered were professedly
brethren in Christ. This was especially true of the Jewish
element. They brought with them a long-standing prejudice
against Gentiles, and resented Paul's preaching to them (Acts
22:21-22). The first two chapters of the Galatian epistle was
Paul's answer to implied efforts of false teachers to deny his
apostolic authority. He called them "false brethren" (Gal.
2:4). To the Philippians, he wrote of some who "preached Christ
even of envy and strife...thinking to raise up affliction for
me in my bonds" (Phil. 1:15-17).
It can be -- yea is -- just as true today that some of the
most bitter enmities can arise within the church of the Lord.
It should not be, but it is a stubborn fact that it is. Let a
preacher begin exposing worldliness in the church, and all too
often he will incur the wrath of the worldly-minded. He will be
called a square and out of step with modern times. Let a
preacher preach about the necessity of giving of our means as
we have been prospered, and he will be accused of preaching for
money by the tight-fisted. Let him expose the false teaching of
some brethren on premillennialism or the subject of the Holy
Spirit, and he will be labelled as a heresy-hunter and
troublemaker. One may criticize the church of the Lord without
causing anything more than a few raised eyebrows, but let him
oppose human institutions built to do the work God gave the
church to do or the sponsoring church set-up, and see how
quickly he is branded as an anti, church-splitter,
noncooperative and other such names. Those who resort to such
name-calling have proved themselves to be enemies because of
the truth.
-- Via Truth Magazine XXIV: 10, pp. 166-167, March 6, 1980
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News & Notes
The Gospel Meeting in Lafayette at the South College Drive
church of Christ begins today and will continue through Friday
(March 12-17), with Randy Harshbarger doing the preaching.
They will be meeting at 7:00 through the weeknights.
There will also be a one-day Gospel Meeting with 5
speakers (from about a 70-mile radius) March 25 (Saturday) at
the Northshore church of Christ in Mandeville. The theme will
be "A Day in the First Century."
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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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