____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "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). ____________________________________________________ September 12, 1993 ____________________________________________________ Simple Honesty by Dee Bowman Honesty. A time-honored word. A concept of righteousness. A forgotten requirement among far too many people. It is replaced in our day by convenience, just enough truth to get by. My dad said, about one fellow in town, ``He'd lie for a check when he could get cash for telling the truth!'' How sad. Dishonesty is far too widespread in our age. Cheating, they tell me, is an almost common occurrence in many of today's schools, both in the lower grades and at graduate levels. Lying is viewed among political aspirants as acceptable conduct, just as long as you get elected. Many employers suffer substantial losses because of employees who steal from the company; rather than do much about it, they merely build it into the profit factor. How sad. Dishonesty is used mostly because it is convenient. It is not always easy to tell the truth. In fact sometimes, it is down right hard. But to do less is to incur the disfavor of God, to erode spiritual character, and to make life a little more difficult for whatever is involved in the lie, whether its telling or its reception. Out-right lying is done only infrequently. It is usually used as a last resort. But the more subtle forms of untruth are used at random and constitute the large majority of this disrespect for integrity. These forms include such things as misrepresentation, innuendo, half-truths, plagiarism, misquotation, exaggeration, flattery, and perhaps the most subtle of all untruths, excuses. Half truths are one of the most effective of the Devil's devices. He has always used them with great effectiveness. It was a half-truth that got Eve into trouble. It seems to me that almost all sin is involved in some way or the other in half-truths. They offer the best of both worlds--enough ``truth'' to salve the conscience, but mixed with an excuse so as to allow you to do what you want. Actually, half-truths are not truths at all--not even half. They are merely error dressed up like truth. Truth and honesty relate to all areas of life, even the smallest matters. It is just important that you tell the truth about little things as about big things. Honesty must prevail in areas of the insignificant just as it does in areas of the important. To lie about small matters continually is a dangerous business--a very bad habit--one bound to cause pain and heartache eventually. There is no place where integrity does not fit, where it is acceptable to appeal to what is not so. And the notion that situations--no matter their size--alter truth nips at the very heart of righteousness. Situations have nothing at all to do with what is right or wrong. Truth and honesty are products of the heart (Luke 8:15). From that seat, they must radiate into every area of life--the home, the family, the community, the church (Rom. 12:17; 2 Cor. 8:21). The husband-wife relationship is dependent on trust for its survival. I verily believe that dealing treacherously with truth is behind every divorce I ever heard about. Trust and truth are kin; one cannot exist without the other. And trust is what makes happy marriages. Most of the problems encountered in the family have to do with someone's mishandling of truth. There just cannot be peace and harmony in the family when there is untruth. On the other hand, peace will reign admirably when the scepter of truth is at her right hand. Politics have gotten a bad name. Not all politicians are bad. But crooked politicians are just that--crooked. And it would literally shock some of us if we knew how truth is poorly managed when brethren have problems. Preachers have been known to mis-quote, mis-apply, leave false impressions, all in the name of ``exposing'' some brother with whom they disagree. Honesty is the badge of the Christian. It is necessary for his own personal peace (Heb. 13:18). It has a profound effect on those who are in his sphere of influence (Col. 3:9). For the follower of Christ, honesty is not just the best policy, it is the only policy. ___________________________________________ Language Used in Prayer by Robert Simpson ``Is it wrong to lead a public prayer in modern English without using words like `thee' and `thou'?'' Today, the use of words such as ``thee'' and ``thou'' is confined mainly to prayer and poetry. The words were commonly used in an older form of English which was spoken around the time when the King James Version of the Bible was published in 1611. The King James translation of the Bible was written in the English language of that day. The English language has undergone many changes since 1611. Today, we have several translations of the Bible in modern English. As was the case with the King James Version, these modern versions were translated from the original languages of Bible times and, with a few exceptions, they are just as accurate as the King James Version. Although many people prefer the King James translation, it is no more acceptable nor ``official'' than some of the better modern translations. Our Lord did not walk the earth in 1611 and, hence, did not speak in old English. In fact, there is no evidence to suggest that Jesus ever spoke one word of any kind of English. The terms ``thee'' and ``thou'' are old English forms for today's ``you.'' Since the King James translation of the Bible has been prevalent for so many years, some people tend to think of King James English as ``Bible language'' and, hence, use it in their prayers. Other Christians recognize that Jesus did not speak in King James English; yet, they use ``thee'' and ``thou'' in prayer to suggest a sense of respectfulness toward God since the old English language is today reserved almost exclusively for prayer. Other Christians use the old English forms out of habit. They have heard it in prayers throughout their life and, out of habit, they use it in their own prayers. Is it wrong to lead a public prayer without using the archaic English words? No, it is not wrong. Neither is it wrong to use the archaic English form as an indication of respect for God. One style or the other may be customary at a particular congregation; but neither is wrong unless some scriptural principle is involved. Matthew 6:7 teaches that meaningless repetitions and prayers designed to draw the praise of others are useless before God. People who would ``perform'' a flowery prayer just to impress others need to learn the humility that a prayerful attitude requires. We learn from I Corinthians 14:13-17 that we must pray to be understood. The leader in a public prayer is guiding the thoughts of those who are praying with him. He should use words and phrases that all can understand and with which all of those who are praying can agree. If the words cannot be understood, then no one else has profited from the prayer. The content of the prayer should also be appropriate to the needs and desires of the group. It matters not whether one uses ``thee'' and ``thy'' or ``you'' and ``your'' if the prayer comes from the heart and is appropriate in content. It is advisable to avoid the well-worn phrases that sometimes appear to be said out of imitative habit rather than sincere understanding. Keep in mind that, as we pray publicly, we are talking to God on behalf of ourselves and the congregation. Sincere prayer from the heart in a manner that is natural to the speaker and understandable to the listeners makes the issue of whether to use ``thee-thy'' or ``you-your'' unimportant. -- from Faith and Facts (July, 1979) ___________________________________________ God by Jerry F. Bassett ``In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth'' (Genesis 1:1). So begins the text of the Bible with this simple affirmation. Notice that the verses following Genesis 1:1 make no argument for God's existence. This is an astounding fact in view of the great controversy which has surrounded this question. It is impossible to affirm the existence of God now without being challenged, if not openly scorned. So, how can the Bible offer this sweeping statement with any expectation of its being credible to thinking readers, whether ancient or modern? The fact is that the existence of an eternal, living creator is the only plausible explanation for what the Genesis record describes: the universe and its order, the planet earth and the existence of life upon it, including mankind. The idea that the universe, including earth and earth-life, came into existence from nothing simply is not tenable. To affirm this concept is to argue that zero multiplied by zero equals everything which now exists. Or, as one writer put it, nothing times emptiness equals everything. This is impossible. The idea that our universe is itself eternal, and that, given enough time, life originated within it by natural means is equally untenable. In the first place, the universe does not demonstrate physical evidence of eternalness. Rather, all physicists know it evidences gradual dissipation, entropy. In the second place, all biologists know that earth-life only comes from pre-existing life of the same kind. Evidence for the spontaneous generation of life from non-living matter does not exist. What explanation remains? Only one. Since something does not come from nothing, it follows that something has always been. Further, since that which has always been is the source of all that exists, this something must be described as a creator. And, since life comes only from life, this creator must be a living being, that is, an eternal, living, creator God. ``In the beginning God created...'' (Genesis 1:1). ___________________________________________ "Return, O faithless sons, I will heal your faithlessness...Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding" (Jer. 3:22,15) ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 1314 Montgomery Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________