____________________________________________________ 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). ____________________________________________________ December 13, 1998 ____________________________________________________ Satan's School of Preaching by Chuck Bartlett Paul, while addressing the brethren at Corinth, stated, ``For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works'' (II Cor. 11:13-15). It is clear that the Devil will do his best to influence people in this world to do evil. He will use anyone he can to destroy the lives of individuals. Knowing all of this, you can be certain that the ``father of lies'' (Jn. 8:44) would love for man to go through his program before they go out and preach. Here is a list of ten things that people need to know before they can graduate from Satan's school of preaching. (Actually, he will be pleased if you only do one of them.) 1. Never offend anyone with your preaching. Jesus would not have passed this test, since His disciples came to Him and said that some were offended (Matt. 15:12-14). 2. Never identify false practices or false teachers, just tell what the truth is. Although this is being practiced today, the reality is, by identifying things which are false, is to tell the truth! Jesus and His apostles did (Matt. 6:5; 16:6; I Cor. 6:1-8; etc.), and so should we. 3. Never leave the impression that you hate sin. This sort of relates to our first point. Satan would love it for ``his preachers'' to make others feel comfortable in their sin. Our Lord expects us to do the opposite (Psa. 119:104; Rev. 2:6; Mk. 11:17). 4. Never forget that when it comes right down to it, choose love over knowledge. It is no wonder Satan prefers love over knowledge, because knowledge is what he doesn't want people to have. When Paul spoke on love in I Corinthians 13, he didn't say that man is better off with love than knowledge. He said that if a man doesn't have love, knowledge doesn't help him (vr. 1-2). Do you see his point? 5. Never think that you can learn anything from someone who rejects any of the first four points. Pride is something that Satan's school is full of (I Jn. 2:15). Yet, the faithful know that there are many things that can be learned from those who are bold and stand against error: such as Jesus and His apostles (I Pet. 2:21; Phil. 4:9). 6. Never forget that all doctrinal differences are simply differences of opinion, and should be tolerated. Even though the Devil would like us to think that such is okay, it is not acceptable to God. Doctrine is so important that, by not abiding in the doctrine of Christ, you don't have God (II Jn. 9). There is a huge difference between a doctrinal and an opinion difference--they are not the same. 7. Never tell someone that they are lost or wrong. Not only would this offend, but the Devil also wants us to think that we would be playing judge if we did that. Again, there is a big difference between telling someone thy are lost in sin and condemning them to hell. Jesus made it clear that we can tell someone their condition when we know our own (Matt. 7:1-5). Actually, to help others, we need to do it (Acts 2:36; Rom. 16:1; Jas. 5:19-20). 8. Never engage in controversy, always be at peace with everyone. With the evil one, avoiding controversy always spells compromise. Jesus said, ``Woe to you when all men speak well of you....'' (Lk. 6:26). Did not Stephen engage in controversy when he preached in Acts 7? It cost him his life. It cost Christ His life! Strive for peace, but not at the expense of faithfulness. 9. Never forget that no matter what you do, there will always be students from my school who will stand with you. Now isn't that a comfort? It is true that followers of Satan will often support fellow followers, but where is the comfort? Just because you can find people to support your false ways, it doesn't mean you are right! As for followers of Christ, they are not here to please men (Gal. 1:10). If, while pleasing the Lord you make man happy, fine, as long as the Lord comes first. 10. Never stop criticizing those who do not practice one or all of the above points. It is funny how those who follow Satan and want to preach, spend more time pointing the finger at those who stand against error, than standing against error! Think about it. -- Via The Jordan Journal, May 27, 1998 ___________________________________________ Jehovah's Witnesses, Blood Transfusions and the Bible by Dudley Ross Spears The Jehovah's Witnesses have a very faulty method of biblical interpretation. They twist and distort numerous passages to fit their own particular doctrinal posture. Additions to what the text of Scripture says is not uncommon among them. They can change and alter the meanings of words to fit their own purposes and have even developed a special translation of the Bible designed to support their erroneous doctrines. This is a very tragic and dangerous thing to do. We hold the people in the Jehovah's Witness organization in the highest esteem. We simply deplore their doctrinal defections and corruptions. With the Psalmist we can say, ``Through your precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way'' (Psalm 119:104). As we examine their doctrines and practices, in this installment we will look at how they pervert Scripture relative to blood transfusions. Traditionally the Jehovah's Witnesses refuse to accept blood transfusions, even though it may mean the loss of life. They preach this with regularity. Quite often the news media picks up on some very tragic story of someone who refused to allow the transfusion of life sustaining blood to one who could have been saved but died. Young children are frequently the victims, which makes it even more tragic, for most of them had no say in the matter. Their parents decided death for them due to a misunderstanding of what the Bible teaches about blood. From an official Jehovah's Witness organ, Awake!, I read their doctrine as they present it. ``So, whether one eats congealed blood in unbled meat, or drinks it at a slaughter-house, or takes it by intravenous feeding at a hospital, it is still a violation of divine restriction that forbids taking blood into the system. Jesus poured His (Blood) out as a ransom price, not as a transfusion'' (May 22, 1951, pages 4-6). Their doctrinal view on blood transfusions evolved slowly after the death of one of their great leaders and founders, J.F. Rutherford. In the July 1945 issue of Watchtower, an official Jehovah's Witness publication, an article on ``Sanctity of Blood'' was published. From a California newspaper item comes the following: ``Canoga Park, Calif. (AP) A judge ruled that doctors should be allowed to give a transfusion to a bleeding boy despite his parents' religious objections. But the decision was overruled by death. ... Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Hood insisted their 4-year old son, Brandon, should not have a blood transfusion because it is `against the scriptures.''' Officials attempted to overrule the parents by a hastily called meeting sought to make the boy a ward of the court. A judge raced 40 miles from his home to the hospital and there a hearing was held. At the hearing, Forrest B. Tanner, president and minister of the Jehovah's Witness congregation in Canoga Park, California, testified the following: ``The scriptures make it clear that blood transfusions are a violation of God's law. We love our children, but we must maintain our integrity in such a crisis as faces us today.'' The young child bled for six hours and then died. How tragic. These people may be sincere, but they are no more right than Hindus who once tossed their infants to crocodiles as a human sacrifice. They are sincerely wrong. What does the Bible teach on this? In the Bible one learns that human life is sacred. Because of the concern for life, the Bible frequently recommends treatment. Jesus said, ``Those who are well do not need a physician, but those who are sick'' (Luke 5:31). Yet still, groups like the Jehovah's Witnesses and Dawn Bible Society refuse any medical treatment involving the intravenous transfer of blood from one person to another. Do they have good reason for such? To justify their erroneous position on blood transfusions, they pervert Acts 15:20,29. The passage reads, ``But that we write unto them (the Gentile churches), that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood ... that ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication ...'' The Jehovah's Witnesses erroneously argue that this prohibits blood transfusions. One of their arguments goes like this: ``Examine the scriptures carefully and notice that they tell us to `keep free from blood' and to `abstain from blood.' (Acts 15:20,29). What does this mean? If a doctor were to tell you to abstain from alcohol, would that mean simply that you should not take it through your mouth but that you could transfuse it directly into your veins? Of course not! So, too, `abstaining from blood' means not taking it into our bodies at all.'' The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life, pages 162-168. The argument is false. It is a perversion of the verses cited. The issue is whether or not ``eating'' or ``keeping free from'' and ``abstaining'' from blood equals taking blood into the body by transfusion. The argument is based on a bad analogy. They equate ``abstaining from alcohol'' with ``do not have blood transfused into your veins.'' The analogy fails. Intravenous injection of blood can save life; intravenous injection of alcohol is lethal! The only thing prohibited in Acts 15 is drinking or eating blood. A transfusion of blood is not eating or drinking blood. Blood transfusions and intravenous feeding are not even the same. A blood transfusion replaces blood that was lost or provides some essential ingredient in a person's circulatory system. Intravenous feeding is supplying food, not blood, to one who cannot eat normally. A transfusion of blood one person to another is not providing nourishment in place of food. Intravenous feeding provides nourishment in place of food. The argument from analogy fails. Jehovah's Witnesses sometimes boast that they live and do very well without transfusions. They claim that one will be in better health since you do not run the risk of contracting the AIDS virus. Sometimes one hears a Jehovah's Witness argue that ``if you break God's law, trying to save your life, you will be guilty of sin.'' When the question of saving life is introduced, they add that there is a resurrection of the dead promised in I Thessalonians 4:13-14 and so by refusing transfusions, you may die, but you will not be guilty of breaking God's commands. Some of them even resort to perverting Paul's statement, ``I am free from the blood of all men'' (Acts 20:26,27). They want it to mean, ``I have had no blood transfusions.'' That passage has absolutely nothing to do with transfusions. The entire issue of blood transfusions is based on a false assumption. Our friends in the Jehovah's Witnesses and Dawn Bible Society falsely assume that Acts 15:20,29 forbids transfusing blood from one person to another. There are at least two plausible meanings that may be attached to the prohibition given in Acts 15. Regarding blood, the prohibition is against eating it. Genesis 9:4 states: ``But the flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.'' This was in force before the Mosaic law came into existence. The law of Moses reinforced this prohibition (Leviticus 3:17; 7:26; 17:10,14; 19:26). In the days of Saul eating blood was considered a sin before God (I Samuel 14:33). While things strangled are not specifically mentioned in the Mosaic Law, they could not be eaten without consuming blood. The thing strangled died of either a broken neck or suffocation. In such a case the blood would remain in the carcass. It is also possible that the prohibitions were directed against idolatrous practices. A second possible explanation is that the prohibition is against extreme cruelty. Those who see it this way look at the context of Genesis 9:4. Shedding man's blood is the main thought (verse 6). Acts 15 refers to ``pollutions of idols.'' Some feel that the prohibition is against idolatry, to bloodshed (often associated with idol worship) and torture or extreme violence (also associated with idolatry). Whatever view one takes there is no logical way on earth it can be taken as a prohibition of saving one's life by accepting the life saving blood via intravenous transfusion. It is always serious when anyone wrests the Scripture to uphold a false doctrine. There are few religions in the world that surpass the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Dawn Bible Society people when it comes to perversions of plain simple Bible teaching. ___________________________________________ Compromise Was Not In God's True Prophets by Douglas Matlock When Amaziah said to the prophet Amos, ``Go, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. There eat bread, and there prophesy. But never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is the royal residence.'' Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah: ``I was not a prophet, but I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore fruit. Then the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said to me, Go, prophesy to My people Israel. Now therefore, hear the word of the Lord: You say, Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not spout against the house of Isaac. Therefore thus says the Lord....'' There was no spirit of compromise in God's prophets. There must not be compromise with God's people today. There will be those who want to hear comforting words and there is a time for that, but there is also a time to say, Now therefore hear the word of the Lord.... -- Via The Old Path II, April 23, 1998 ________________________________________ 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 ________________________________________