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  ABILENE1935 LECTURES
  by Abilene Christian College
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The annual Abilene Christian College Lectureship for 1935, featuring a series of
sermons, lectures, and addresses by prominent preachers and teachers in the
Churches of Christ on themes of faith, doctrine, and Christian living.

  Chapters: 14

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS
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    1. Introduction
    2. The Church Today In Comparison with the Church in Apostolic Times in its organization
    3. The Church Today In Comparison with the Church in Apostolic Times in its organization
    4. The Church Today in its Care of the Poor and Sick
    5. The Church Today In Its Care of Widows and Orphans
    6. The Church Today In Its Giving or Financial Support
    7. The Church Today In Its Preaching and Teaching
    8. The Church Today In Its Building Itself Up In Love
    9. The Church Today In Its Worship
   10. The Church Today In Its Ideas and Ideals of Unity
   11. The Church Today In Its Leadership
   12. The Larger Vision and Need of the Hour
   13. The Church Today In Its War Against Sin
   14. Spreading the Gospel or Sounding Out the Word

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  CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
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Introduction


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  CHAPTER 2: THE CHURCH TODAY IN COMPARISON WITH THE CHURCH IN APOSTOLIC TIMES IN ITS ORGANIZATION
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The Church Today In Comparison with the Church in Apostolic Times in its
organization THE CHURCH TODAY IN COMPARISON WITH THE CHURCH IN APOSTOLIC TIMES
IN ITS ORGANIZATION E. H. IJAMS

“And he gave tome, apostles; and some prophets; and soma, evangelists; and some,
pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:” Ephesians 4:11-12.

“And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. Take
heed therefore, unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy
Spirit hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath
purchased with his own blood.” Acts 20:17; Acts 20:28.

“Paul to Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ
Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:” Php_1:1. “Remember
them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto yon the word of God:
whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.” Hebrews 13:17.

Abilene Christian College is to be congratulated on having chosen such an
important theme for its 1935 lectureship. I am sure it is good to make frequent
comparisons between the church of the apostolic times and the church of today.
The church of apostolic times is the admitted standard of church excellence.
Beyond doubt the church of the first century had favor with God and power with
men. The most significant chapter in the history of the world is the story of
the rise and spread of Christianity under the Apostles of Jesus. The new
religion which they proclaimed overcame difficulties and made progress at a rate
never equalled. Beyond doubt it was effective, workable and adequate in practice
as well as theory. If the church of today has varied from the model of apostolic
times it will be well to correct such variations by an immediate return to the
original pattern, the church of the first calvary.

SIGNIFICANT CHARACTERISTICS OF APOSTOLIC CHRISTIANITY In the first lecture of
this important series, I have been asked to compare the church of today with the
church of the Apostolic times as to organization. Before undertaking any direct
comparison of this it is well to notice some of the striking characteristics of
first century Christianity. A review of these notable characteristics will help
us to appreciate both the form and the function of the organization of the
church. In this connection, you know, of course that Christianity in its
beginning was simple in form and spirit. It concerned itself with the
fundamentals of life. Its doctrines touched principles and actualities. It
grappled with such realities as sorrow, sin, death. It answers human questions
about God, about duty, and the hope of eternal life. It taught the truths and
principles needed to meet every issue of life. It filled human hearts with the
passion for righteousness and the hope of heaven. But the Christianity of the
first century was not only simple and fundamental, it was also practical. It met
the actual needs of men. It emphasized the fact that the hungry must be fed that
the homeless must be cared for, that the sick must be nursed, and that the
sorrowing must be comforted. It gave clear emphasis, also, to the fact that
people need to be taught the ways of righteousness, that they must have the
advantages of discipline, exhortation, and encouragement. It undertook to make
religion workable in the home and in the community as well as in the place of
worship. Christianity was, and is, everywhere the means of meeting the practical
as well as the theoretical spiritual needs of mankind. And we must not forget
that this simple and practical religion that we call Christianity was
wonderfully adaptable. It was simple enough to meet all varieties of outward
circumstance. Because it was so thoroughly adaptable, it worked equally well in
Jerusalem, in Corinth, and in Rome. Be'mg simple practical and adaptable
Christianity was—and is—suited to all nations and all ages. It was not—and is
not—based on local customs, nor does it depend for its effectiveness on
fortunate situation of circumstance

It will do us good in these days, when self-appointed leaders frequently appear,
to remember that God at first gave to the world inspired leaders. It was these
specially prepared leaders who started the kingdom, taught others to select the
best men among their number to be their leaders and teachers. Thus it came about
that the leadership of the first century was a trained leadership. That was
another characteristic of apostolic Christianity. The leaders of that far off
day were leaders in deed as well as in name. And another characteristic of
Christianity of the first century is this: it was a thing of principle, not a
set of rules. Everywhere it gave clear cut emphasis to principles. Organization
was important; but it was subservient to principle and purpose. Character and
faithful service—soul saving were the big things in the religion demonstrated by
the apostles of Christ. Organization in the early days was the means to the
Divine end.

ORGANIZATION CONSISTENT WITH PURPOSE

Now having refreshed our minds in a brief way as to some of the outstanding
characteristics of Apostolic Christianity, or of the church under apostolic
guidance, we are ready to take note of its organization. And the first thing
that should impress us is this: In apostolic times the organization of the
chuich was thoroughly adapted to the nature of its character and work. As we
have said already, Apostolic Christianity was simple and fundamental in
principle. Its organization was also simple and fundamental. It was based upon
principles, not on mere form or circumstance. We know of course that the church
was not organized for honor but for service. Offices were created not for
distinction but for the accomplishment of the Lord’s work. The organization of
the church in Apostolic times was not only simple but selective. It combined the
best features of the monarchial and democratic forms of government. It combined
the heavenly and the earthly factors of religious authority. For instance, we
know that the church had, and has a supreme head, Jesus Christ. He is the head
over all things to the church. (Ephesians 1:23) He is, indeed, King of kings,
and Lord of lords to all his followers. But Christ does not rule by direct
appearance and speech to his widely scattered people. As our text says, he hath
made “some Apostles and prophets” etc. to be his witnesses and messengers unto
others. When those taught by the Apostles united for the work and worship they
had apostolic guidance in selecting officers or leaders, who in these
worshipping groups or congregations were called, elders, or bishops, or
shepherds or pastors. Ruling over the entire body of Christians everywhere is
Christ, the Supreme Head of the church. Over ihe local congregations were the
officers we have mentioned-- elders, or bishops, or overseers, pastors. Local
congregations also had deacons, men who gave heed to the temporal and benevolent
responsibilities of the work. Then in addition to the elders, deacons, apostles,
and prophets, there was a great multitude of members who were instructed to
respect and to obey those who had the rule over them. All members and all
officers under Christ, the Head, worked together as one body.

Everywhere in New Testament times, the apostles and prophets taughtthe same
truths and the same doctines. Everywhere believers acknowledged the same
authority, the authority of Christ. Everywhere congregations had the same
officers chosen for reasonable fitness rather than personal glory. Everywhere
followers of Christ were taught to respect and honor those who by reason of
recognized merit, had the rule over them. This in brief is a simple description
of the organization of the church in the New Testament times.

It should be noted that this simple organization combined the human and the
Divine—the heavenly and the earthly. Though simple in form, it was wonderfully
adapted to the Divine purpose for which it was designed. In its simplicity it
was suited to all the varying ages and conditions of men. Its great simplicity
and its adaptableness gives opportunity for principles to operate in all the
work the Lord wants done. This combination of ultra simplicity and high
efficiency in spiritual accomplishments is one evidence that the Church of the
first century had its origin in divine wisdom and love.

HONOR THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH BY RESPECTING ITS ORGANIZATION

Now I suggest that if we are to keep the organization of the church of the
present in line with that of the first century, that every Christian must be
taught to respect the form and function of its simple but effective
organization. Everyone who lives under the authority of Christ must respect the
organization by which the principles of his Gospel are perpetuated. We must
guard against the inconsistency of saying, “Lord, Lord” to Jesus Christ, the
Head of the church, while disregarding the form of government which He
instituted for the perpetuation of His church. Through Christ Jesus, the One
unto whom all authority has been given, God has joined together the simple form
of organization and the divine effectiveness of its function. He has wisely
united the truth of Christianity with the simplicity of a minimum organization.
We,.must be careful, therefore^ not to separate what God has joined together. If
we do not keep together these principles which God has united, we betray the
faith of our Lord Jesus Christ and do violence to Divine wisdom. The moral
obligation rests upon us to respect the form of the organization even as we
respect the Divine origin of the church and the purpose for which it was
created.

PRESENT AND PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANITY COMPARED.

Now, when we come down to the actual comparison of the church today with the
church of apostolic times, find some departures from the principles that we have
just mentioned. We notice, first of all, that a great deal of what is called
“New Testament Christianity” does not appear to have the power that Christianity
of the first century had. This fact suggests that there is something lacking. It
suggests that somewhere we have missed the mark in our efforts' to adhere both
to form and substance of the Christian religion. When we look for the cause of
this weakness or inconsistency, we find some of it in organization. It appears
in some instances today that, though we have the same offices as in former
times, that we have not the spirit of service and leadership that these offices
should represent. If your church doesn't have these offices and these offices
only, can it be considered the New Testament church? Sometimes men are elders in
name only. Sometime though elders in name, they are not apt to teach, or they
fail to command the highest respect and confidence of the people within and
without the congregation. Sometimes we find men listed as elders and deacons who
seem to be content with “holding office.” They appear to be only mildly
concerned about the work to which they are called. They think of the eldership
as an office to be held instead of service to 'be rendered. It happens,
therefore, sometimes that, we have the rule of the unworthy and incompetent
instead of the rule of the humblest and best men in the congregation. Sometimes
we find men in Scriptural offices who are self appointed. They are qualified in
their own opinion but not by actual qualities of mind and heart. Thus, it comes
about that instead of leadership of the best, according to the first century
standard, we occasionally have the leadership of the usurper or of the childish
weakling.

Another factor that has entered into the problem of church organization and
unity within recent years, is the popular craze for “freedom.” In nearly every
part of the world new and revolutionary ideas of government have sprung up
within the last quarter of a century. These radical ideas go by different names
in different countries, but everywhere they operate to pull down constituted
authority and make every man a law unto himself, set up the reign of the “mass
mind” —majorities. This popular trend in theories of government has affected the
thinking of people in the mass and even members of the church. As a result it is
not difficult to recognize here and there a spirit of revolt against the
apostolic form of congregational government—a kind of spiritual anarchy. It is
admitted that these departures are natural and easy under the circumstances; but
they are regrettable. They are indeed worse than regrettable because they are
exceedingly dangerous. If we allow such tendencies to go on toward a logical
end, it will bring an ever increasing number of perversions and reversals of the
Divine pattern of church organization. Departures from the true pattern should
be recognized and corrected. We should count it a privilege to exercise constant
diligent to keep the organization of the church in the 20th century fully in
line with the principles that governed the organization of the church in the
first century.

IT SHOULDN'T CHANGE OR ADD TO IT'S ORGANIZATION

It should be a joy to do this because the church is the most sacred organization
known to man. No existing institution in the world has a higher origin—the mind
of God. No institution is designed to accomplish a holier mission—the saving of
the world. No institution is so peculiarly a channel of God’s blessings unto the
sons of men. The church which bears Christ’s name and acknowledges His authority
is the body of Christ. It represents Him and His glory and His love for mankind.
It is “the light of the world and the salt of the earth.” Christ Jesus loved the
church and gave Himself for it. He wants it to be holy, and without “spot, or
wrinkle, or any such thing.” For the glory of the church Christ gave some to be
apostles, some prophets, and some evangelists, some pastors and teachers for the
perfecting of the saints to the work of the ministering. I am glad, therefore,
to have the privilege of encouraging brethren to respect and maintain in the
church of the 20th century that same kind of simple, effective organization
which the church had in the first century. I am glad for the restoration of both
the form and the spirit of the organization which the church had in the days of
the apostles. I am glad of the privilege or saying to you today, “Let us keep
together what God has joined—the great and holy mission of the church and the
wise and simple organization designed for its control. Let us honor our Lord and
the Head of the church by doing the work He has given us to do in and through
the organization which is designed for its good.”


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  CHAPTER 3: THE CHURCH TODAY IN COMPARISON WITH THE CHURCH IN APOSTOLIC TIMES IN ITS ORGANIZATION
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The Church Today In Comparison with the Church in Apostolic Times in its
organization THE CHURCH TODAY IN COMPARISON WITH THE CHURCH IN APOSTOLIC TIMES
IN ITS DISCIPLINE E. H. IJAMS

“And he gave some, apostles and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some,
pastors and teachers;" “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-12.

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences
contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.”—Romans 16:17.

“But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called
brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a
drunkard, or an extortioner, with such an one do not to eat.”—1 Corinthians
5:11.

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship hath
righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with
darkness?” “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse
ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in
the fear of God.” 2 Corinthians 6:14; 2 Corinthians 7:1.

“For this ye know; that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man,
who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”
“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather
reprove them.”—Ephesians 5:5; Ephesians 5:11.

“Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear." —1 Timothy 5:20.

“Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye
withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after
the tradition which he received of us.”—2 Thessalonians 3:6.

“Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the
feeble-minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.”—1 Thessalonians
5:14.

“For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the
circumcision; “Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teachings
things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.”—Titus 1:10-11.

SIMPLICITY THE KEY NOTE OF PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANITY In the first lecture of this
series the subject of study was the “Organization of the Church in Apostolic
Times in Comparison with the Church Today.” The point of emphasis at the morning
hour was the simplicity of the organization of the Church of the Apostolic
times. The simplicity was the strength of church organization in the first
century. In those days Christ, the founder and builder of the Church, was
everywhere recognized as its Supreme Head. It was also recognized that Christ
the head of the Church gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, and some
to be pastors and teachers “for perfecting the saints unto the work of the
ministering.” This simple organization was by actual test, wonderfully adapted
to all the various circumstances of first century conditions. It met the real
needs of the existing world better than any elaborate organization could have
done. We believe that the simple adaptability of the New Testament organization
is still adequate to meet all the spiritual needs of the modern world.

ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTION GO HAND IN HAND.

Tonight our subject is “Discipline in the Apostolic Church as Compared with the
Church at the Present.” We have approached the subject of discipline with a
brief statement concerning organization, because we believe that discipline
should be considered in connection with organization. We believe that the
subject of discipline should be studied in relation to certain definite
characteristics of New Testament Christianity. One of these characteristics of
major importance is that, in New Testament times, Christian leaders really led,
and rulers of the Church actually ruled. Those placed in authority by divine
choice were respected for the work’s sake, and their counsel was taken with
respect for men and for God.

Another characteristic of New Testament Christianity that should be kept in mind
is the fact that the Church of the early days made war on sin. The apostles and
followers of Jesus made no compromise with evil things. They not only opposed
sin, but they condemned sin in all. And another obvious characteristic of
Christianity in the apostolic age is the fact that the mission which brought
Jesus to the earth was understood. He came to save people from their sins, not
to make excuses for sin. Christians taught, and were taught, to deny ungodliness
and worldly lusts and to cleanse themselves from all defilements of flesh and
spirit. And this in the main they were glad to do. (2 Corinthians 7:1).

These characteristics of New Testament Christianity have been mentioned to pave
the way for this affirmation, namely, —those whom Christ has set over his flock
must discipline the group in the spirit of meekness and love. They must be
willing to reprove and rebuke and exhort with all patience and kindness.
Christians everywhere need constant admonition. Those who would live godly in
Christ Jesus need teachers to encourage and instruct them so that they may deny
worldly and ungodly lusts. For the work’s sake, somebody must be diligent and
faithful in teaching and admonishing those who are trying to fight the good
fight. For the good of the individual and the group, the weak must be encouraged
and the erring must be instructed plainly and lovingly. The disorderly must be
recognized, and those causing division must be marked. Somebody must have the
discernment, faith, and courage to do this; and congregational officers are the
proper enes to do it. Trespassers must be restored by those who are spiritual in
the spirit of meekness. (Galatians 6:1).

Elders and deacons must be spiritual, as must also teachers, preachers, and
Christians generally. Those who are impenitent and who cannot be brought to a
correction of their faults must be separated from the body of Christ. Who is
officially responsible for acting in such matters if not the officers of the
congregation? Presumably, no argument is needed to establish the fact that the
principle of discipline must be observed among God’s people. In like manner it
is clear that elders are to take lead in its scriptural application, of the
principle of discipline. But it must be remembered that though elders are to
take the lead in disciplinary measures, all Christians are responsible to God
for observing the disciplinary principle and for supporting those who
scripturaliy apply it. THE VALUE OF DISCIPLINE The word discipline is a great
word. It stands for that control and harmony without which no individual can
attain the highest character. Discipline is of great importance to the
individual. It is of incalculable importance to the group. It is discipline in
the good sense that unifies the athletic team. It is discipline that gives
focus, power and harmony to the work of a good school. It is discipline that
keeps the family together, guiding each member in observing his faithful
privileges and responsibilities. It is discipline, also, in the Church, in the
congregation, that gives it uniformity, regularity, and power for good. It is
obvious, therefore, that the principle of discipline must be observed among
God’s people.

Some time ago I heard an English naval officer tell an interesting story. He
descibed a picture that hangs in Westminister Abbey in London. It shows, he
said, a Bristish war vessel in a sinking condition. One end of the vessell is
awash. The deck was also titled side-wise. But on the afterdeck, standing in
perfect order, is the ship’s band, flanked by a line of sailors. It is plain
that everything possible is being done to save the men; but it is also obvious
that the ship is going down and, in all probability—every man with it. But not a
man breaks rank. There is no disorder, no panic among members of the crew. To
the last, every man kept his place and did his duty. That picture which occupies
a place of honor in the capitol building of the British Empire has as its title
just one word—“Discipline.” The naval man telling the story had a special
knowledge of that picture. His father was captain of the sinking war vessel. He
went down with his ship. Discipline.

Service cannot be maintained without discipline. Discipline must be employed to
defend every good thing. Its principles must apply in the maintenance of every
worthwhile institution. This being true, it is clear that the Church of the Lord
Jesus Christ must observe the principle of discipline. It requires discipline to
maintain the sanctity of the character of the Church. It cannot be the “light of
the world” and the “salt of the earth” without observing the discipline of sound
doctrine and right conduct.

Some Obvious Facts.

Misconduct on the part of Church members and poor discipline in dealing with
those guilty of misconduct have done great harm to the reputation and the
influence of the Church of Christ.. The failure of certain individuals to
observe the true standards of Christian character and the failure of Church
officers to discipline the guilty parties have brought reproach upon the name of
Christ and have hindered the spread of the Gospel.

Experience and the revelation of God’s word both show the necessity of drawing
the line between the Church and the world. A distinction between order and
disorder must be maintained. God’s standards for His people are admittedly high,
but they must be kept just as high as God makes them. Their power for good to
the individual and to society, depends upon their being kept up to their
divinely appointed plane. Those who would be steadfast and unmoveable in their
loyalty to the will of our Heavenly Father must refrain from lowering the
standards which God has set as the pattern of character for His saints. But it
is equally obvious that discipline must be administered both in wisdom and in
love. The leaders who are scripturally qualified and selected to oversee the
congregation must not be vindicative in dealing with the unruly. Elders are not
called primarily to punish those guilty of misconduct. Their primary
responsibility is to teach and to feed and to develop the spiritual characters
in those over whom the Holy Spirit has made them bishops. When it is necessary
and in keeping with their responsibility as shepherds of the flock to deal with
the disorderly, they must make diligent effort to do it in love combined with
the very best judgment that they can command. They must guard against every sort
of prejudice and partiality. They must let their manner of procedure as well as
their motives command the respect and confidence of all concerned. Elders must
nevei forget that if they can win a brother from the error of his way, they have
saved a soul from death. They ought to so value the soul that they are willing
to put forth any reasonable effort of love and patience to win the sinner from
his erring way. On the other hand elders must be courageous, even relentless, in
their loyalty to truth and right. And their hands must be upheld by brethren
generally. The efforts of proper persons to keep together what God has
joined—sound doctrine and right conduct—is a duty which every Christian must
encourage. In short, it is obligatory upon all God’s people to help unhold the
efforts of their elders when they in obedience to God’s commands and their
special responsibilities, seek to maintain the order and discipline of the
Church. The Rising Tide of Worldliness Must Be Resisted.

It is my observation that worldliness is one of the great problems with which
Christian leaders have to deal at the present time. The very atmosphere of our
modern world is charged with the spirit of revolt against authority. Civil
governments in all parts of the world are grappling with revolutionary
influences within their own borders. In the moral realm there is a growing
tendency to disregard the laws of decency, honor, and right. In religion there
is a tendency for every man to become a law unto himself. Under these conditions
and tendencies, the tide of worldliness seems to rise ever higher and higher.
Many members of the Church are infected with it to the degree they do not
suspect. For that reason, the necessity of maintaining respect for Scriptural
authority weighs doubly heavy upon the elders of the Church at the present time.
It is an extraordinary condition which all should recognize, and in which we all
are obligated to do our full duty.

Since the Bible is our source of authority, the rule of practice for all things
in work and worship, we shall end this study in the same way it was begun—with
readings from God’s word. We read these scriptural statements with the prayer
that they may be so received as to give light and understanding to all who hear.

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and
some, pastors and teachers; “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of
the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-12.

“Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the
feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.” 1 Thessalonians
5:14.

“Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye
withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after
the tradition which he receiveth of us.” 2 Thessalonians 3:6.

“For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the
circumcision; “Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching
things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.” Titus 1:10-11.

“Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch
for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy,
and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.” Hebrews 13:17.


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  CHAPTER 4: THE CHURCH TODAY IN ITS CARE OF THE POOR AND SICK
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The Church Today in its Care of the Poor and Sick THE CHURCH TODAY IN ITS CARE
OF THE POOR AND SICK JOHN ALLEN HUDSON

Professor Cox assigned me this subject to fit into the general discussion of the
Church, which this entire series of lectures features. Other speakers whom I
have not heard have delivered themselves upon the many other phases of the
Church in its work, before I come to you with this address. In fact, the one
consolation I have is that I am put in the position of delivering the last
lecture of the series. I do not wish to take advantage of the occasion and,
therefore, undertake to re-hash all that has been said, nor on the other hand,
to preach a sermon on the whole subject of the Church just because I am last.
This lecture happens to be the last because of a difficulty that Professor Cox
and I had in the arrangement of dates for my speeches. I should like very much
to have heard a number of the other speakers on this program for, no doubt,
certain points in the things which they had to say dovetailed with this subject
assigned me.

We understand in the outset of this that the Church is not, strictly speaking, a
mere social agency. We hear much these days of the social gospel. On the subject
of a social eschatology some writers have taken the position that the fruits of
Christianity in this life are not merely for the perfection of individual
character but for the actual fulfilling of the destiny of the religion of
Christ. Someone else has called this “Eudemonism.”

Christ did preach a social gospel and He undertook to relieve all sorts of
distress, but to take the position on the subject of the social gospel that the
primary ends of the religion of Christ are temporal, will be to reverse the
fundamentals of the teachings of Christ. The thought of a present world social
conclusion for the gospel of Christ has led many missionaries on the foreign
fields to seek to spread the gospel through institutionalism. This is called
“institutional missionary work.” Such a plan is to set up a hospital or some
other agency for physical relief or for mental training and thru such a means to
undertake to reach the soul of the person with whom contact is formed. In my way
of thinking this reverses the importance of things and puts too much stress on
the social aspect of Christianity. I do not read in the New Testament where any
of the Apostles or other inspired leaders of the Apostolic Age ever looked
toward the relief of sickness or distress as a thing of primary concern.
Naturally, Christianity could r.ot overlook the earthbound phases of the
religion of Christ. Problems of physical relief, of caring for the poor and
administering to the sick not only arose with the very beginning of the Church
but they are as old as the religion of the race. The Apostles could not overlook
such social problems as naturally arose.

It can not be said from the study of the New Testament, however, that the
Apostles set up an intricate and perfect system of mechanics for caring for the
relief of the poor and sick. Such is not true. Those records of relief that we
have in the New Testament indicate that individual cases were treated as the
need arose. Whatever was done was done without any intricate machine being set
up. In the Jerusalem church, the first case that came to the attention of the
Apostles Was incident to the community of goods which was established
voluntarily by the early church. There is no indication in the Scriptures that
the Apostles ordered or demanded of the individual members when they became
converts to Christianity, that they should give all they possessed into the
common treasury. While there is nothing to indicate there was a demand from the
Apostles looking to this end, we do know from the Book of Acts that all the
early members did give all they possessed into a community of goods. This is not
a Christian communism, looking toward a definite system of production and
distribution. There is no well-mapped plan or scheme for carrying out Christian
communism. It seems the early Church became so enthused over the rapturous
wonders of Christianity, that the mem* bers simply disregarded the material side
of life and rushed at once voluntarily into a willing sharing of all that each
individual possessed. We are told that as many as had houses or lands sold them
and brought the proceeds and cast them at the Apostles’ feet. This condition
automatically thrust upon the Apostles the responsibility of dispensing from the
common store the goods to meet the daily needs of the members of this early
church. The first record we have of any sort of relief of the poor came as a
result of this system of a community of goods.

We are told in Acts the 6th chapter that word was brought to the Apostles that
the Grecian widows were neglected in the daily ministration. It was noised about
that some of them were in extreme want. The caring for the poor in their own
community thus became a problem in the life of the church only a short time
after it was established.

While no system of mechanics was set up to spread the social phases of the
gospel of Christ, this first need did call for the first officers, with the
exception of the Apostles, to be in the New Testament church. Seven men were
ordained to be deacons and we can judge from the record of Acts the 6th chapter
that the work of these men was the distribution of material goods to the needy
of the Christian community. Relief agencies had been in the world, no doubt,
from the begining. Here the church is forced to adopt some means of dealing with
the problems of its own cases in need. The Apostles said that it was not meet
that they should “leave the Word of God to serve tables.” The seven men who were
ordained at the direction of the Apostles, and by them, upon the selection of
the Church, had as their business then the spending of church finances. From a
study of the record given us in Book of Acts, we reach the conclusion that the
relief of the poor and the needy in the New Testament church was left in the
hands of the deacons. It would not do, however, to take the position that the
only way a case of actual need could be relieved would be thru the action of
some deacon or group of deacons. We must not overlook the fact that there is an
individual Christian duty in the social phases of Christianity as well as the
duty of an official group in the New Testament church. If one meets an
individual case of distress the person might starve to death before he could get
an action of the deacons, looking toward the relief of the case. One cannot say
he must first call together the deacons of the church and see whether they feel
they can render aid in a certain case. If he is in a position to render enough
aid himself, his individual Christian duty demands that he do so without calling
upon the church for assistance. In the immortal parable of the Good Samaritan,
Jesus teaches one must not pass by a case of need if it be sickness or any other
sort of distress, but must render what aid he can according to the exigencies
ofthe case.

Christianity is, beyond question, the finest religion the world has ever had in
that it recognizes and demands of each individual member that he be his
brother’s keeper, or that, if granted the opportunity, he, too, shall be the
good Samaritan. We must clearly recognize the difference between the individual
Christian duty and the official duty of a group in the church, and Jesus makes
room for both in the Scriptures. In many instances the Church has been imposed
upon by thoughtless or by over-expectant people. Even in the days of Christ we
learn of certain persons who He judged followed the Christ because of the
“loaves and fishes.” They had such a mean and low estimation of the values of
life that they could see only such things as food and clothing. There are some
like that in this age as there has been in every age and they see’: to impose
upon the Church. Its spiritual values to them are net supreme as they ought to
be. Perhaps there is not a church of any size in any of the cities of the land
but that has had experience with certain imposing individuals. Overmuch charity
can injure a person and sometimes the churches have spoiled certain individuals
by looking too carefully after their needs, of course, each case must be judged
upon its merits.

Such social and religious agencies as the Salvation Army, the Community Fund and
so on, have found out the only way to work charity on a uniform basis by what is
called the -case method.” Trained workers study individual ca^ a make
recommendations as to what should be done. When the work of the Church in any
community is considered, the dea cons will finally have to adopt the case method
morteü, secure the results without abusing the principles of Christianity. The
church, for example, where I have been preaching in Tulsa for several years has
had at different times the stern necessity of cutting off supplies from certain
imposing individuals. As everybody knows, in this time of depression there have
been unusual demands upon churches as well as upon all other agencies that have
been established for the relieving of distress. The unusual times have called
forth unusua demands but the thing about the New Testament church is that the
Lord made it sufficiently comprehensive in principles, yet flexible enough in
operation, that it can be adapted to any emergencies or conditions of any age.

There is always the human equation in divine affairs, flhe Lord allows as much
liberty as is required in working out the principles of the religion of Christ.
A wideawake church will have a body of deacons who are prepared to meet in a
skilled way the emergencies that may arise. This will enable them to relieve
distress in cases of actual need, and will prevent the spoiling of other folk
who might become professional Charity hunters. In harmony with the spirit of
good-will at certain seasons of the year, when special efforts are made to
manifest a helpful spirit, such times as Thanksgiving and Christmas,
congregations of the Church of Christ throughout the and have been preparing
baskets for the poor or indigent. But we must bear in mind that there are many
others in the community and numerous organizations that are likewise interested
in manifesting such spirit. The Church at Tenth and Rockford Streets in Tulsa
has, therefore, found it proper for a num ei of years to co-operate, at least in
the matter of reports with a Community Chest in the giving of baskets. We have
.ound that unless such attention is paid to the relief agencies around about us,
there will be duplications in some instances and perhaps neglect to others. One
must bear in mind that in this Christian civilization so-called, there is a
spirit of help fulness on the part of society in general. This, of course should
not deter any congregation from doing its best and looking after its own poor,
and then it is often-times advisable to undertake to reach others. The Christ
said “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Of course, we are not
necessarily to give with a view to reaching the soul thru the body but the
spirit of Christ will impel us to aid others because it causes us to recognize
all men as brothers, at least in the flesh. Of course, we must recognize that
there is a very close relation between the spiritual and the natural and one
must always keep the perspective of the spiritual. Even the abuse of one’s body
might be un-Christian and it has been said that cleanliness is godliness, which
is not a bad “saw.” This thought that makes one to look after his own needs,
likewise will demand that he recognize an interest in his fellow, men. But, in
any case, where one puts the physical above the spiritual, it is a case of
getting the cart before the horse, or of having the tail to wag the dog.

One of the most beautiful cases of relief in the New Testament is that of a
certain woman named Dorcas. In the 9th chapter of Acts of the Apostles, we have
her story. She seems to have given much if not all of her time, to the making of
garments for the needy and the poor, although we do not know that she
administered very greatly to the sick. Dorcas became such a famed character that
a certain relief society has been named for her. Of course, this is an
unwarranted thing so far as the Scripture is concerned. Dorcas was not an
intentional originator of any relief society. She simply lived a Christian,
doing all she could to aid her fellowbeings. When she died those she had
assisted were standing around her weeping and showing the cloaks and garments
she had made for them. We are told in this instance the Apostle Peter raised her
from the dead. The thing that prompted Dorcas was her unselfish devotion to the
needs of her fellowbeings. This is a most creditable spirit in any one. The
religion of Christ must take notice of every phase of life. There is no phase of
thinking that Christianity does not affect, either directly or indirectly. The
spirit of the religion of Christ will force individual members and congregations
as well to take notice of the conditions of fellow members and even of persons
in the world. A case of notice was brought to Timothy’s mind by the Apostle Paul
in 1 Timothy , 5 th chapter. Certain aged widows were to become wards of the
church. However, the Apostle Paul gives the conditions. He says such a person
must be seventy years old of three score years and ten, must have been the wife
of one man, have reared children, and have washed the saints’ feet, but he puts
in another restriction before she can become a ward or in the care of the
church. He says if she has nephews they must first learn to show piety at home,
which seems to mean that if she has a nephew who can care for her and meet her
physical needs, she is not to become a ward of the Church, but if she has no
near relative then the Church is obligated to take her and to support her. The
relief of such cases is, no doubt, largely like it is with orphan home work.
There are some among us who say that orphan homes ought not to be established
but that children should be adopted in the various Christian homes. When you ask
a person how many such children he has adopted in almost every instance you
wtill find he has taken none. Then his objection to the founding and maintaining
of orphan home seems to be less valid in the face of the facts that he has done
nothing.

There is no way set up in the New Testament Scriptures for the relief of such
widows as may come to the Church’s care but over in Nashville, Tennessee, the
Chapel Avenue Church has established what it calls an “Old folks’ home” that
embraces not only widows but aged men. This home is operated very much as an
orphanage, at least as regards the way it is financed. Being under the care of
this special church collections are solicited and received from other
congregations and individuals for its support. A unique thing in the way of
caring for persons who may not be at the time in good financial condition is the
plan that the Central Church in Nashville has for the caring for girls girls who
may not have satisfactory positions. This church has what it calls a “Girls’
home.” A girl who comes into the City of Nashville and finds herself earning but
very little can upon application arrange to stay in this home for a mere
pittance. Then other girls who earn more pay (just a little more) and other
girls who are earning nice salaries, if they desire to stay under this influence
are required to pay in keeping with their salaries up to a reasonable figure.
This does not put such girls as may come under the influence of the home under
the difficulty of meeting problems of the city while financially embarrassed.
Hence, it offers her safety.

It is my understanding the Belmont Church in Nasnville has a different thing yet
with the regard to caring for widows and their children. Our orphan homes will
take children but, neither of the parents. There is no plan among us excepthis
that is operated by the Belmont Church that will enable a woman to keep her
little brood of children together and to have her own influence upon them. This
Church has a “widow’s colony.” I do not know the exact way it is operated except
that it is practically rent-free and other means of sustenance are offerd thru
the Church and at its advice. The Church of Christ is working at the problem of
caring for the poor and the sick. Then the Central Church in Nashville has for
several years been operating a clinic. In this case it merely acts as a clearing
house. Physicians of the city donate their services at certain hours in the week
and the s^ck of the city of Nashville are given free clinical attention thru the
influence of the Central Church. This, too is a step in the right direction. No
doubt there are many other agencies and efforts looking toward relief of
sickness and the feeding of the hungry, about which I do not know but since I am
talking about this phase of the Church as it is today, I am glad to point out
these things I do know about.

One would reason lamely who would argue it is alright to have orphan homes, the
widows’ colony I mentioned, the clinical service, and the girl’s home in
Nashville, who then would object to the founding of a hospital that should be
maintained on exactly the same basis as other fields of work not specifically
mentioned as the exact program of the New Testament Church. In other words, one
would have the right to object to the maintaining of a college whose business it
is to care for the minds and ideals of boys and girls, or to the founding of a
hospital on exactly the same basis. The clinic is but a forerunner of an effort
at hospitalization, perhaps in the Churches of Christ. I am looking for the day,
even in my life, when the Churches of Christ will have some hospitals scattered
over the land here and there. Of course, we must be careful to maintain the
independence and autonomy of the local church. We must not createi an
organization or institution that infringes upon the local church but when such
things as relief of distress, education of the mind, or the caring for the
bodies of individuals are done in a way to respect the independence and autonomy
of the local church are rather put upon the basis of individua enterprise, we
shall find there is much we can do besides what we are already doing. In the
beautiful judgment scene given us by the Christ, Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus tells
us of the nature of His judgment:

“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him,
then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory.....And before him shall be
gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd
divideth his sheep from the goats; And he shall set the sheep on his right hand,
but the goats on his left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand,
Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world..."

"For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink;
I was a stranger, and ye took me in, Naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and
ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous
answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? Or
thirsty, and gave thee drink?"

"When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? Or naked and clothed thee? Or
when saw we thee sick, or in prison’ and came unto thee? ’ And the King shall
answer and say unto them. Verily I say unto you inasmuch as ye have done it unto
the lease of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed,
into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels; For I was an
hungered and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a
stranger, and ye took me not in; naked and ye clothed me not; sick, and in
prison, and ye visited me not."

"Then shall they also answer him, saying Lord when saw we thee an hungred, or
athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister
unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as
ye did it not to one of the least of these ye did it not to me. And these shall
go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.”


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  CHAPTER 5: THE CHURCH TODAY IN ITS CARE OF WIDOWS AND ORPHANS
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The Church Today In Its Care of Widows and Orphans THE CHURCH TODAY IN ITS CARE
OF WIDOWS AND ORPHANS R. B. SWEET Have you ever considered very carefully what
real religion is? That is, the kind of religion that is taught in the New
Testament? Here is a definition given by one of the New Testament writers, which
is not so much a definition of that relfgion as it is a description of that
religion at work. You will find it in James’ letter, James 1:27 :

“Pure religion and undefiled before God our Father is this, to visit the
fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from
the world.”

“To keep oneself unspotted from the world” is a part of that description that
belongs to someone else in their study of the New Testament in the days of the
Apostles in comparison with the church today. Let us concentrate our study just
now upon that part which has to do with “visiting the fatherless and the widows
in their affliction.” That the apostles were confronted with this problem early
in the work of the church and that they did not evade the issue but met it
squarely and resourcefully is shown by the record of how they handled this
problem when it arose at Jerusalem shortly after the day of Pentecost. In the
first paragraph of the sixth chapter of Acts we find a record of this problem
coming up and we are told how the apostles disposed of it, or rather how they
made provision for its being taken care of permanently and efficiently. The
disciples there had shown their love for the cause of Christ and their
compassion for their unfortunate fellowChristians by selling all they had, and
bringing the money which resulted from the sales to the apostles for their use
in ministering to the disciples, so that none might lack the material comforts
of life so far as they were able to provide them. Although this was not a
command of the Lord, nor a decree enforced by the apostles, the disciples, with
a few exceptions, notably that of Ananias and Sapphira, entered into it gladly
and through their generosity in caring for the unemployed and poverty-stricken
showed that they had learned well the lesson from the Master that only in caring
for “one of these least” can we minister unto Him. And inasmuch as they were
doing it for the least of them, they were practising the spirit of the most
compasssionate and generous Soul who ever walked along the roads and went into
the humble homes of the citizens of this world. In this distribution of the
common funds to the needy, friction arose because of the neglect of a certain
group of the disciples. A number of widows were there who had come back to the
home city from a residence in Greece. Having lost their husbands, possibly while
in the foreign country seeking their fortune, they returned to the old home
town, after being bereaved of their husbands, to find refuge among their
kinsmen. These Grecian widows were in some manner neglected and their case was
taken up by their friends. The dissatisfaction over it arose to the point that
it is described as a “murmuring,” having arisen. When it came to the attention
of the apostles they directed the people to look out from among them seven men
of good report whom they might set over the work. The rather loosejointed or
inefficient method, or lack of methods, that they had been following was to be
administered by a definitely ordered plan and that systematic method was to be
administered by seven capable men. There had been a “daily ministration” clearly
implying that some attempt was being made to care for these unfortunate women.
But, if it had been “everybody’s business,” or from whatever reason they had
been overlooked in some measure, all that was now to be superseded by a definite
organization who would see that the necessary funds flowed equitably into the
hands of those who were eligible to receive it. This was a matter of “business”
and the apostles described it as such, saying “look out among you seven men of
good report, whom we may appoint over this business.” It was a matter of using
money to purchase food and shelter at the best prices, or of turning this money
over to beneficiaries through a system that would assure as nearly as possible a
square deal for all concerned. The apostles were not to have their time taken up
by such details of a business nature, for theirs was the greater responsibility
of dividing the bread of life to the multitudes. Business men could the better
handle such details and to such men was committed this business. It was out of
this murmuring that arose over the problem of caring for widows that there came
about the formation of the first group of men looking after the business affairs
of the church, whom we refer to today as “deacons.”

Something of very great interest is seen here in that these deacons were not
given detailed instructions about how they were to care for these widows. If all
the Grecian widows were lodged together in some house, or if they were given
homes with Christian families, one or two here and another one of two there, we
are not told. At least, if the deacons were given their instructions in detail,
those details are not preserved for us, for the details of what was done in
Jerusalem in the first century would not fit into other centuries in distant
countries with respect to the financial and business procedures. That we need
not follow' exactly their set-up seems implicit in the fact that the details of
their administration are not given to us. It may have been expected that men who
were responsible and capable of handling such funds were also competent to work
out such details as to whether the widows should be assembled into one house or
be placed in a number of houses.

Concerning widows, we do have very explicit instructions given in 1 Timothy
5:3-10. But, strangely, all these instructions apply to the type of widows who
shall be taken care of and nothing at all is said about how the care shall be
provided nor by whom administered, except that it is to be by the church. Simply
that they are to be taken care of is all that we are told along that nature in
that passage. But let us have a look at it.

“Honor widows that are widows indeed. But if any widow hath children or
grandchildren, let them learn first to show piety toward their own family, and
to requite their parents: for this acceptable in the sight of God. Now she that
is a widow indeed, and desolate, hath her hope set on God, and continueth in
supplication and prayer night and day. But she that giveth herself to pleasure
is dead while she liveth. These things also command, that they may be without
reproach. But if any provideth not for his own, and specially his own household,
he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever. Let none be enrolled
as a widow under three-score years old, having been the wife of one man, well
reported of for good works; if she hath brought up children, if she hath used
hospitality to strangers, if she hath washed the saints’ feet, if she hath
relieved the afflicted, if she hath diligently followed every good work.”

Since this is the longest passage that we have concerning widows or orphans it
will be interesting to look at each of the specifications laid down here. This
reminds us somewhat of the list of qualifications given for men who are to
become elders.

1. First of all, “honor” widows that are widows indeed. By this we understand
that Paul directs that these widows are to be supported or sustained. All is
comprehended in this admonition “honor” that we have under consideration in
connection with the fact that we are taught to take care of such unfortunates.

2. “Widows indeed” is the first restriction as to which widows shall have the
support of the church. By the expression “widows indeed,” it is clear from what
follows that he means widows who have not kinspeople to whom they may look for
their material sustenance. In verse 5 the additional description is given, “and
desolate.” One who has been made desolate by the loss of all kinsmen is a “widow
indeed.” Indeed she is!

3. Look now at some of the other characteristics of the widows who are to be
honored. If they have children or grandchildren, those children, or
grandchildren are to learn piety toward their own family and are to take care of
their aged, widowed, mother or grandmother, and thus to requite their parents.
This is the procedure that “is acceptable in the sight of God.”

4. One that is a widow indeed, that is desolate, hath her hope set on God. It
seems by this that the apostle is saying that the widow who has no relatives who
are responsible for her upkeep, has to trust entirely upon God who has taken
from her the usual means of support among men that the more favored have, and
that, in the normal course of events a mother may expect to have: support by her
husband, or if he precedes her in death, then from her children. For the one who
has neither, she must trust entirely in God that through His goodness she will
be provided for, and it is for just suca provision thatthe apostle Paul is
giving directions as he writes to the young preacher Timothy, “These things
command, Paul adds, “that they may be without reproach.”

5. Then he gives us, through this writing to Timothy, one of the most striking
principles relating to caring for one s family that we find anywhere in the
Bible. But if any provideth not for his own, and specially his own household, he
hath denied the faith” Paul says emphatically and » worse than an unbeliever.”
One cannot be faithful to the principles of Christianity and deliberately
neglect the caie of his own household.

We are reminded in this connection of a man whom we used to know that had a
great ambition to become a preacher. He loved so well to talk about, particulary
to argue about, the scriptures that he would continue arguing with any victim he
might hold so long, until the sun went down while his wife was left to do the
milking and bringing m the wood. He would run off to the various sorts of
meetings and indulge in almost endless harangues with little or no regard as to
.he welfare of his family. Even in his zeal for religion, one may do that which
is worse than being an unbeliever and this he does if he neglects to care for
his own household.

6. These widows indeed are not to be taken into the number if they are under
three score years of age. “Into the number” suggests a distinct group within the
church that is made up of this particular class of persons. Was the number all
housed together within one “home,” or were they kept track of by having a list
made of such widows and the aid for them sent to the families who had agreed to
take into them one or more of these widows? Again we are in the dark concerning
the exact details of the system. The exact method they used might be entirely
inapplicable, or impractical of working out in our present scheme of things. Not
under sixty years old; 7) having been the wife of one husband; 8) well reported
of for good works; 9) having used hospitality toward strangers; 11) having
washed the saints feet; 12) having relieved the afflicted and, 13) having
diligently followed every good work are further interesting qualifications of
these widows, and only such widows, as were to be taken into the number. From
this rather large number of particulars given concerning these widows, and from
other considerations, it seems that the apostle may have been considering an
office which he refers to as “the number” rather than givng instructions that
must be followed in each detail before the church administered help to an
individual who asked for aid. The fact also that orphans are not mentioned in
this connection, is a slight suggestion that the “widows indeed,” in this
passage, were women who were being considered for an office something like that
which we visualize when we speak of a “deaconess,” In the passage with which we
started, James 1:27, widows and orphans are considered together and are in the
same class with respect to their offering an opportunity by which we may test
the genuineness of our religion. In this passage, 1 Timothy 5:3-10, only the
widows are considered. This further leads us to think that perhaps Paul is
giving directions concerning the selection of certain widows who are to have a
rather important place in the work of the church.

Still further in this connection is the consideration that many things required
of the widows here are things that she could have done except she had some means
at her command at some past time for doing such charitable works as are named in
this list of qualifications. They must be women who had been accustomed to a
home for exercising hospitality and good works. As James might say, we're
talking about a pure religion that visits (takes care of) the fatherless and the
widows in their distress. It is a religion that speaks to their hearts. It
relieves their wants, sympathizes with their distresses, instructs them in
divine things and recommends them to God. And all this it does for the Lord’s
sake. This is the religion of Christ. The religion that does not prove itself by
works of charity and mercy is not of God.” This very brief mention of the care
of the fatherless and widows, as is true with other similar matters, brings home
to us very forcefully that the Bible is not a book of detailed rules such as one
finds governing the organization and mainenance of some big business
institution, or the elaborate rules formulated for directing football playing-it
is a book of piinciples! In only three passages in the New Testament de we find
instructions on the subject: Acts 6:1-6, 1 Timothy 5:3-10 and James 1:27. But
the principle is all through the teachings of Christ! In the last named passage
we are told that pure religion undefiled religion, will take the oversight of
the fatherless and widows and not a thing is said as to how it is to be worked
out! With the proper spirit of sympathy and helpfulness inculcated into the
Christians, the Lord apparently expects us to use our judgment in devising the
most efficient and effective methods for “visiting” them. We must keep in mind,
of course, that whatever is done must be in keeping with other principles that
are taught in the Bible. No other principle is to be violated as we follow this
one. For example the New Testament teaches that each congregation is to be
strictly autonomous and that no other organization it to be formed or supported
for carrying on the work which the church itself should do. And the church
itself is to take care of all charitable, philanthropic and missionary work that
it has within its power to accomplish. That is,and it is not to form any other
organization, society or institution to do the work that should be done by the
church.

How then will the care of widows and fatherless tie in with the principle that
no other organization is to be set up by the church or by the individual
Christians? Let us have a look at some of the instances recorded in the New
Testament wherein we find the church, or a number of congregations carrying on
such work, if such can be found. Here are some examples of that very thing.

As, we have seen the instance that seems most nearly to have involved a home or
plan for caring for unfortunates, is that of the church at Jerusalem in caring
for the Grecian widow*. Orphans are not mentioned there, but it is very that
there were some, if not many, who were children of the widows involved. With so
large a group, 5,000 men who were believers, Acts 4:4, it is improbable that so
large a group tinued to meet, all the many more than 5,000, m one wee y assembly
It is quite probable that they were divided into several small congregations.
Now when it was "murmured that the Grecian widows were suffering want the
apostles gathered the disciples, all of them, Acts 6:2 together and had them
select seven men to oversee the work. Would it be pre suming too much to say
that they were in a posthon very much like that occupied by the men who today
supermte our orphan homes?, In 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 we read:

“Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I gave order to the churches
of Galatia, so also do ye. Upon the first day of the week let each of you lay by
him in store, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come. And
when I arrive, whomsoever ye shall approve them will I send with letters to
carry your bounty unto Jerusalem, and if it be meet for me to go also, they
shall go with me."

What do we learn here? We have Paul explicity directing the church at Corinth to
take a collection for the saints at Jerusalem They were to do this as he had
directed the churches in Galatia to do the same thing. For what Purpose this
offering was sent to Jerusalem we are not told, but it could be used by the
church at Jerusalem for any purpose for which a church might use money. Among
other things they were to care for the fatherless and the widows. In Romans
15:25-26 Paul writes:

“I go unto Jerusalem, ministering unto the saints. For it hath been the good
pleasure of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor
among the saints that are at Jerusalem.”

Now look at Php_4:10 : “But I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at length ye
háve revived your thought for me; wherein ye did indeed take thought, but ye
lacked opportunity.”

Here a church, at Philippi, contributes to an individual, Paul, in a distant
place to help him in his carrying on a good work. . In 1 Corinthians 16:17 we
read: “And I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus: for
that which was lacking on your part they supplied.” Here is another instance of
a church giving to an individual; Corinth to Paul, and also of indivduals giving
to an individual: Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus giving out of their own
pockets to further Paul’s work, in addition to what the church at Corinth had
sent to him.

If these instances are not enough to convince us that anyone may give to anyone
else for a worthy cause, either through a church to another church or a church
to an individual, we have only to turn and read Galatians 6:10 :

“So then, as we have opportunity, let us work that which is good toward all men,
and especially toward them that are of the household of faith.” and Acts 20:35 :
“In all things I gave you an example, that so laboring ye ought to help the
weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, “it is
more blessed to give than to receive.” From all this we learn that church and
individuals may give to other churches or individuals to aid others in carrying
on any work through the church that is authorized to be done by the church. If
caring for the widows and orphans is not a work authorized by the New Testament
then we cannot find one that is. Here is a criterion by which we may see whether
they “visit” the fatherless and widows, and they have such religion. If they do
not, they do not have, that sort of religion.

All these, things were done in the days of the apostles by the church which received its instructions direct from the apostles. They, did care. for the orphans and widow's---their exact method or system used in doing that work is nowhere described. The meagerness of the details, practically the utter absence of detail, that is recorded for us is powerfully suggestive that the intricacies of detail were left to be worked out by the needs of the occasion and in keeping with the customs in the age and country where the principle is applied.

We turn now to the consideration of what the church today is doing and may do in
this same work of caring for the widows and orphans. If a church could help a
church, and it could and did in those days; if a church could help an individual
or an individual an individual, and they did, then it remains to Work out the
most efficient way today in our country and age, without violating the principle
that “whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” A
church may help an individual with two children when they are eligible for such
aid. A church may help the same individual with twenty children or with two
hundred children. Other churches may help that church as it helps the individual
or group of individuals in their caring for widows or fatherless.

Now the church that is doing the overseeing of such benevolent work should do it
in a business like way, for their doing it in Jerusalem, as described in Acts 6,
is called a business. That the churches should do all their work in a
business-like manner and in keeping with the laws of the land wherein that
church is located is clearly commanded in Romans 13:1; Romans 13:7, in this
language:

“Let every soul be in subjection to the higher powers: for there is no power but
God; and the powers that be are ordained of God. * * Render to all their dues:
tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor
to whom honor.”

All the business affairs of the church should be conducted in keeping with the
laws of the land that concern the handling of such business. A church that is
caring fot a large group of orphans must have, ór may have, some próperty
holdings. If they have legal title to real estate, that real estate should be
held in accordance with the laws It is usness-like and our reputable attorneys
tell us that all such property, even the physical property of the congregation,
their church buildings, or other property, should be held m peeping with
corporation laws. Every congregation should be incorporated and all its property
held by that corporation. Every property that is used in the care of widows or
fatherless should be held by some incorporated congregation as the property of
that corporation, else how will we be subject to the powers” and rendering
“honor to whom honor . The detailed instructions concerning holding property in
Palestine in the first century would not apply to holding property in Great
Britain or the United States in the twentieth century, or to any other modern
nation. Hence we are given in the New Testament merely the principle and are
allowed the latitude of doing it in keeping with the aws o the country and age
in which the principle is applied, to the end of time. In these scriptures we
have all the authority anyone should desire, both in precept and example, for
the honest, businesslike method of caring for the needy of whatever class.

What is the church doing today for the widows and orphans? So far as thé speaker
knows there are no widows homes, established for caring for widows only. They
have not become a very serious problem, we suppose because widows have, as a
rule, families, or relatives to care for them. In the exceptional cases,
however, where widows indeed may be found, that is, widows who have no near
relatives upon whom the responsibility falls, they should be taken care o by the
church in the manner that is most effective and efficient* in other Christian
families or in homes provided by the churches, or by some particular church for
this specific purpose. The care of the fatherless becomes our greatest problem m
the caring for the needy, rather, it is the greater of these two or the greater
part of this compound problem of caring for ’widows and orphans. There are many
considerations which make it appear that they can best be taken care of in homes
established for that purpose. There, in large groups, they may be given careful
oversight. The church that has oversight of the home may supervise it in such
fashion that only godly men and women will be in charge of the fatherless; the
orphans may be given systematic and thorough training in the common school
subjects and may be taught pure Christianity.

We might do well here, however, to observe the principle contained in the
expression “widows indeed,” that is, only those should be given admittánce into
such orphan homes as have no relatives who are financially able properly to
provide food, clothing and shelter and education for them. To allow children to
enter such homes and become a burden to the churches when they have fathers
living, or other relatives who could support them, is to place a burden upon the
churches and to relieve their relatives of that burden which is not good for
either. In the case of a father left a widower who could not give the proper
training to his motherless children, he should at least expect to pay the
expense of their being in the home, if he is financially able to do so. The
homes that have been established and are being maintained by the generosity of
the church for the caring for orphans, you all know. In our section, the great
southwest, we have the Boles Orphan Home at Quinlan, Texas, the Tipton Orphan
Home at Tipton, Oklahoma, and the Arkansas Christian Home at Fort Smith,
Arkansas. There may be much work by individual congregations of this nature
which is not advertised outside their immediate vicinity and thus is not
generally known about. If so, all such work is good.

Nearly six hundred children are being cared for in these three Homes. One of
them reports about six applicants each week, on an average, are refused because
they have insufficient space and facilities to take care of them. Discounting
this heavily to eliminate many applicants which possibly should not be filled,
there are still several hundred each year who knock for admittance but must be
turned away. What becomes of them, who can say? Would it be too presumptuous to
say that they, many of them, are knocked about the world and lost t 1. It is not
philosophy. Some body has said that “philosophy is the search of a blind man in
a dark cellar for a black cat that isn’t there.” o the church because she has
not taken Seriously enough this measure that James gives us for determining
whether our religion is pure and! undeflled?

One of the homes reports that, while it would be splendidif every orphaned child cou ld be taken into a good Christian home and reared, "the situation simply is this: there are not enough suitable Christian homes who will open their doors to these destitute children. Unfortunately we are faced with stubborn facts, instead of hypothetical abstractions. I take it that all those who are supporting ophan homes---I mean those who are directing them---could earnestly desire that the home be no more than a sort of a clearing house through which unfortunate children could be placed in suitable homes. But if suitable homes simply will not take these children to rear, what then? Shall the children be left to starve "just because we can find no detailed description of the method used by the apostles in caring for the orphans, after they have clearly told us that Christians must care for them?

These three homes, and others that are properly administered, should receive the
support of the church since they are relieving many congregations of the burden
of caring locally for children who were orphaned within the community of such
congregations. Other congregations, from whose vicinity no children may have
been sent to the home, are nevertheless subject to the plain teaching that to be
practising pure religion they must help in caring for the fatherless and widows.

Such work of the church was characterized by the apostles as a business. Every
congregation should be business-like in its taking care of this exceedingly
important work. If a congregation is not facing this matter squarely and frankly
and doing what it can about it, it is extremely doubtful whether it should be
classed as a church “loyal” to the New Testament teachings. Every congregation
should send regularly, monthly or quarterly, and liberally, to one or more of
these homes, or help them in their work of caring for these unfortunates and in
that be following the example of the Master who went about doing good. When we
talk of pure religion, let us remember that James’ description of it does not
even mention many of the things that are causing such concern and widespead
discussion among the churches, but he said it is to visit the fatherless and the
widows. What sort of religion do you have? Oh, you are loyal, you proclaim
loudly! Are you? in every respect? James says that pure religion is to visit the
fatherless and the widows. Is yours a pure religion, measured by this standard?

I WONDER

I wonder if I have the right' To let myself forget to care How children shiver
in the night Where all is cold and dark and bare. My little ones are free from
dread, And sheltered safely from the storm; Their eyes are bright, their cheeks
are red, Their laughter glad, their clothing warm. But other little ones must
weep, And face new dreads with each day, Where hunger’s fangs bite very deep And
want sits like a ghost in gray.

I have no need to share the blame If palor dims the orphan’s cheek; I have not
made the cripple lame, Nor taken from the poor and weak.

If children who are hungry sigh, If others who are cold complain, No guilt lies
on my conscience— I Have never wronged them for my gain.

But, knowing how they weep at night, Where all is dark and cold and bare, I
wonder if I have the right To let myself forget to care. Unknown.


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  CHAPTER 6: THE CHURCH TODAY IN ITS GIVING OR FINANCIAL SUPPORT
========================================================================

The Church Today In Its Giving or Financial Support THE CHURCH TODAY IN ITS
GIVING OR FINANCIAL SUPPORT R. B. SWEET

One of the most beautiful passages on Immortality found in all literature is
that written by the apostle Paul, found in the fifteenth chapter of first
Corinthians. Immortality is a subject that intrigues the imagination with never
failing interest and an earnest belief in it soothes the spirit of man as
nothing else can. The whole subject is on so high a plane and all seems so
transcendently spiritual that it does not partake in any measure of the grossly
physical world about us. We usually do not mix our dreams of immortality with
the practical on go of the material world in which we are imprisoned.

But, startling as it may seem at first glance, Paul descends from his burst of
oratory on immortality to such a material thing as money. He passes from
description of the mortal having put on immortality; from his triumphant shout
of victory over death; to very commonplace directions concerning the handling of
one’s material income. That there is anything inconsistent in this seems not to
occur to Paul at all. He changes his subject as easily and naturally as if there
were nothing at all incongruous about descending from the realm of the
incorruptible to the region where dollars and cents are a powerful force. In
fact, he seems more nearly to be climbing toward his climax than to be falling
into an anti-climax after his eloquent reasoning concerning the resurrection. We
believe that he has done this very thing. He did not descend from talking of
immortality to talking about money. Rather, he reaches the vital consideration
concerning an eternal happiness in basing it upon the way one handles his
stewardship in this world. If you would have a lasting happiness, is his train
of thought, you must be careful to use your money rather than letting it use
you, for he doubtless remembered the words of our Master that “it is easier for
a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into the
kingdom of God.” From his eloquent discussion of the life beyond this one, he
turns with the utmost simplicity to earnest directions about giving. After his
shout of triumph, “O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?”
he says “wherefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not
in vain in the Lord.” Then he writes:

“Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I gave order to the churches
of Galatia, so also do ye. Upon the first day of the week let each one of you
lay by him in store, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come.
And when I arrive, whomsoever ye shall approve, them will I send with letters to
carry your bounty unto Jerusalem: and if it be meet for me to go also, they
shall go with me..”

Thus we find Paul talking plainly about the giving that should be observed in
the church in the days of the apostles. He wrote to these same Corinthians again
on this subject. In his second letter, chapter nine, the first seven verses, we
read:

“For as touching the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to
write to you: for I know your readiness, of which I glory on your behalf to them
of Macedonia, that Achaia hath been prepared for a year past; and your zeal hath
stirred up very many of them. But I have sent the brethren, that our glorying on
your behalf may not be made void in this respect; that, even as I said, ye may
be prepared; lest by any means, if there come with me any of Macedonia and find
you unprepared, we (that we say not *ye’) should be put to shame in this
confidence. I thought it necessary therefore to entreat the brethren, that they
would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your aforepromised bounty, that
the same might be ready as a matter of bounty, and not of extortion."

“But this I say, ‘he that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he
that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.’ Let each man do according
as he hath purposed in his heart: not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God
loveth a cheerful giver.” The simplicity and directness of all the teachings of
the New Testament concerning the fundamental principles of obedience and the
“necessary” things for the carrying on of the work of the church, is forcefully
illustrated here. The financing of the church is not to be through such
elaborate methods that it will take a financier to understand them. The
instructions are given simply and plainly so that the most naive can make no
mistake. It is perhaps because we want so badly to do the spectacular thing, the
elaborate thing today that the religious world today is led into all sorts of
schemes for raising money for church work and utterly to abandon this beautiful
simplicity which is far more effective than the intricate methods worked out by
inventive minds, not well schooled in the New Testament spirit or method.

It will be interesting to see what the church needed money for.

What possible use could the church have had of so much money that it needed
instructions concerning it along with the instructions having to do with
Christian living.

A.) The church in the days of the apostles needed and used its money in
ministering to the poor. We discussed that feature of its work last night in our
talk about the early church “In Its Care of the Widows and Orphans.” But its
helping of the unfortunates was not confined just to that cláss of dependent
persons. In his letter to the Romans, Romans 15:25-28, Paul writes:

“I go unto Jerusalem, ministering unto the saints. For it hath been the good
pleasure of Macedonia and Achaia to make certain contributions for the poor
among the saints that are at Jerusalem. Yea it hath been their good pleasure;
and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of
their spiritual things, they owe it to them also to minister unto them in carnal
things.” The churches in those days made up contributions to send to sister
churches. The churches throughout a region would give their contributions into a
common found which was collected by a messenger, or group of messengers who
traveled among those churches, and who then take that fund to a distant church
to help that distant church carry on its good work. In the passage quoted we
find Paul telling about those who might come to Corinth with him from Macedonia.
He had sent certain of the brethren on before them that they might have
everything in readiness when he and the Macedonians should reach there. In the
first passage quoted he told them to appoint certain ones who would carry their
contribution to Jerusalem.

Here was a group of men traveling among the churches in Galatia, Macedonia and
Achaia, stirring up the Christians to giving their money, collecting money from
them and that group of men taking the money to Jerusalem to help carry on its
work of looking after the poor. Jerusalem could carry on an extensive program of
looking after the fatherless and widows, and other poor, and could send, or have
Paul send, men among distant churches to raise money to help them in their good
work. Who could object to churches today using the same method?

B.) Another vital work for which the church used its money was that of preaching
the Gospel. This was not second in importance although we mention it here
second. In first Corinthians, ninth chapter, verses eleven to fourteen we find:

“If we sowed unto you spiritual things, is it a great matter if we shall reap
your carnal things? If others partake of this right over you, do not we yet
more? Nevertheless we did not use this right; but we bear all things, that we
may cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ. Know ye not that they that
minister about sacred things eat of the things of the temple, and they that wait
upon the altar have their portion with the altar? Even so did the Lord ordain
that they that proclaim the gospel should live of the gospel.” In its incipient
stages there were many who would suspicion that this was just another fanatical
religious racket propagated by Paul for his own enrichment. He chose not to use
what was his right, a support by the church, but to make his own way. But he did
give us emphatically the principle “That they that proclaim the gospel should
live oí the gospel” and, in 1 Timothy 5:18 b, “The laborer is worthy of his
hire.”

Today one who knows the actual condition of the support of the average gospel
preacher would hardly accuse them of being in it for the money they can make out
of it! The few exceptions do not make void the rule nor the principle.

Here then we have descriptions of the things for which the church in the days of
the apostles used money. It was in their ambitious program of caring for the
unemployed and helpless and in their equally ambitious program of carrying the
gospel to all the nations that they needed money. The same means and methods of
collecting money for the first purpose could be used for the second. Rather,
certain methods were used in collecting the money for the Jerusalem church that
it might finance its work. Anything that it was right for the church to do, it
was light that they use this fund to accomplish. That includes preaching and
charity Work.

Whatever was necessary to preach the gospel effectively might be bought or paid
for out of this fund which the church had. Intricate details of their work are
not given us for such details might not fit down into the social and economic
conditions of a nation half around the world, nineteen centuries away in time.
That they used houses to worship in, either given to the church by wealthy
Christians, or purchased or rented by the church, can hardly be questioned. That
Paul had help in renting the school of Tyrannus at Ephesus is probable. (Acts
19:9) That Paul did accept money occasionally to supplement what he earned at
his tent-making is seen from his acknowledgment to the Philippian church, in
Php_4:14-16.

“Howbeit ye did well that ye had fellowship with my affliction. And ye
yourselves also know, ye Philippians, that in the beginning of the gospel, when
I departed from Macedonia, no church had fellowship with me in the matter of
giving and receiving but ye only; for even in Thessalonica ye sent once and
again unto my need.” From these passages, and others, we see that the church in
that period gave money to care for the poor and to have the gospel preached. A
congregation sent direct to an individual in a distant place to help him in his
missionary work: groups of congregations made up collections together and sent
that money by an individual or by a group of men to a distant church to help it
in its charitable and missionary work: that money was raised by an individual or
by a group of men traveling among the churches telling them of the need;
arousing them to generous giving and accepting their money to help churches and
individuals in distant places to carry on their wiork. Let us look a little
closer at methods they used.

(1) Of their methods in raising money we find in 2 Corinthians 8:10-11 :

“And herein I give my judgment: for this is expedient for you, who were the
first to make a beginning a year ago, rot only to do, but also to will. But now
complete the doing also that as there was the readiness to will, so there may be
the completion also out of your ability.” And again, in 2 Corinthians 9:2; 2
Corinthians 9:5 :

“For I know your readiness, of which I glory on your behalf to them of
Macedonia, that Achaia hath been prepared for a year past; and your zeal hath
stirred up very many of them, * * I thought it necessary therefore to entreat
the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your
aforepromised bounty, that the same might be ready as a matter of bounty, and
not of extortion.”

Many good brethren shy away from the matter of pledges like a good old plow
horse used to shy away from an automobile in the early days of its use. But
those same brethren will pledge themselves for a year or even for eighteen
months to pay so much each month to get possession of one of those very
machines. The people at Corinth had certainly pledged themselves to have part in
Paul’s work and had made the promise a year before he wrote them. Yes, they made
promises that they Would give and Paul sent a group of men to them to remind
them of it and to collect their pledges!

II) Perhaps it would cause further shying, if not a real run-away, to mention
their using committees, but let us see how Paul wrote to them, immediately
following the passage just quoted. This is in 2 Corinthians 8:16-24 :

“But thanks be to God, Who putteth the same earnest care for you into the heart
of Titus. For he accepted indeed our exhoration; but being himself very earnest,
he went forth unto you of his own accord. And we have sent together with him the
brother whose praise in the gospel is spread through all the churches; and not
only so, but who was also appointed by the churches to travel with us in the
matter of this grace, which is ministered by us to the glory of the Lord, and to
show our readiness: avoiding this, that any man should blame us in the matter of
this bounty which is ministered by us: for we take thought for things honorable,
not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of all men. And we have
sent with them our brother, whom we have many times proved earnest in many
things, but now much more earnest, by reason of the great confidence which he
hath in you. Whether any inquire about Titus, he is my partner and my fellow-
worker to you-ward, or our brtehren, they are the messengers of the churches,
they are the glory of Christ. Show ye therefore unto them in the face of the
churches the proof of your love, and of our glorying in your behalf.”

“Titus * * with him our brother * * who was appointed by the churches to travel
with us * * with them our brother * * they are the messengers of the churches,
they are the glory of Christ.” There it is! A group of at least three courageous
champions of the cross traveling among the churches to raise money from them to
aid in the charitable and missionary work of a distant congregation. Why do we
today so resent having some one come to us asking us to give to the support of
an orphans home or for missionary work? Is it possible that we do not know how
the church in the days of the apostles did its work? Or is it possible that we
do not want to know that we should do this vitally important work, and in the
way it was done by the early church?

III) In that time, then, they made pledges as far as a year ahead, they had
messengers traveling among the churches to raise money and, third, their work
was done on a basis of equality, by encouraging every congregation to have part
in the work which the church, as a whole should accomplish.

Concerning their methods involving the matter of equality we find this in 2
Corinthians 8:13-15 :

“For I say not this that others may be eased and ye distressed: but by equality:
your abundance being a supply at this present time for their want, that their
abundance also may become a supply for your want; that there may be equality: as
it is Written, ‘he that gathered much had nothing over; and he that gathered
little had no lack.”

If Corinth was not to be burdened and others left out of the work, and that is
what Paul sought, then we might well look to our congregations today to see that
not just a few are doing vitally important work carrying the gospel to all
nations and caring for the poor, but that every congregation should help as much
as it can in this work that there may be equality! Each congregation should have
a financial program and include in their plans certain amounts to be sent
regularly to help others if they are not doing such work locally.

Thus we see that the methods of financing the church in the days of the apostles
included pledging, or promising be- forhand, and the use of traveling
representatives and equality. These methods are used in collecting and
distributing money sent to distant churches. The local collections and
expenditures of each congregation were handled apparently by the deacons of the
congregation. (Acts 6:1-6.) With all these passages before us we are now ready
to notice some of the principles that govern the handling of this grace. Have
you noticed that the matter of giving is called a “grace?"

Each one might make his own list of principles and different lists would give
different orders to their listing. This is not meant to be rigidly inclusive nor
is the order that of their importance. We group then in this way merely to get
them before us in a comprehensive, workable fashion.

1) In the days of the apostles giving was an individual matter. “Let each one of
you lay by him in store,” Paul says in 1 Corinthians 16:2. Each Christian had
the obligation to consider for himself the privilege of helping carry on the
work of each church. Each one could do this and each one was to do it for
himself.

2) Not only must each Christian do his own giving, he must do it regularly.
“Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store.” We
have no trouble determining how often the Lord’s supper should be observed.
“Upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread—”
we read in Acts 20:7 and conclude from that that the Lord’s supper is to be
observed as often as it becomes the first day of the week.. The same regularity
was observed in giving for exactly the same expression is used in connection
with it: “Upon the first day of the week: * * lay by in store.” It seems to have
been done regularly as the first day of the week recurred, for no particular
first day was designated.

3) While each Christian was taught to give and to give regularly it was also
taught them that it should he done liberally. Read Romans 12:8; Romans 12:13 :
“He that giveth, let him do it with liberality; he that ruleth, with diligence;
he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness. * * Communicating to the necessities
of the saints; given to hospitality.” The Christians at Jerusalem had learned
well this lesson from their Master and ours'. When the emergency arose there as
a result of widespread unemployment and poverty the Christians, many of them at
least, sold their possessions and brought the price of what they sold and turned
it over to the apostles that distribution might be made to all Who were in need.
Their liberality amounted almost to prodigality and would have been that had it
not been wisely administered for a good purpose.

It was a violation of this spirit of liberality, with other elements considered,
of course, that brought the spectacular death of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts
5:1-11) who sought to be credited with the same liberality in giving that
characterized the sincere disciples. Their hypocrisy in the matter of liberality
was tragically and swiftly punished as an example to all who will heed, that the
Lord expects the utmost honesty from us in our accounting of the goods he has
given in our care. When we say we are doing the best we can, but are not
actually doing our best, we are crowding mighty close upon the hypocrisy of this
notorious couple. “He that giveth, let him do it with liberality.”

4) A fourth principle that we find taught the early church concerning this grace
of giving is that of cheerfulness. 2 Corinthians 9:7 reads: “Let him do
according as he purposed in his heart: not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God
loveth a cheerful giver.”

Distinctly and forcefully they were taught that the giving they did must be done
cheerfully.

5). The fifth principle that we notice is that it must be done as they were
prospered. 1 Corinthians 16:2 contains, in addition to two of the principles
already named, this: “as he may prosper." Again, 2 Corinthians 8:12 :

“For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according as a man hath, not
according as he hath not.”

Clearly, if a man had not prospered there was no obligation upon him to give.
Equally clear is it that he has been prospered there is an obligation for him to
lay by in store on the first day of the week “as he may prosper.” As part of
this fifth principle, or perhaps as a distinct one, cne was to give as he had
made up his mind to give. In 2 Corinthians 9:7, already read, we notice this
principle:

“Let each man do according as he hath purposed in his heart: not grudgingly, or
of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” No one, nor any board of
officials, could tell a man what he should give. It was an individual matter and
one should give as he had determined in his own heart. But his determination to
give should be formed in keeping with the principles of regularity, liberality
and cheerfulness. There is no hint that there was any sort of assessment imposed
upon anyone in the church in the days of the apostles.

Thus we have before us the whole program of financing the church in the days of
the apostles. The church needed money to carry out the great commission of the
Lord to carry the gospel to every nation. It needed money to serve the Lord
through ministering to “these least” which must be done if they were faithfully
to follow his example. This money for preaching and charity work was raised from
all over the Christian world by voluntary giving and in some instances by having
men travel among the churches to inform them of the need and to accept their
contributions. It was taught that they should lay by in store regularly: their
gifts should be liberal and should be given cheerfully as they had prospered and
as they had purposed in their hearts. When we turn to consider what the church
is doing today, we are struck with the variety of schemes that are used in the
religious world, even in that part of it which professes to be Christian. In
deserting the simple method of giving that the New Testament outlines, and which
was practised in the days of the apostles, various religious groups have not
bettered themselves but have fallen upon lean days for their treasuries. In
their determination to get money, and in their disregard for simple New
Testament teaching, all sorts of fantastic schemes have been invented, some of
which bring no honor upon the church; some of which border closely upon
dishonesty and profiteering. This is satirised in one of O’Henry’s stories, “A
Tempered Wind,” where he has the heroine saying, “I was about to accept a place
in one of the women’s auxiliary bazaars where they built a parsonage by selling
a spoonful of chicken salad and a cream puff for seventy five cents and calling
it a business men’s lunch.” But we are not so much interested in pointing out
the weaknesses of our religious neighbors as we are in seeing how well we
measure up to the apostolic teaching and example. And this will be not so much
an attempt to tell you what churches are doing as a rule, as to try to impress
us with the importance of following the methods and principles which we have
read about from the apostles. So far as we know the churches generally are
holding pretty close to the principle of givng by the members through the church
treasury to finance the work of the church. We have heard of a few instances of
congregations soliciting all the people in their neighborhoods to help them
build or enlarge their church building. This cannot be too strongly condemned
for we are as much obligated to follow the New Testament plan for financing the
church as we are to follow its directions in all the other parts of its program.
The Christians who are members of a particular congregation are under the
responsibility of maintaining its work. They may solicit and receive help from
other congregations of the churches of Christ, as we have pointed out, but they
should not solicit help from non-Christians to do the work of the church. An
occasional gift from someone who is not a Christian may be accepted if it comes
from that person as a voluntary offering, but, the point is, we should not
solicit them. Neither should we solicit our fellow-Christians except in keeping
with the principles outlined in the scriptures we have read.

While we have followed the voluntary offering plan very consistently, it may be
that we have not done so well with respect to some of its characteristics. Let
us look at them again as they should be used today in the church finances. la)
Do you remember that it is an individual matter? “Let each one of you lay by him
in store.” Each one, includes the boys and girls who have become Christians. The
children should be taught the place of giving in the work of the church and
should have instilled in them the principle of sacrifice, of the giving a share
of what they have to the Lord. As the boys sell papers, or mow laws and thus
make a little change, or as they and the girls have allowances given them, they
should be impressed that they have been prospered in that measure and that each
one of them has the duty as a Christian to give a portion of that to the Lord’s
work. When a boy or girl, a young man man or woman, begins to earn his own
money, or when they have allowances given them, their father cannot do their
giving for them any more that he can take their communion for them. It is an
"each-one-of-you” matter.

If the children were taught, and saw the example, of more liberal giving, by the
time they grow to be adults it would not so excruciatingly painful a task to
extract from them the portion of their income that should be given cheerfully to
the Lord. We cannot overemphasize that it is an individual matter.

Wives who have separate incomes are in the same manner responsible for their
stewardship of what they have been prospered with. It would be a splendid thing"
if every married couple would recognize that the wife has had a very definite
part in earning the family’s income and if the part that la laid by in store for
the first day contribution would be divided between husband and wife that she
might actually give into the treasury, with her own hands, that part of the
income that belongs to her as rightfully as it does to the husband who usually
does all the giving for the two of them. Of the course the manner of handling
their joint income will govern this. For example, if they have a joint checking
account, one as well as the other may make out the check for their contribution
to the church and it will be in effect both of them giving. This is 2a)
Regularity in giving is much needed now. We seem to feel that if we miss the
Lord’s service we have been excused from all necessity of giving on that
particular Lord’s day. The expense of the church goes no however, whether few
are there or whether the whole membership is present. The small churches may
have little local expense and that not matter much, locally, but the
missionaries in distant places still must live and the orphan homes still must
have food for the hundreds of children who are in their keeping. If each small
congregation, as well as the larger ones, had a definite program, as they should
have in helping other congregations that have shouldered tremendous burdens that
they themselves would not undertake, each such congregation would be glad to
send regularly, regularly to their assistance. To do this will require regular
giving on the part of “each one of you.” When we have laid by in store a certain
portion for the Lord that portion should get into the treasury. If we cannot
take it on a certain first day it should be sent by some one, or held over and
taken the next Lord’s day by the one who has laid it by in store. If one decides
to give a dollar on a certain Sunday, but fails to be at the meeting of the
church, then goes the next Lord’s day and fails to give the dollar for the day
missed, although he may give a dollar for that day when he is present, he has
used for himself what he has laid by in store for the Lord. How far is that from
stealing from the Lord’s fund? You would not take it out of the contribution
plate, but you hold it out! The cost of carrying on the program of the
congregation, assuming each one has a program, and God pity the one that has
not, goes on continually. Each Christian should give regularly.

3a). To give liberally may be somewhat harder to do. It will be comparitively
easy to give regularly if the regular amount is very small. But let us not
forget that liberal giving is as necessary as regular giving. “He that giveth,
let him do it with liberality” we read in Romans 12:8.

4a). Closely in connection with liberality we have the other principle that may
seem irreconcilable with it. That is, the giving should be done cheerfull.
Cheerfully? How in the world can one give liberally and do it cheerfully? Well,
no one but a Christian who remembers how freely he has received, could be
cheerful about giving freely. But when the Christians remembers all that the
church means to him, if he is really sincere he can give cheerfully an amount
that will be liberal in keeping with prosperity.

We remember a story that illustrates the need of both these principles being
observed in our giving. As we got it, the incident is supposed really to have
occurred. Anyway, it might have occurred and whether it actually did it brings
out clearly the conflict and the possible harmony that may result between
cheerfulness and liberality.

It was in a small place where the people came after the communion and laid their
offerings on the table. The old brother who was officiating at the table that
day could hardly keep from seeing the offering made by the prosperous member of
the congregation. The well-to-do man had laid a twenty five cent piece on the
table. The old brother waited until he had reached his seat. Then he took up the
quarter and carried it down the aisle to the man.

“Here is your quarter,” he said. “You have given on the first day of the week as
we are taught, but you did not give liberally. We all know that this is not a
liberal gift from a man of your means. Please take it back for we want no
unscriptural giving.”

After a moment the man overcame the surprise, got possession of himself and
stalked back up to the table and threw a five dollar bill at the old brother.

“There you are,” he almost shouted, “I guess that is liberal enough.” And he
went back to his seat in a rage. The old brother waited until he had settled
himself again, then calmly took the five dollar bill back to him.

“Here is your five dollar bill, brother” he told him. “You have indeed given
liberally but you did not do it cheerfully. We read that the ‘Lord loveth a
cheerful giver.' Your liberal gift is not acceptable to him if it is not given
cheerfully. We do not want grudging gifts.”

After that the man thought for a moment, he followed the old brother back to the
table and with a good humored smile said:

“I see the point. You have rebuked my stinginess most severely and I see how
little I was. Really, I'm glad to give the five dollars. Take it for it is
cheerfully given.”

Certainly we must not neglect one of these principles as we emphasize some other
one. We would almost surely violate the matter of cheerful giving if we solicit
people who are not members of the church to help us. Aside from their having no
responsibility, they could not give cheerfully the liberal amounts that the
church has a right to expect of her members.

5a). The question of giving as one has been prospered is one that may give some
trouble. If a widow with children on a ten dollar a week salary gives a dollar
on the first day of the week and a man on a fifty dollar a week salary gives a
dollar, have they each given as they have been prospered? There is certainly no
equality in that. Then how shall we determine what should be given in keeping
with the principle of “as he may prosper?” The Jews had to give a tenth of their
gross income. They are an example for us and it does seem that Christians with
all their liberty and their glorious hope and precious promises should do at
least as well as the Jews did. Every sincere Christian should give a tithe, a
tenth, of his gross income, is what the example of the Jews keeps showing us. We
believe that is so and that every Christian who has anything above a mere
subsistence living should give at least a tenth of his income. But a tenth of a
widow’s ten dollar a week salary and a tenth of a man’s fifty dollar a week
salary, who has only himself and wife to support, is not giving equitably. The
widow’s sacrifice in that proportion is much greater than is the man’s. For a
long time we have been trying to read into the New Testament the teaching that
every Christian should tithe. We have gone to great pains and resorted to
arguments that strained almost to the breaking point some principles in our
attempt to make it prove a tenth should be given now just as it was commanded
for the Jews. It just is not there. There are some wealthy Christians who, if
they gave a tenth, would be giving entirely too little!

Here again the great wisdom of the Bible is shown. That it is not a book of
minute details but of great principles is illustrated here most forcefully. Do
not misunderstand our use of that expression “minute details." We think that
first principles, faith, repentance, confession and baptism, the wearing the
name Christian only, as a religious designation, the observing of the Lord’s
Supper on the first day of the week and other plainly taught principles are
splendidly great principles. They are not in the class of details by any manner
of means. What we do mean may be shown further in connection with this thought
of tithing. The early writers on Economics, Richardo, Mills and others following
the lead of Adam Smith, believed that proportional taxation was the ideal manner
of taxing. One of Adam Smith’s canons of taxation, which was standard for
decades', lays down this principle. That is, every citizen should be taxed an
amount proportional to that which all other citizens are taxed to support the
government whose protection they enjoy. If 3% were the rate of taxation, then
everyone should be taxed at the rate of 3 % on the type of property that carried
that rate. If a man’s holdings were worth only a hundred pounds he would be
taxed at the rate of 3%. Another whose estate was worth a hundred thousand
pounds would be taxed at the same rate, 3%. That was thought to be the very
maximum of equality. And that is the principle we have been following trying to
make the New Testament teach tithing for all Christians. But thank God, his
wisdom has saved the Bible from any such reproach. Today there is not a writer
on Economics, particularly in the field of taxation, who would advocate
proportional taxation upon all citizens. The inequality of it is now recognized
and we have pretty well accepted and established a progressive tax system. A
family that has an in-come that is a bare subsistence income should have none of
it taken away from them in taxes, while a man who has a comfortable income will
be taxed pretty heavily: a wealthy man will be taxed more heavily, and on up. In
South Carolina an act in 1921 raised the total of Federal and State income taxes
to 72% of the income over $200,000.

Now suppose that tithing was taught in the New Testament. It would certainly be
considered a back number by the economists and its writers would be classified
in the school of such as Adam Smith in this respect. But it does not teach that.
It teaches the principle of equality and whatever principle may be worked out in
any age, in any country, the Bible will be found to fit right down into that
scheme so far as it is Christian in principle. No, the Book is not out of date
even in the principles of Economics. It is a new as any book in the world. It is
as new as the day after tomorrow!

How could it have made such a tremendous advance over the now discredited
principle of proportional giving that was bound on the Jews? How, in an age that
was still igorant of such social science as Economics, could its writers have
given principles that are still up-to-date; that were nineteen centuries in
advance of the principles of that time, yet were fitted for that age? Its
marvelous elasticity which fits it into any country, any age, is shown here and
surely shows its divine origin.

What we have been saying takes care of the matter of one’s purposing, in large
part. “As one has been prospered” is but a part of “as each one purposeth in his
heart.” As we have said there must be no assessing if we are to follow the
teachings of the church in the days of the apostles. We have never violated this
principle so far as we know. One’s prosperity will guide him in what he purposes
to give. If he has a subsistence level of income, only a very little given will
be a sacrifice. As one has more than that his giving should advance
progressively until one with a really good income should not be hampered by the
tenth bounty but should go beyond it further and further as the Lord allows him
to prosper more and more. But let no one think this excuses those with small
incomes from giving. It does not. For, surely, we have not forgotten that our
giving must be liberal, and it must be cheerful. We know of those on fifteen and
twenty dollars a week income who tithe and they are blessed in doing it. Except
in cases of extreme poverty where only a mere existence can be eked out of the
meager income, each one should lay in store on the first day of the week. A
tenth will not be too much for those who are above that subsistence level. A
tenth will be too little for those who are well above it! “Freely ye have
received, freely give.”

Notice that each one is to give “as he may prosper.” Sometimes good brethren
give something and say “if you need more, let me know.” One’s giving is not to
be regulated by what is in the treasury but as he has prospered. Whether the
treasury is in the red or Has a surplus is not to be considered by the
individual as he determines his “purpose.”

If all would follow this principle treasuries would have enough that most
congregations could widen their influence. "Give as you have been prospered” is
the criterion that should measure the purpose, not what is in the treasury!

Some have found difficulty in using “pledge cards” in their attempt to regulate
the expenditure of the church through learning approximately what its income
will be. We do not like the idea of a pledge. It is irksome and we cannot well
get away from it. Some have avoided this very nicely by using a ‘“purpose card.”
To call it a “purpose card” is to use New Testament terminology and obviates the
harsh word “pledge” while it serves the same good purpose. The sincere Christian
who “purposes” to give a certain amount Weekly, and tells the church treasurer
so, will be as faithful to that “purpose” as anyone will in keeping a “pledge.”
And more will be willing to tell the treasurer what they purpose to give,
knowing in doing that that they are not signing a promissory note, as the pledge
seems erroneously considered. Let us all purpose and there will he no harm done
in letting our treasurer know what we do purpose to give regularly, liberally
and cheerfully. With this study of what the church did in financing its work
during the days of the apostles; some suggestions of how the church today is
doing its financing and how it may do as the church was then taught to do, we
are prepared to read understandingly one of the most beautiful passages in the
Bible. Here it is in 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 :

“But this I say, he that sowteth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he
that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Let each man do according
as he hath purposed in his heart: not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God
loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound unto you; that
ye, having always all sufficiency in everything, may abound unto every good
work: asi it is written, "He hath scattered abroad, he hath given to the poor;
His righteousness abideth forever."

“And he that supplieth seed to the sower and bread for food, shall supply and
multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness: ye
being enriched in everything unto all liberality, which Worketh through us
thanksgiving to God. For the ministration of this service not only filleth up
the measure of the wants of the saints, but aboundeth also through many
thanksgivings unto God; seeing that through the proving of you by this
ministration they glorify God for the obedience of your confession unto the
gospel of Christ, and for the liberality of your confession unto the gospel of
Christ, and for the liberality of your contribution unto them and unto all;
while they themselves also, with supplication in your behalf, long after you by
reason of the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be to God for his
unspeakable gift!” On an old tombstone in some cemetery was found an epitaph
which we will do well to consider:

"What I spent I used What I saved I lost What I gave I have.” The golden text
for all giving is found in Luke 6:38 in the words of the Master himself. Hear
it:

“Give and it shall be given unto you; Good measure, pressed down, shaken
together, Running over shall they give into your bosom. For with what measure
you mete it shall be measured to you again.”

If we will give ourselves into the service of the Lord whole-heartedly as the
Macedonians did who are mentioned in 2 Corinthians 8:5 “First of all they gave
their ownselves to the Lord, and to us through the will of God” then we will
have no trouble in following gladly the leading of the early church in doing our
work and supplying the financial means for increasing the work. We will then
have a “purse-and all’ religion.


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  CHAPTER 7: THE CHURCH TODAY IN ITS PREACHING AND TEACHING
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The Church Today In Its Preaching and Teaching THE CHURCH TODAY IN ITS PREACHING
AND TEACHING Oscar Smith Text: “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and
from rivers unto the ends of the earth.” (Psalms 72:8)

“And as many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain
of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways,
and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the
word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:3)

“For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of thb glory of Jehovah, as
the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14). The promise of redemption embraced
“all the families of the earth,” but the prophecies concerning the proclamation
of the gospel could not be fulfilled until Jesus broke down the middle wall of
partition and abolished the law of Moses by nailing it to the cross.After the
resurrection of Jesus and just before his ascension, he met the apostles in a
mountain in Galilee and commanded them to “Go ye therefore, and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you:
and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (Matthew
28:19-20). This commission is the accumulated wisdom and power of forty
centuries. It is Christ’s farewell message to mankind. When it was given, the
Lord would not trust the disciples with it, until they were “clothed with power
from cn high.” (Luke 24:49). An interesting conversation occurred between Christ
and the apostles just before the ascension, which should be noticed here. “They
therefore, when they were come together, asked him, saying, Lord, dost thou at
this time restore the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, it is not for
you to know times and seasons, which the Father hath set within his own
authority. But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you:
and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,
and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:6-8). This well defined plan
of operation required that they begin preaching in Jerusalem, where the Jews
were in a position to vindicate his claims, or prove that he was not the
Messiah. The inhabitants of the rural districts of Judea were also prepared to
accept the gospel at once. Then the Samaritans, who had witnessed these miracles
of Jesus were to have opportunity to hear the gospel, and thence to the
uttermost part of the earth.

Let us consider the preaching of the apostles. The first gospel sermon that was
ever preached in the name of the Lord, was that of Peter on the day of
Pentecost. Pentecost was one of the three annual festivals of the Mosaic law, at
which all of the male Jews were required to be present. Hence, there was a large
crowd assembled in Jerusalem at that time. The firelike and forked tongues
appeared, and Peter began his work of “binding and loosing” with the assurance
that his work would be recognized in heaven. It was a great occasion. The Jews
w'ere cut to the heart and inquired what to do. Peter said: “Repent ye, and be
baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remisson of your
sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38). Result:
“They then that received his word were baptized: and there were added unto them
in that day about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:41).

Peter and John went up into the temple at the hour of prayer. The lame man at
“the beautiful gate” was healed. The people were astonished and ran together in
Solomon’s porch. Peter explained the power by which the miracle was performed,
and emphasized the doctrine of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. Result: “But
many of them that heard the word believed: and the number of men came to be
about five thousand.” (Acts 4:4)

Stephen, a man “full of faith and the Holy Spirit,” preached to the Jews in
Jerusalem. They resisted his arguments by stopping their ears. They cast him out
of the city and stoned him to death. (See Acts 7:1-60.)

Philip carried the gospel to the city of Samaria. “But when they believed Philip
preaching good tidings concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus
Christ, they were baptized both men and women.” (Acts 8:12.) The same
evangelist, guided by an angel of the Lord, preached Jesus to the Ethiopian
officer. “And as they went on the way, they came unto a certain water; and the
eunuch saith, Behold, here is water: what doth hinder me to be baptized? And he
commanded the chariot to stand still: and they both went down into the water,
both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.” (Acts 8:26-39.)

Saul of Tarsus persecuted the church. He was on his Way to Damascus with
authority from the high priest to bind Christians and cast them into prison. The
Lord appeared to him saying, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” He inquired
what to do. The Lord directed him to Damascus where Annanias was sent by the
Lord to tell him what to do. (Acts 22:16.)

Peter was sent to the house of Cornelius, the first Gentile convert. The gospel
was preached, Cornelius believed, repented and was baptized. (Acts 15:7; Acts
11:18; Acts 10:48.)

Lydia was a worshipper of God. She heard Paul preach the gospel. The Lord
enlightened her understanding, “and gave heed unto the things which were spoken
by Paul,” and “was baptized.” (Acts 16:14-15.)

Paul and Silas were imprisoned at Philippi for preaching the gospel and casting
out devils. At midnight they prayed and sang praises unto God. The prisoners
heard them. An earthquake shook the prison’s foundation, opened its doors and
loosed the bands of the prisoners. The jailor awoke and was about to kill
himself. Paul assured him that the prisoners had not escaped. He inquired what
to do. Paul "spake the word of the Lord unto him, and all that were in his
house. And he took them the same hour of the night and was baptized, he and all
his, immediately.” (Acts 16:25-34.) At Athens Paul encountered philosophers of
the Epicureans and Stoics, who desired to hear him “concerning Jesus and the
resurrection.” Paul preached to them, with the result that “certain men clave
unto him and believed.” (Acts 17:33.) At Corinth Paul preached the gospel. “And
Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his house;
and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.” (Acts 18:8.)

Today, we are under divine instruction to preach the same gospel that the
apostles preached. In other words, the teaching and preaching of the church of
the first century, must be the teaching of the church now. The Lord’s plan has
always succeeded. Were the apostles successful? In less than forty years Paul
wrote the church at Rome, “Did they not hear? Yea, verily their sound went out
into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.” (Romans 10:18.)
Again: “If so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and not
moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye heard, which was preached in all
creation under heaven; whereof I Paul was made a minister.” (Colossians 1:23.)
The Lord, during his personal ministry selected twelve men whom he qualified to
go before the world and testify of him. These men are known in the New Testament
as apostles. While they are not with us in person, their teaching remains
binding open the human family, and will be binding as long as the Christian
dispensation stands. Consider the following:

1. The apostles were eye-witnesses of the Lord. 2. They were immediately chosen
and trained by the Lord. 3. They were infallibly inspired by the Holy Spirit. 4.
They performed miracles to prove their mission. 5. Had power to impart spiritual
gifts upon others by the laying on of hands. 6. Exercised authority while they
lived over churches planted by their instrumentality. 7. Received their
commission directly from the Lord, hence, could not transfer their office to
others. They had no successors. 8. They were the Lord’s chosen ambassadors. (2
Corinthians 5:20) 9. They have the keys of the kingdom. (Matthew 16:18; Matthew
18:18.) 10. They are upon thrones today, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
(Matthew 19:29.) The only official personages in the church today are
evangelists, elders or bishops and deacons. Elders or bishops are appointed in
the local congregation to look after the spiritual interests of the church, and
deacons manage the financial affairs of a well-organized congregation. The word
“evangelist” occurs three times in the New Testament as follows: “And on the
morrow we departed, and came unto Caesarea: and entering into the house of
Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we abode with him.” (Acts
21:8.) In writing the Ephesian church Paul says that the Lord “gave some to be
apostles; and some, prophets; and some evangelists.” (Ephesians 4:11.) Timothy
was instructed by Paul to “do the work of an evangelist.” (2 Timothy 4:5.) The
evangelists of today receive their commission just as Timothy did. Paul said to
Timothy: “And the things which thou hast heard from me among many witnesses, the
same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” (2
Timothy 2:2.) Again “Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a
workman that need- eth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth,” (2
Timothy 2:15) His duties are:

1. He must be an example to others. “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou
an ensample to them that believe, in word, in manner of life, in love, in faith,
in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12.)

2. He must be meek and holy in life. “But thou, O man of God, flee these things;
and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.” (1
Timothy 6:11.) Again: “But foolish and ignorant questionings refuse, knowing
that they gender strifes. And the Lord’s servant must not strive, but be gentle
towards all apt to teach, forbearing, in meekness correcting them that oppose
themselves.” (2 Timothy 2:23-25.) 3. He must “hold the pattern of sound words.”
(2 Timothy 1:13.) 4. “Speak the things which befit the sound doctrine.” (Titus
2:1.)

5. Preach the word. “I charge thee in the sight of God. and of Christ Jesus, who
shall judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:
preach the word; be urgent in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort,
with all long-suffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not
endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves
teachers after their own lusts.” (2 Timothy 4:1-3.)

Evangelists must take the apostles for their models. In the fourth chapter of
Acts we have an account of Peter’s defense before the council. Of course Peter
and John were asked by what power they had healed the lame man. “And Peter,
filled with the Holy Spirit,” said, “Be it known to you all, and to all the
people of Israel, that in the name of !Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye
crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even in him doth this man stand here
before you whole. He is the stone which was set at nought of you the builders,
which was made the head of the corner.” (Acts 4:10-12.) Here Peter puts his
accusers in the attitude of laying the foundation for a building, and rejecting
the stone which was cut out for the corner. He further declares that Christ was
raised from the dead, and that salvation is in his name. The next verse reads,
“Now when they beheld the boldness of Peter and John, and that they were
unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them,
that they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13.) The text does not say “and when
they beheld the deep piety of Peter, although piety has its place. It says, “and
when they beheld the boldness of Peter and John.” After this, the apostles
prayed, and one of the main points in the prayer is stated as follows: “And now,
Lord, look upon their threatings: and grant unto thy servants to speak thy word
with all boldness.” After the prayer the place was shaken, and it is recorded of
them “that they spake the word of God with boldness.”

It was God’s will that the church should be kept pure. The apostolic preachers
drew the line deep and wide between the church and the world. Sin was not
tolerated in the church at Jerusalem, and the man today who follows the plain
preaching of the apostles, will not hesitate to cry out against every form of
corruption in the church. Like the prophets of old, it Is the duty of a preacher
to pluck up and to break down and to destroy and to build. The mission of the
church is to help the needy, edify itself and preach the gospel to the world.
The paramount work of the church is that of preaching the gospel to the lost.
The church is said to be “the pillar and ground of the truth.” That means that
the church supports the truth, upholds it and transmits it from generation to
generation. The question may be asked, “What is the truth?” 1. It is not
philosophy. Some body has said that “philosophy is the search of a blind man in
a dark cellar for a black cat that isn’t there.” 2. It is not theology. Theology
is the word of God diluted by human opinion. Theology sent the church into the
wilderness and brought on the dark ages. Theology as the curse of the religious
world today.

Since the church is the pillar and ground of the truth, what is meant by the
term “truth?” 1. The truth is the word of God. “Sanctify them in the truth: thy
word is truth.” (John 17:17.) 2. The truth is the gospel. “In whom ye also,
having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation.” (Ephesians
1:13.) 3. The truth or the gospel must be rightly divided. “Give diligence to
present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
handling aright the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15.) The evangelist, armed with
the “sword of the Spirit,” must wage an aggressive warfare. Some seem to think
the Christian’s armor is for defense only; but Paul told Timothy to “fight the
good fight of faith,” and to “Suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Jesus
Christ.” To get some idea as to the faithful preacher’s attitude toward the
false teacher, follow Paul and Stephen in their career as preachers. Stephen
engaged some men in a regligious debate in the Cilician synagogue in Jerusalem,
and it is reported that his enemies “were not able to withstand the wisdom and
the spirit by which he spake.” (Acts 6:10.) On one occasion Stephen defended
himself before the Sanhedrin. That speech closes with these blistering words:

“Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the
Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do ye.” (Acts 7:51.) As a result of that
speech, Stephen was stoned to death. On the island of Cyprus, it seems that Paul
and Barnabas encountered an influential man who desired to hear them preach.
“But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them,
seeking to turn aside the proconsul from the faith. But Saul who is also called
Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fastened his eyes on him, and said, O full of
all guile and all villany, thou son of the devil, thou enemy of all
righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?” (Acts
13:8-10.)

After many years of hard labor on the firing line, Paul was able to look back
over a life of faithful service in the Lord’s kingdom and call it “a good
fight.” Having fought the “good fight of faith,” he could look forward to the
crown of life “which the Father has in store for all who love him.” In New
Testament times, each local church was a unit of action. Mission work was often
done, by a congregation selecting evangelists and sending them out, as in the
case of Barnabas and Saul and the Antioch church. “The Holy Spirit said,
seperate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. Then
when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them
away.” (Acts 13:2-3.) The first missionary journey of Paul was from Antioch
through Asia Minor back to Antioch. Upon his return to Antioch he catted the
church together and reported the work done in foreign lands. The church at that
time was the divine society organized for the purpose of preaching the gospel to
the lost. The Lord’s plan will succeed.


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  CHAPTER 8: THE CHURCH TODAY IN ITS BUILDING ITSELF UP IN LOVE
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The Church Today In Its Building Itself Up In Love THE CHURCH TODAY IN ITS
BUILDING ITSELF UP IN LOVE EARNEST BEAM A debt of gratitude is owing
institutions such as this for the attitude of mind and habits of life you cause
young people to adopt. I want to express my sincere thanks to our Father in
heaven for the men and women of faith, of courage ,and of vision who have made
and are making such educational foundations possible. Not long since, in
California, I heard a discussion concerning some land that was for sale. "It is
not worth that much if the Japanese have been farming it,” one man said to the
other. And the other man asked, “What have the Japanese to do with it?” To which
the first replied, “They can take all the good out and leave the land almost
worthless for agricultural purposes until years of building up processes have
been employed.” Our civilization is running down. We have been taking entirely
too much out of men and not putting enough back. We are going to change this
procedure very soon now or we are going to leave this stage of action. The
universe is against it. But schools such as these are great helps to the home
—to fathers and mothers who care how their children are developed—’for yours is
just the opposite of the Japanese with the land. Instead of taking out, you
develop those processes of thought and habits of life that enable the student to
take the great God of the universe into himself. This truly becomes a well of
water springing up into eternal life. Again I thank the Lord for all the good
all of the men of faith thus engaged have done for Him and for the world.

SPIRITUAL GIFTS IN THE EARLY CHURCH Spiritual gifts is the subject Paul has
under consideration in that church at Corinth when he comes to pen the
thirteenth chapter which was read for us by Brother Silas. Let us get the
setting of this chapter that treats so pointedly of love. The twelfth chapter
enumerates the gifts of the Spirit possessed by the church of apostlic days. A
study of each gift would be profitable for that church was a body. It was not
merely a torso. It had feet with which to walk, and hands with which to serve,
and eyes to see as well as ears to hear, and above all, it had a heart that
cared. The Holy Spirit was the Assembling Agent. That harvesting machine was
complete. But these gifts added nothing to the moral and spiritual character of
those Christians. These powers that they possessed lodged in the character of
God—not in them—and they were not the better for possessing them. This point is
of extreme importance and understanding it you will see why Paul contrasts these
gifts with love. When times were better than they are now we had shipbuilding
there in the Los Angels harbor near Long Beach. Some of the shipbuilding
companies are located in Los Angeles. Now suppose it is pay day and one of you
goes to Los Angeles and is given the ten thousand dollar pay roll to carry down
to the men at work. Are you any richer by this pay roll that is for others? No
you are not. You might excite the envy of a friend of yours if you should get
out in Long Beach before going on down to the harbor and begin to show him that
ten thousand dollars and how very prosperous you are. Some men in merely
handling money for others, of the which not one dime is their’s, suddenly are
lifted very high in their own conceits. And imagine yourself exciting the envy
of your friend who scarcely can find enough for food and rainment but you have
ten thousand dollars! And, yet, you are not a pennyworth richer. No bread can
you buy with that ten thousand dollars, no clothing can you buy and no rent can
you pay. That entire sum is in your hands for the good of others and you are not
the richer for it. Spiritual gifts were like that .

Paul speaks expressly in Ephesians the fourth chapter that these gifts were for
the “work of the ministry.” And yet a few days ago a sister of mine together
with her friend were dining at the home of friends. And about as soon aa they
were seated at the dinner table they became engaged in a discussion of spiritual
gifts. One young lady had prayed for a week or so and professed to have one of
the gifts. She thought herself perfect—complete—and that she had arrived at that
state of character where she could fulfill all the pleasure of God in herself.
The young lady was sincere and meant well too as many another like her also is.
But she was wrong—terribly wrong.

Each side in that little discussion went for re-enforcements so a few nights
found all the company together again with a “Brother Rogers” to help them and
with me to help “us.” I said to this young lady who thought she was perfect
(complete): “You prayed for a week or so and were by direct fiat of the Lord
made entire. No hard benches did you sleep on nor taunts did you take nor
suffering did you have worth the mention. And yet you arrived at perfection. The
apostle Paul labored in strifes and sorrow and hardships and sufferings almost
beyond our comprehension and afterward pened with a hand that still trembled
from the terrible buffetings he was undergoing: ‘Brethren, I count not myself to
have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are
behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward
the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.’ How hard it
was for him to come by the unimpeachable character and how easy you came by it.
To arrive at perfection after a week or so of mere prayer is unworthy the
Saviour with a cross, the men of faith of the ages, and the God who gave His son
for the world.”

“But the gift is the guarantee. God will not give the gift except you are wholly
pleasing in his sight,” she reasoned. “You are tragically in error,’ I replied.
(I spoke in kindness and she listened well.) I continued by showing her that the
very church (at Corinth) possessed of so many gifts were “babes in Christ,”
"carnal.” Among them "envying, strife, and divisions” and that their “walk” was
“according to man.’ Rejoicing was there that was not good, and neither was the
rejoicing of the young lady good. I believe I persuaded her of this. And the
discussion continued until proof sufficient was given that the possession of
these gifts added nothing—not a thing—to the moral and spiritual character of
the possessor. True, they were largely given to converted persons—to good
men—but the possessing of them neither made them good nor were they necessarily
well developed spiritually. They were with these gifts exactly where the man
with the payroll was—in possession of something to build up others but which
enriched them not. The gifts gave the wisdom and showed the behavior of heaven
and gave the proof that the message was divine (the truth and the proof of the
truth) but the possessor’s character was not made better.

It is further pointed out that one might speak in tongues of men and of angels
and personally be nothing but a noisy, troublesome person. Too, he might
understand all mysteries and all knowledge—have the gifts with which to do this
— and personally be nothing; that one could give his body to be burned and all
his goods to feed the poor and it profit him nothing. These gifts lodged in the
character of God—in the character of those who possessed them. But the “end of
the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and
faith unfeigned.” (1 Timothy 1:5.) And Paul kept this end in view and therefore
contrasted these gifts with charity.

Another Mistake Riding east with a very good friend of mine—a law student and a
Christian—he too raised the question of whether the whole world would not be
converted if a great display of these gifts were in evidence. And I asked,
"Suppose they were converted, then what? Would they on that account be the kind
of characters God wants? Will mere belief do it?” After some study I believe he
was persuaded that these gifts are not needed to the development of character.
And here let me interpose for emphasis. I come to Abilene with just two words: I
am pleading for unification—integration—within us—for character and for
unification with the whole world outside of us. This calls for character This
calls for love. This state represents the completed circuit. The germ of life in
a seed will not cease its work until it has deposited energy like itself—until
it has deposited the seed that will repeat the same process. And the love set
forth in Christ never stops until it has made us like Christ. The end of the
commandment —the end of all ordinances, church name, sacrifices, toil,
suffering—all—the end is' charity. Any system abortive of this is not of God.
“By their fruits ye shall know them.” Except the church of Christ produces
character—and love is that character—superior to the denominations it so sorely
criticizes, it has no right to exist. To what profit is it that we may grow a
tree with more luxurious growth than our neighbors? What does it matter that the
tree abides more soundly within the principles of proper living? If his fruits
equals ours our whole procedure is worthless and only has in it some excellency
that is short lived. God goes for character—for love. The something that mothers
have by instinct is what we must come to have through salvation in the realm of
the Spirit. That something is love. That is God. That is the cosmic energy—the
essence—of the moral and spiritual universe. The scheme of the ages is to
produce character, love, life and not systems, dogmas and doctrines. These, to
be sure, cannot be disregarded but are essential. But if they do not bring us to
perfection—to completeness—to the love—character that God has—then are we salt
that has lost its savour and we are good for nothing. We are then the most
putrid thing in the world. And this love—this character—is not a direct bestowal
of God for then had he as well taken the rocks and the trees for his children.
We must rise up in faith and hope and God will give us the joys and the sorrows,
the successes and the failures that will perfect that character. The two words
are: Unification within—integration—no lost motion, and unification with God,
the angels and the whole world of men. The one method of this end is not the
mere bestowal of gifts but the hard, ugly, vexing way of the cross. But I
anticipate my speech concerning unity for tomorrow afternoon and will return to
the subject in hand.

It is a serious mistake to think that God is all the while anxious to use his
supernatural power. If he did use it constantly we would then be walking by
sight—regularly seeing his power—rather than by faith, to walk by faith is to
trust him when we cannot see. Evidence is every-, where abundant both in nature
and in revelation that God does not choose normally to use his supernatural
power. It is so evident that we strongly suspect those who constantly clamor for
signs as still being a “wicked and adulterous generation.” God’s manner of
giving by the processes of nature is a living testimony against this constant
longing for the sup-ernatural. Every natural birth with the incident suffering
and the long, patient care of the infant is a testimony against it. The
acquisition of knowledge and wisdom so necessary even for this short earth-life
is likewise an abiding testimony against it. In the realm of salvation and
revelation the testimony is as abounding. Why trouble Noah to build the ark? Why
not speak it into existence? Why forty days and forty nights with Moses on the
mount and then the offerings of the children of Israel in order to build that
tabernacle that was to house the heavenly likenesses? God was very particular
and all things must be made according to the pattern. The God who “spake and it
was done; who commanded and it stood fast” could have spoken it all into
existence. He did not do it. Why choose twelve unlettered apostles to carry the
message to the world? Why not let Jesus and the angels take a day off up there
in heaven and thunder the mesage of salvation to every corner in the earth? They
would have made no mistake in the message and, too, the whole world have started
off together with the wonderful news. Why not raise up a set of prophets every
one hundred years to thunder forth the message anew? We can depend upon men to
get matters badly twisted within one hundred years. And so might we multiply the
considerations. Every one points to the grand conclusion that God is anxious to
use this supernatural power. And we can be sure he is not anxious to use it for
it is neither consistent with his character nor good for us that he should. All
the philosophies of man ever written are not worth a featherweight that do not
begin with facts— things as they are—things that have been done. See what God
hath done is the way to begin to learn. Both the quaking of Mount Sinai, the
thunder, the lightenings, the Voice that spake, and prior thereto the wonders in
Egypt- all these show that God begins with things done. So of the miracles,
wonders and signs which God did give with Jesus - •• yea, more, the person and
character of Jesus himself—all is God showing his power and goodness that we
might reason with facts and not with theories. But all of these displays just
mentioned are spernatural and exceptional. Nature and the doings of God as
recorded by faithful witnesses are just as enlightening to us if we will but
consider. The theory that God is anxious to use his supernatural power is wrong
and has wrecked the usefulness of many a man. The superintending providence of
God, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, God hearing our prayers—all these are
apart from the supernatural. They are all mysterious but not miraculous. They
are as much a part of the way God works with his children today as the force of
life is a part of his way in nature. And the fact that we understand neither
working does not make either of them miraculous. Mysterious is one thing. All
life is that. Miraculous is quite another agency. That is the exceptional and
God does not choose to use it regurarly.

We are taught today that we need to pray God and have some miraculous
manifestation of the Holy Spirit. With some every step of the way must be marked
by some miracle. If it does not happen then exaggeration is employed to pump up
the ordinary and to make it a miracle. It is a most striking fact that in the
Bible those, for the most part, who know nothing of the coming of the miraculous
were sometimes endowed with it and those who wanted it had it not. Simon the
sorcerer offered money for one of these miraculous powers but he did not get it.
I do not know that there is a great difference between him and those today who
offer both money and sanity in some cases to get something. He was in the “gall
of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” If that same Holy Spirit was
speaking through us now with Peter then I doubt not the same diag-nosis would be
made in many cases. Those who asked Jesus for a sign were assigned by Jesus to a
similar disposition of character—a wicked and adulterous generation. Brothers
and all, we are often so sinful that we are in- capaole of judging aright our
motives and thoughts. How reverently we should then come to His word. Truly to
us these words are spirit and they are life.

I pointed out to my companion in travel on the way here that no people ever saw
more wonders—more miracles— than did those Israelites who came out of Egypt. It
is appalling to think of what they witnessed. But the carcases of nearly all of
them fell in the wilderness because, they neither had faith in God nor did they
know him! Think of it! Let these dead carcasses instruct us and all those who
constantly clamor for gifts—for the miraculous. Life is not built upon that
scheme and happy is that man who comes to see the “more excellent way.” Our
greatest strength can become our greatest weakness. These very gifts are a case
in point. Given of God to sup port the infant church they made them great. But
when that church began to focus attention upon them and conducted themselves in
such a way that they would have need oi them always they were found to be very
weak, (carnal, walking as men, babes, rejoicing in the wrong things). My mother
cared for me when I could not care tor myself. My father counselled me when I
would have been ruined without his counsel. They fed me. They clothed me. The
instructors taught me the elements of education and the mediums whereby I may
use the knowledge and the wisdom so essential to physical manhood here. But now
would I not have been in a ridiculous state if it had been necessary for me to
bring them all with me here for these addresses? And if I never could bargain
for myself in the affairs of men and go in and out among them without carrying a
nurse along to put me to sleep and an instructor to read to me and a father to
caution me not to give all my money to the first sranger who asked for it— would
I not be ridiculously weak? These very agencies ordained for my childhood would
be my weakness should I need them always. Their voice—their care—their
instruction—their counsel—all—is to lodge in me and become a part of me and make
me a mature person until I unconsciously use all of their ways. Then am I grown
to manhood and can put away childish things. It is precisely so with these
gifts. How could God ever develop spirits of faith, of hope and of love if all
the while he was to do all for them as he could and did do with these gifts? The
continuance of the gifts Would have kept them perpetual babes. But once
beholding the perfect—the mature—the full stature of Christ—we can come by his
ways, his thoughts, his ideals until we are completely regenerated and made
anew. And when we arrive at that stage we have love as God is* love—perfect as
He is perfect. We will find ourselves able to live in this world by His grace
and like the oak of the forest, the beast of the field and the man of the world
we shall be fully equipped unto every good work if we abide within his teaching.
By faith we contact God, by hope we continue in the way, and love is the
goodness of God himself. These elements lodge in our own character and make us
to be what God wants us to be. But those gifts lodged in the character of God.
How right Paul was! Surely this is the more excellent way.

How It Worked In Building The Church Jesus exhibited love in providing the
foundation for the church. Those twelve disciples would have burst into as many
particles asi persons without his love. There was plenty of material for them to
have warred each other to death. But Jesus found them, changed them, and made
them ready for the kingdom “in spite of” themselves. Love always works “in spite
of.” In mothers, in God, in Jesus it goes on when all else stops. Jesus went on
with the twelve when they considered themselves so soon perfected and would have
led the way knowing not they savoured not the things of God but only of men. He
stayed with them when they fell to discussing who should be the greatest. He was
with them when they would have fire come down from heaven to devour the
adversaries. He stayed with them when they all forsook him at Gethsemane. He
stayed with them on the cross and thought of the forgiveness of their sins. He
was with them afterward in their perplexities. He empowered them at Pentecost.
Love found a way to perfect everyone of those apostles with good hearts. Only ho
who had a demon was lost. This marvelous accomplishment stands both as a
challenge and a living rebuke to the whole world. There are thousands of people
with just as good hearts as we this day have that we have never reached. If we
loved as Jesus loved we would win them. But I anticipate the latter part of this
address.

Love did it. Love worked in Jesus. Let any man consider carefully what Jesus
experienced at the hands of those disciples and still perfected them “in spite
of.” This powerful example became the very dynamic of the early church. The type
was forever set.

Take the life of Paul as a further example of how love worked in building of the
early church. Yes, Paul loved. Just because John spake of love and was that
disciple whom Jesus loved, it does not argue that Paul was not loved and loving.
He was. No minister from the ascension of Jesus until now of whom we have record
compares with Paul in the excellency of love. Others wrote of it but where is
the record of their accomplishment? And love acts. Love does things. Love finds
a way. Paul did that. In the case of John Mark it was Paul who would not take
him the second time. He had turned back the first time. Paul would not take him
again. Why? Paul had a sense of completing this work God gave him to do.The urge
that is in every- plant to complete its life cycle; the urge that is within our
physical constitutions to take us on to maturity; the power that was with Jesus
until he could say “it is finished”—that power was with Paul. Mark was a
contradiction of that power. He turned back. And that power was love. Paul had
it. He was one of very, very few men who truthfully could say, “I have fought a
good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”

I have seen the frost come upon the corn in the milk stage. It became chaffy,
unfit for seed, and devalued for food. O, the thousands of Christians like that!
But the frosts did not cut Paul down until he finished the course. He exibited
the full, hard kernel that the frosts of winter cannot harm. He did that because
he had love. And consider what that meant in the life ot that early church. The
very hardness that Paul endured gave him wisdom and understanding. He is the one
writer more than any other that set the church loose from Judaism. Judaism
w'ould have destroyed it. Paul saw that and gave the needed instruction. He did
that because he had love. He suffered the consequences because he had love.

Paul demanded purity of life free from hyprocrisy. It takes a good man to make
that message effective. Paul had the necssary goodness because he had love.

He was never deterred from the goal because of circumstances. He used them all
to the glory of God. It takes love to do that.

It takes a good man to stand when hundreds depart. It takes a good man to leave
a desposit of faith that God can use when he is dead and gone. It takes a good
man to be robbed of every proper consideration among men in order to bless and
save those'men and their children. It takes love to do that. Paul did it.

It took love to plant the flag of the King of kings in every land. Paul did it.

Paul is one man that gave himself to the Lord.. And the Lord gave him love; What
powers this little man left in that early church' for good! He was its very life
blood. Members came to emulate him as they always will do their leader. Even
those who despised him when he lived were made powerful by him at his death. We
praise dead saints while we persecute the living ones. No lives other than those
of Jesus and Paul are needed •to show how love worked in the early church. The
apostles immitated the life of the Lord they had known. And like Joshua of old,
they reared up a generation of men and women who knew the Lord. They signed the
death pack with Jesus. They actually died to things of this worJd They were
controlled by the Lord. It was love at work. The Church Today In Comparison How
often do we see this exhibition of love today? It is a rare excellency among us.
But those few we have seen with it shone and shine like the stars of the
firmament. Those who have had it have made us desire to sell all we have that we
mav possess this treasure too. The generality in the church today do not have
that love of which the Bible speaks. Have you noticed that most of the things
over which we have quarrelled in the churches during the last fifteen or twenty
years have been matters that did not call for purity or affections, nor the
disciplining of the will but only tne using ot our tongues and pens? A man could
argue on the “college question,” the “no-class question,” the questions
surrounding baptism, and near or about every other question and be counted
loyal. At heart he may be no different to the man of the world. The fact that he
argues well on these of itself proves little. It is too much like paganism where
a man could bring his gift to the altar but take no account of his personal
life. Tt was the unexamined life. We have a great many unexamined lives. The
weapons of the carnal are used right and left of us. And the kingdom of God is
not now and never will be built by them. Love is lacking. The early church had
love enough to disfellowship the covetous. I never knew of a case like that in
modern times. We are all to much possessed of our possessions to start a
disfellowshiping movement on covetousness. Yet there is the demand in the
Scripture? not to eat with the cove tous. It takes love to make that commandment
effective. What charges would come in the church if we disfellow- shiped the
covetous from pure motives? It would mean we had love. And that would work to
the building of the kingdom. There is a plain passage of Scripture in this
matter. We do not use it. The railer was put out of the church in the long ago.
If there is any hateful thing that brother may not say to brother today—any
insinuation he may not use—I confess I do not konw what it is. Love made for
reverence of personalities in those days—the love of the spirit that came from
God. Even Michael would not rail against the Devil. The Devil would have been
railed against good and proper if my brethren had been there. Fools still rush
in where angels fear to tread. Along with our democracies these evil days we
have counted even persons as common and to be spoken of and against almost as we
will. I even heard a prominent brother say he liked another one because he could
use such “withering sarcasm.” Contempt for the person of another, if I mistake
not, was counted by Jesus, as between brother and brother, equal to murder. Love
would cast away this vile sin and make the church of to-day once again inhabited
by the Holy Spirit. The early church put out the jokers and the foolish talkers.
We do not. That is because we do not have the love that early church had. Our
manners are all but gone. I heard of a prominent brother who was very ill. Some
fear for his life was felt. But the report came back that he was doing fine and
“able to tell one joke after another.” That makes us think of Paul—it is so
different. How can a man tell one joke after another in plain violation of a
plain passage of Scripture and tomorrow hear the cries of the op- pressd and
deal gently with them? How is that gangrene, that callous to be removed from his
spirit so that he may be as responsive to the call of God as the rose is to the
sunshine? It cannot be done. Sins find us out. They tell their story. There are
problems in the church today that the jokers and men without a cross can never
solve. They have come to this hour unprepared. The sins witness against them.
They cannot see right because they have not lived right.

Covetousness, railers, extortioners, jokers, foolish-talkers— what do we do with
such now? Nothing. The early church had love enough to cast them out rather than
to do them the injustice of permitting them to think they are Christians. The
“spiritual” restored the erring in the days of love. They did it with all
longsuffering and lowliness too. We see more of the opposite of this than we do
of the other.

I speak plainly and I mean it so. The world has a right to. expect better things
than this of us. Our children have the right to expect it. The Lord has the
right to demand we do not insult the Holy Spirit thus and drive Him from our
hearts. And these “little” items are but indices—they are like buds on the tree.
They tell the story of the life that is within. These plain violations declare a
terrible condition of our hearts. It is away from love. It makes mockery of the
religion of Christ. It crucifies him afresh. The troubles of the early church
were largely from without. They had love within and easily withstood all things.
Yea, they used “all things” to the glory of God. We never have done that as a
people. The Japanese have a tree which by nature belongs in the forest and would
grow large. They cut the tap root, leave the surface roots, and make pot plants
of the trees. The gospel is a world plant. It feeds by way of love. We have
taken away this tap root loday and feed upon the surface. What a fearful
reckoning awaits us! If we had love we too would make the church pure and not
violate the plainest passages of Scripture; if we had love we too would use “all
things”—“the world, life, death,, things present, things to come”—and evangelize
the world if we had love we too would finish the course. We would bo perfect as
our Father in heaven is perfect—complete.

We can argue for the right name, for the correct baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and
tell everyone how loyal we are but unless we come to have love we will show to
the world more and more that we are nothing but sounding brass and tinkling
cymbals. And we cannot have love until our wills, our affections and our
intellects are all coordinated for God— all—and until we make the world—the
whole world—our field. In short, there cannot be love without the cross. It is
the method.

It is the Father’s good pleasure to give the church of tomorrow to those who
love. To those souls among us who labor on patiently and lovingly in hard
places—to those who know the weight of the cross—the church of tomorrow and the
ages to come will be given. Make no mistake about it. I beg all of you young
people to find the little places, the hard places, here in the United States and
abroad. Go there and live and work. Take the cross of Christ. Take it and keep
it when no man applauses. Love will develop in you mightily. Whatglorius
personalities you will become!

Two things only will I say in concluding. Jesus Christ never did send the gospel
abroad for the purpose of declaring good things and doing good things without
first demanding we be good. If we make the tree good we will bear good fruit. If
we long and pray and work that we may be perfected by love so sure as God is in
heaven and Jesus is His Son will we come to have good fruit. And to this end,
and finally, I would cite you to Jacob who came to meet his brother Esau. These
were twins. They were different characters. You have two natures in you also.
Jacob knew he could not meet that brother alone. He needed help. And when he got
hold of that angel that came to him he would not let him go until he received
help. When you once consider your weak, human nature you will find it
insufficient for the way of the cross. I beg you then to consider Jacob. Tell
the Lord you cannot win out against the nature that will pull you down to hatred
and fruitlessness without His help. When you mean that sincerely and pray him
sincerely you will find He will send upon you the joys and the sorows, like
angels of blessings, to bring you to that state of love you must have. And unto
Him will be the glory through Jesus Christ our dear Lord.


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  CHAPTER 9: THE CHURCH TODAY IN ITS WORSHIP
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The Church Today In Its Worship THE CHURCH TODAY IN ITS WORSHIP JOHN ALLEN
HUDSON

Since my subject has been assigned me to be a link in a series being delivered
in this lectureship I am very glad to address myself to the subject, “The Order
of Worship.” It is not mine to expostulate upon the importance of worship, nor
to define worship. Others no doubt in this series have done that. But I am to
develope in this lecture what we can learn of the form and items of worship as
furnished us in the New Testament.

It is a notable thing that Churches of Christ have no creed but the Bible. No
man-made book can describe for us in a ritualistic way what shall constitute
worship, nor in what it shall consist as to form. The Book of books is the
guide. What is says alone will suffice. It is true in all the Protestant world
that final appeal is supposed to be made to the Bible, but in such cases as
where appeal may be made the interpretation of the point is through
denominational bias. Hence, this lecture prefaces the thought that Churches of
Christ alone, as religious folk do actually take the Book of books as the
all-sufficient guide in matters of faith and of practice. This position then
upon the word of God prepares for the discussion of the order of worship as
furnished us in the word of the Lord. In seeking to establish the order of
worship, if a certain defiinite plan is given, it is necessary to arrive at
another point, and that is what will constitute authority in the word of the
Lord. In taking the old rule that the Bible establishes every point either by
direct statement or by an approved example no originality is claimed, of course.
Others long since dead have arrived at the conclusion that the way to prove a
thing from the Bible is either by taking a direct statement made upon the
subject in hand or else by taking the practice of inspired men as written out
for us in the history of the New Testament as law. In must be admitted upon
mature thought that what inspired men and women did and left behind as history
approved of God does make a rule, and a very safe rule, for us to follow.

There are recorded actions in the New Testament that do not stand as approved
examples, for later God saw fit to countermand them lest any one should get the
idea that they are to be followed as law. Hence the Bible is infallably safe as
a rule of action. God permits no flaws to stand in the wry. An example, or the
history of the practice of the apostles upon a certain point that does not
constitute a rule for us to follow, is in the early community of good furnished
us as the volunatry acts of the members of the early church out of their
generosity alone and not because God required such to be done. If this did not
stand out in apostlic history as a sporatic or separate piece of history in the
life of the church this example of the Jerusalem church would be forever
fastened upon the Church of Christ as the law to be followed with reference to
our material possessions. We are told that as many as had lands or houses sold
them and came and brought the money and cast it at the apostles’ feet. The first
great wave of enthusiasm that swept over the early church made them count as of
no importance whatever they possessed as material things. They lost the sense of
value of houses and lands. The eternal world became so important that they
minimized this world. And this first great wave of enthusiasm swept them to give
all that they had. But God recognized the property rights of even Christians in
this world in what is implied in the case of Anninas and Sapphira. In their case
the apostle Peter said: “While it remained was it not thine own? And after it
was sold was it not in thine own power?” Hence, God did not require the members
of the Jerusalem Church to give all they had of this world’s good when they
became disciples. When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian Chruch about the
requirements of the Gospel on the subject of material possessions, he said that
each member should give upon the first day of the week as he had been prospered
through the previous time. (1 Corinthians 16:1-2). And again he said that giving
of one’s means should be according to purpose (2 Corinthians 9:7). There are
other phases of the subject of giving as outlined to us in the New Testament,
but this is enough to show that the example of the Jerusalem Church in giving
all they possessed did not rest upon all coming disciples and congregations as
an approved precedent or example. Hence not every example in the New Testament
is an approved example. But where God has written out in history of the New
Testament actions that he evidently outlined by the guidance of the Holy Spirit,
and did not repeal them, the example furnished us is a law for us to follow.
This is an important point of interpretation of Scripture. The
direct—statement—way of teaching needs no lengthy treatment. 'Jesus said for the
apostles to go into all the world and to preach the Gospel to every creature. It
simply means what he said to them. And he said moreover that those taught should
believe, repent and be baptized. The person who hears the Gospel, believes it
and repents of his sins and is baptized does what Jesus said he should do and
the statement is direct and comprehensible. (Head Matthew 28:19-20; Mark
16:15-16; Luke 24:46-47).

There are some students of the Bible who insist upon a third thought in
interpreting the Scriptures, and that is what they call a “necessary inference.”
Thomas Campbell took notice of this in the “Declaration and Address.” If a thing
is necessarily infered from the over-shadowing com-mand, then it is a part of
the commandment though not directly mentioned. Let us take the case of the Great
Commission. Jesus said for the apostles to go into all the world. He did not say
how for them to go. At times they walked, at others they sailed on ships, at
others- they rode in carriages. Whatever way was best, or that seemed the most
convenient was implied in the use of good common-sense by the Master in carrying
out the commandment. Hence, it is necessarily infered. Such a thing is also true
of many minor things in the acts of worship. The convenience of a com-fortable
house, seats, song books, and many other things are implied matters in the New
Testament. God did not permit himself to write out to men as though they were
the veriest tyroes in his service such petty details as could be worked out in
human judgment to the best advantage of all concerned and to the best ends of a
spiritual worship. Then the Bible should have been such a weighty volume that an
hundred and twenty books, and not sixty-six would have been required to tell men
and women what to do.

We shall find in the study of the New Testament that God has written for us the
example of churches at work that we are to follow, that he has made direct
statements which we are to carry out, and that he has implied many tilings that
we may have and use in order to worship.

It is necessary to think of worship as regards its definition a little in this
lecture, for what constitutes worship must be thought about in order that we may
take up the subject of the order of the items involved. Some make a clear
distinction between worship and service, but it seems to me that such
distinctions may be more or less arbitrary. One can worship God in many ways
other than in the partaking of the Lord’s Supper. He can worship God while he
farms his acres, doing such work as may fall to his hands as one who renders
service unto God while he prepares to feed the hungry mouths of his family. And
Paul said that even a slave in the days of slavery should serve God through the
service to his master. God could be always in mind as the one to whom all homage
and praise and service are due. In such a case we have a worshipful spirit going
about the affairs of this world. There is some sense of worship in such a
reverential heart. But of course the clear-cut thought of worship is bowing
before and doing homage directly to a divine being, or to a superior being. When
we come to the numbering of the items of worship in the New Testament, we shall
find that they are very few in number. While here and there are elaborate
systems of worship that are so complex that it takes a lifetime of study to
master even the routine, and while we must consider that such an endless routine
is always in danger of smothering the true spirit, we must bear in mind that God
knows very well indeed the capablities of his creatures. He has made a religion
that he has designed for all the world and for every age, and for all conditions
of men. Therefore, he had to design something exceedingly simple to meet the
requirements of the human family. We may expect to find but few things as items
of worship.

We are told in Acts 2:42, “They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine
and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and in prayers.” And so far as the
order of worship is concerned, this is all that the historian Luke has told us.
It would have made exceedingly interesting history for some one to have written
about the personalities and their actions in the worship in that Jerusalem
church. And if some reporter had told us of how they assembled, whether they
sat, or kneeled, how they were dressed, and what they did in order when they
came together for worship it would have been a record greatly enjoyed by
countless thousands, but God mercifully covered such a history in the debris of
the centuries so that persons easy to misunderstand could not bind some things
of local color and custom upon all succeeding generations and in all the
countries of the earth.

Since Luke’s history is so brief, only the initiated could understand what he
meant by such things as the apostles' doctrine, breaking of bread and prayers.
It requires other records and parts of Scripture for one to know just what such
a statement could mean. What was this breaking of bread? Was it a common repast
of an average sort of bread? Or was it a special bread, and consecrated to a
special purpose? The latter was the case. When one goes back into the life of
Christ while he lived and labored among the apostles in preparation for the
coming kingdom, he will find that on the night of the betrayal of the Lord by
Judas that he (the Lord) took bread at the passover supper, gave thanks and
broke it and instituted a meal that was designed to keep him in mind throughout
the generations as the one who gave his life that man might live. This is called
the Lord’s Supper. But it did not consist of the breaking of a memorial loaf
alone. There was used in the same connection a container of wine that he said
was to represent his blood. These two items are sometimes in Scripture contained
in the single item of bread, for they both represent the last supper. Therefore,
what is meant by Luke in Acts is that the breaking of bread represented the
observance of the Lord’s Supper. And some writers understand at, the first this
was observed every day instead of the first day of the week only, as later
became the approved example.

We may expect to find that where God has written out, even if through the
thought of the correction of some abuse, the record, or example, with whatever
corrections may be pointed as needful, it is set up as a lav/ for us to follow.
Indeed we learn more about the proper observance of the Lord’s Supper from the
example of the Corinthian Church than from any other source. And may it be added
that we could not understand the full import of the expression, “breaking bread”
unless we had an example that would show us fully what is meant.

One could not take the statement of Acts 2:2 without cither passages of
Scripture and come fully to understand what the worship in the New Testament is.
Scr ipture must be used to throw light upon Scripture. Scripture must oe used to
interpret Scripture. Nor could one learn what the doctrine of the apostles is
except from the study of the New Testament history in Acts and the Epistles. It
's even necessary to go back to the Gospels to get an understanding of what
Jesus gave to the apostles. There are in the personal ministry many things in
germ that come to full light in the Acts and Epistles. Jesus gave the apostles
authority in the Church. He said that he would place them upon twelve thrones to
judge the twelve tribes of the kingdom of Israel. This simply means that through
them he would exercise his rule upon Spiritual Israel. They should be kings
under his vast and more powerful rule. They should be satellite kings. This they
were in the administering of his doctrine, for his and their rule upon the
people would be the rule of the heart, through divine law. The apostles never
had a separate doctrine or law. Their doctrine was the doctrine of Christ. The
apostles’ doctrine was what Christ gave to the world through them by the
guidance of the Holy Spirit. He said that the Spirit would guide them into all
truth. And in that day of the direct guidance of the new and growing church,
when the whole record was verbal only, and not any of it as yet committed to a
permanent record, what the apostles said was final, for the whole church
recognized that the apostles were under divine guidance and what they said was
not open to dispute. The people even knew that these men had gained from the
Lord first-hand information for the period of the personal ministery of the
Lord, and now they were under the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit. They were
the visible, physical leaders' of the army of the faithful. They set up the
whole practice of the Church. Hence, Luke’s statement that the early Church
“continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine, in fellowship and in breaking
of bread and in prayers.” Just what did this mean? As before stated, it was
known by the historian that the initiated, that is the members of the Church,
would know. He alluded to some understood form of worship. The mere statement
was sufficient to their minds to recall vividly some actual meetings of the
Church in which they had participated and the varied program of the Church in
worship. They could envisage afresh the worship of the Church. But God has given
us light here and there through the rest of the New Testament so that even if we
did not witness any of those scenes we can understand the main items of worship
and practice them with absolute assurance. But how wise he has manifested
himself in that he has prohibited from going into the record any such set
routine as to make the plan for divine worship a set thing, and rot flexible to
suit the needs and conditions of other folk and other ages! If he has set it up
as a record from the actions of a divinely guided society, then such a routine
would constitute an unalterable rule. And there could never be an abridgment,
never a protraction. Disciples meeting together in great haste, and under dire
persecution, would have been committed to a plan of worship so cumbersome and
heavy that they should have been endlessly involved be-fore their persecutors.
But God did not committ them to any such routine. The simplicity of divine
worship is an amazing thing. Paul exhorted that the brethren be not moved away
from the simplicity that was in Christ. For as a system tends to become
elaborate it is very apt to lose the spirit. and the power that originally
attended it. It becomes a ritual, and loses the very heart of worship. Is it any
wonder that God did not want the New Testament Church to become involved in an
elaborate system of worship when Christ and the apostles had seen the ritualism
of the Jews? There the Apostle Paul could warn that the brethren be not moved
away from the simplicity that was in Christ. The artless expression is often the
most expressive. Stilted speech seldom gets over. People are exceedingly simple
by nature. Their needs are just as simple. Man requires, John Stewart Mill said,
only companionship, food and a place to sleep. He may greatly elaborate upon the
pomp and circumstance of these but after all his needs do not vary. He may live
in a palace, eat special viands, and drink the most fragrant and delectable of
wines, and wear the most gorgeous of clothes, but after he has come to do such,
he has not changed in number or nature his basic needs, but only altered the
circumstance of them. And the humblest, having a sufficient amount of these
plain things in his heart, can be as happy as the rich. Now this same simplicity
of nature makes it most desirable that man in religion, as in life, be
unspoiled. God wishes him to be simple, and sincere. And to correspond with his
basic nature God has given a simple system of worship. As before stated in this
lecture, no one can read in the Scriptures of a detailed, fully outlined system
of worship. But God has had recorded in the Scriptures all the acts of worship
that he desires his people to have. We read of them here and there. Anyway, the
word of God is given that way—here a little and there a little. But when all is
combined we have all that is necessary. We have mentioned in Scripture the
singing of psalms. Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16. Prayer. 1 Timothy 2:1-5.
Giving of our means, or the contributions which we are required to make for the
work of the Church. 1 Corinthians 16:1-2. The Lord’s Supper. 1 Corinthians
10:16; 1 Corinthians 11:20-30. Teaching or preaching. Matthew 28:19-20. These
arei the only things that any one can read from the Scripture as being parts'
of, or together, comprising the things of worship of the New Testament Church.
There are simply no more items than these. And it matters not to the speaker
whether one classifies some of these as worship and some as service. They are
the things that were done by the Church in the days of the apostles when the
whole Church was under the guidance of the inspired apostles. Anything more than
these would simply be things of men’s authority and not things of God’s
authority. God authorized no more. And not only did God not authorize more, but
when it comes to the way in which they are to be done, and the order of them the
Bible is as silent as the tomb, as unreplying as the “tongueless silence of the
voiceless dust.” One can search the record in vain. Nothing more is to be gained
than that what is done must be done decently in order. God allows every assembly
of saints to meet when they feel they can the best, where they will, and to
proceed as they see fit, with the carrying out of these pimple elements of
worship. He has therefore given a flexible worship that can not be trammelled by
local conditions and color. When a congregation of disciples comes together how
shall it proceed with the worship? How many songs should be sung? Some one says,
“Let us sing the scriptural number, three.” Yes, Brother, that is the custom.
But where does the Bible say so? No where. Ah, and that is the trouble. We are
trying to make our own custom divine law to regulate others. We do not know the
difference between what is written in the Book and what we merely do as custom
in certain sections of the land. Time was, many will remember, when those who
communed drank from a common glass. And there are many who know of the great
protest which went up when a more sanitary system of communion was introduced.
Many, because they had been used to drinking from a common dipper, and from a
common communion glass, felt that the religion of Christ was profaned. What was
the matter? It was simply the growing pains of leaving behind the customs of a
by-gone day. And time was when many who contributed simply walked up to the
table and slipped a small coin under the table cloth so that the right hand
would not know what the left hand did! And in many instances what a furore went
up when a systematic plan of waiting upon the audience was instituted to meet
the needs of a growing congregation! But the passing of the plate had to come,
or the passing of the basket, kill any whom it would. Customs change, but the
die-hards are ever with us, And they are often so blind that they confuse the
custom which they have with the law of divine worship. But God has removed from
the record any taint of custom, even of the ancient world, and no such die-hard
can point to the Book and say that there it is, and the transgessors are going
to perdition for breaking up the order of divine worship. God has prevented them
from doing that by leaving such customs and plans of procedure out of the
record. Oh, the items are there. But the order in which they are to be done
cannot be found. So the order is left to the discretion of the worshippers.

Tradition is a powerful thing. It has a part in all life. And the religion of
Christ is no exception. What folk have been doing traditionally they want to
continue. And they in many instances resent change, even if it is reform back to
a simpler plan. The encrustations of social and religious custom are thrown out
by a growing society like a mollusk thrown out the shell with constant expansion
that is to encase it. But disciples of the Lord must bear in mind that there is
always a distinction to be made between the mere tradition which largely moves
them and the divine worship which they are to preserve. They should remember
that the Lord’s plan of worship is flexible, to suit the nature of the case,
while the elements are always the same. And certainly while we must know that
there is such a distinction to be made, we must appreciate each in its due
proportion. We can not dispense with order, or decency and orderliness. We can
not dispense with order, or decency and and worshipful way. On the subject of
custom, congregations of the Church of Christ to day almost wholly engage in the
singing of songs congregational, which in many cases is not congregational
singing, but merely a badly disorganized choir. We do not believe in choirs. And
I do not dissent from the main point of view. Choirs are dangerous, and are
wholly without apostolic precedent. Therefore, they are unscriptural. But at the
same time the New Testament has not said just exactly how the singing shall be
done. It does say that we are to speak to one another, to teach in song. And we
read in 1 Corinthians the 14th chapter where Paul mentions the fact that the
Church at Corinth had solo singing. One sang a song. One prophesied. Now bear in
mind that Paul did not condemn the practice, but merely ordered that not more
than one person, at the most two, should seek to command the floor. It would not
be unscriptural from this mention for a single person to sing a song for the
teaching of the congregation through song. But in many cases if a brother should
do such a thing there would be a great stir, and many would cry, “Heresy!” We
are fearfully wedded to our customs. It would not be a bad thing for all of us
to take stock of the teaching of the New Testament on the general subject of
worship, and while we are doing so to lay aside, if indeed that were possible,
our prejudices. Very many are wedded to their traditions and think them divine
law. But this speech is to deal with the worship of the Church as it is
conducted today. And that gives a privilege to tell of some customs that I have
observed. Some years ago I was engaged for a meeting for one of the Detroit
churches. While there I was impressed by the vast difference in custom, or
proceedure between the churches of that section and those of the south. They
have in that part of the world more of the English way of conducting worship.
And that is the old synagogue system that has come down all through the years.
The elders largely lead in the worship. One such person presides, certain songs
are sung, after this presiding officer (elder) lines them and announces them.
Afterward there is a reading of the Scripture, one portion from the Old
Testament and the other from the New by two young men who have been selected for
their work weeks in ad-vance. After such Scripture reading, there is then the
prayer service, afterwards the Lord’s Supper and then the collection. And at the
close there are the speeches of edification, or the sermon, in case there is a
minister of the word present. The Hamilton Boulevard Church house is built with
the view to the order and prominence of certain features of the services. The
table for the Lord’s Supper is placed in the exact center of the rostrum. The
speaker’s stand is placed over at the right side. The Lord’s Supper is featured.
And the general plan of worship is that just mentioned, namely, the English, or
better, the old Scotch method. In the South and Southwest the custom is to sing
about three songs, then the minister of the word reads a portion of Scripture,
prayer is conducted, or said, another song is sung, and then the announcements
are generally made before the sermon. After the sermon, there is the communion
and last of all the collection with fitting closing thoughts. There has been
much discussion of this plan of proceedure all down the years because it has
involved what has been called by some the so-called “Pastor’s system.” But
Churches of Christ in the Southwest and South do not regard this way of
conducting services a violation in the least the plan of worship which seems to
them to be left open to their own discretion and wisdom. There is no restriction
on the order. Paul left the order of proceedure in the hands of the Corinthian
Church by merely saying that everything should be done decently and in order.
There must be system. But how that shall be arranged is left to the individual
congregation.

It must be admitted with these scriptures that custom in different sections of
the world will naturally alter the way of doing things. The predominant custom
is that of the American Churches of Christ which feature the worship as detailed
in the last instances. Possibly the services are not more dignified, but
certainly the growth is phenominal as compared with the old Scotch of Jewish
synagogue method. Since Jesus has not prescribed the how, but merely has
indicated the things to be done, then the way that produces the best results
certainly should receive the most favorable consideration. And the results of
the plan followed in the most of the United States, that is to say, the
direction of the services by a skilled man who makes it his life business,
certainly justify a serious consideration. But still other brethren in other
parts of the world may meet when they please, where they please, and follow the
order they may select, and there is no one that has a right to tell them to do
otherwise.

Since the Bible is the guide in all matters of faith and of practice, Churches
of Christ refuse to do more or less than can be found in the word of the Lord.
The singing is never accompanied with a mechanical instrument of music, such as
the organ. Churches of Christ object because there is no mention or such in the
Scriptures. God has issued an injunction against the introduction of any thing
into the services more than what he has said. He said: “Whosoever transgresseth
and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth in the
doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto
you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid
him Godspeed: for he that biddeth him Godspeed is partaker of his evil deeds.” 2
John 1:9-11. This statement is aimed at doctrinal purity. No man is allowed to
add anything to the word of the Lord, or the doctrine of worship as found in the
Scriptures. Unless therefore, the proponent of instrumental music in the worship
can produce a “Thus saith the Lord” this Scripture forbids him the privilege of
adding anything to the worship. The burden is placed upon the one who uses such
an instrument to furnish proof from the word of the Lord for his practice.
Frequently one hears it urged that the objector to such practices find where the
Bible says not to do it. Well; this scripture is ample proof. It not only
forbids such a practice, but demands that the doctrine of Christ be kept pure,
free of additions and subtractions. It adds that the teacher of something
different has departed from God. One cannot force God to go with him into the
adoption of tenents of men. One cannot have God unless he stays with God, or
unless he adheres to the doctrine which the Scripture established as from God.
Therefore, the burden of proof does not rest with the man who does not go
beyond, but with the man who does something else. Each man must bring proof from
the Bible that what he does is Scriptural. Therefore, let the one who uses
instrumental music find the scripture for it. And since the Old Testament
Scriptures are not now the standard of worship and do not set forth the worship
of the apostles, but of Moses and the prophets, then it cannot be taken as
proof. It (the Old Testament) gives the history of worship among the Jews. The
New Testament sets up worship for Christians. Therefore, in the New Testament
the user of instrumental music in the worship will nave to find the proof of the
practice or else abandon it. Otherwise he has not God—in such practice, and
maybe not in anything. John simply says that he has not God.

Paul said to the Corinthians that one must not permit himself to be corrupted
from the simplicity that is in Christ A simple worship, containing the items
mentioned in the New Testament, is dignified enough. And since the Lord is the
one who ordained the worship, with its flexibility and simplicity, it is enough
for the spiritual unfolding of the members of the body of Christ. The range of
the minds of men is in the main not very wide or large. To accommodate a worship
to all sorts of people required the wisdom of Jehovah. He has given that wise
worship that embraces but a few items that can be practiced the world around.
And he has forbidden any to add to it or take from it. Truly, God has not
embarrassed any by giving a vast system which they could not follow. No set of
men on the face of the earth can evolve a worship that can be universal in
application. And when men have invented systems of worship they have created
denominationalism in that. God has given a universal plan, and that is what
Churches of Christ practice. No wonder they are destined to fill the earth, and
no wonder at their truly phenominal growth! A wise Providence has ordered it. It
is written for consummation as surely as that the Kingdom of God is to grow.


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  CHAPTER 10: THE CHURCH TODAY IN ITS IDEAS AND IDEALS OF UNITY
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The Church Today In Its Ideas and Ideals of Unity THE CHURCH TODAY IN ITS IDEAS
AND IDEALS OF UNITY ERNEST BEAM

There cannot be a unity that is fraught with blessing until we all come to have
that love of which I spoke yesterday, or which is promotive of that love. Jesus
made those twelve, excepting only him who had a demon, into one because he was
love at work and he finally brought them to the perfections of love. In this
school of Christ with this little company is the whole story declared.

Ideal Of Unity In Apostolic Times It is easy to tell what the idea of unity was
in the early church. “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the
members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.” (1
Corinthians 12:12). That means this: That just as the hand and the foot and the
eye are all joined together and make but one entity that is exactly what the
Lord wants in his church. He desires just one church visibly and
invisibly—organically and inorganically. “And if they were all one member, where
were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body.” (1 Corinthians
12:19-20). There is nothing about this idea difficult to understand however so
diffi-cult may be the realization of it.

Hear Paul further, “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in
one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father
of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6) We
do not find it difficult to believe there is one God, only one Christ and only
one Holy Spirit. But it were as proper to speak of a multiplicity of gods, of
two Christs or of two Holy Spirits as to speak of two bodies—a multiplicity of
churches. Many gods of the people of heathenism which called forth the Jewish
nation to cry, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is one God,” were not more
subversive of the ways of the Lord than is the multiplicity of churches today
subversive of it. Oneness with God of old was the truth of his presence and
oneness in these verities today is still necessary to His presence.

Negatively Stated Paul also makes plain the truth of one church by this: “Every
one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of
Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were ye baptized in
the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:12-13). And note also First Corinthians,
third chapter, of the same matter. Certain it is the same Paul who forbade them
to be Pauline-Christians and Appollosian-Christ- ians and Cephasite-Christians
would likewise forbid that there be Baptist-Christians, Methodist-Christians,
and Presby- terian-Christians. The idea in that early church was for a unity
which is abundantly illustrated by the human body- many members but one body. In
Matthew 28:18; Matthew 28:20 Jesus says, “All power (authority) is given unto me
in heaven and in earth.” There can be no such thing as a church of Christ
without Christ being the head thereof. He is given “to be the head over all
things to the church, which is his body.” (Ephesians 1:22-23). But Paul
expressly declares—and he had authority to declare it—that of any religious
group heading up in Christ that the same must be one body. And to end all
argument he points out certain divisions of that time exactly like those
divisions we see in Christendom today, except they had inspired leaders but
these are uninspired, and Paul condemns those divisions. This is enough to end
the matter clearly and properly for all who are governed by the word of God. The
idea of unity in that early church is just the idea you see in your own physical
body. There are many members, but one body.

Ideas Today There are two ideas today respecting unity that are equally hurtful.
I heard the first one presented by Dean Rieber of the University of California
at Los Angeles. This man is highly intellectual, an instructor in logic and
philosophy, and has mastered his subjects. But one day he was teaching us how to
reason. Among other things he cited the fact that astronomers once believed the
motion of the planets formed a perfect circle. It was later discovered that
planets do not move in a perfect circle but what is known in geometry as an
ellipse is the figure they make in their movement. The movement in the
circumference of a circle is always eqi-distant from the center at any given
point. Therefore any segment of the circle may be taken and put down upon any
other segment of that same circle and the two are as one. They harmonize
exactly. But with the ellipse the movement is not always the same distance from
the center. It is egg-shaped. You can therefore take a segment out of an ellipse
and put it down upon another segment of the same figure and they do not always
harnonize. Yet placed together in the proper arrangement the various segments of
an ellipse will, of course, represent one perfect and complete path of movement.

“Now,” said Professor Rieber, “I want to tell you what radical differences came
in my reasoning when I discovered these truths. I used to believe there should
be one church. I was against all religious parties. I believed it out of harmony
with the motion everywhere extant in the universe. If planets moved in perfect
circles and any segment of the same circle completely harmonized with every
other segment I believed that the belief of individuals who follow Christ should
be also exactly alike. I was against so many church organizations. But when I
thought of the ellipse and saw that in truth prefect motion does not consist of
always remaining exactly the same distance from the center, I thought, ‘I have
learned something.’ In perfect motion the segments of the figure formed do not
all harmonize. They are different. And yet they blend into a perfect figure.
Then I said, ‘Churches should be like that.’ I therefore am happy when I see a
new catholic edifice. I am glad likewise when I see a salvation army chapel
going up. I am just as glad to see other churches prosper. Notwithstanding each
emphasizes some truth that the other does not they yet are a unity and represent
the full expression of Christ to the world.” So did the Dean deliver himself.

Now, what do you say to that? Doubtless he has something to give us and we have
something to give him. The Dean has discovered a truth but has misplaced that
truth I do believe. Let us see......

You can take the segments of the ellipse and put them together and you get one
perfect figure. In harmony with the Dean’s illustration suppose he tries to put
the more than two hundred sects in Christendom together. Will he get a perfect
form of motion? Shall we put the Christian Scientists who takes away the
personal Savior and a personal Devil in the same movement with the Christian who
believes both are as certainly beings as you and I are beings? Do these views
complement each other? Do they not rather contradict each other and set each at
naught in proportion to the success of each? The Catholic submits to his papa
(pope) and all protestantism goes for teaching everyone away from such
submission. Again, do these complement each other or contradict? Are they after
all but parts of the same harmonious whole? If so what would disharmony be? The
modernist goes for subjective reality and virtually makes his own experience the
test of his religion. But Christians go for objective and authoritative reality.
Are they the complements of each other or the contradictories? To ask these
questions is to answer them. A few years ago it was argued quite strongly that
Congress and not the Supreme Court should have the supreme voice in determining
the constitutionality of laws. Congress, about that time, was talking about a
great many things, agreeing upon nothing, and disgusting many observers. A
cartoonist in a large daily out west gave his idea of the proposal. He showed
the old ship of state in the form of an automobile. There were ninety six
senators in that automobile running the old ship of state. And every senator had
a steering wheel! The wheels on that old car were going every direction without
going any where. There is the Dean’s picture of perfect harmony as he himself
would learn if he tried to put the various religious parties of this day
together as one machine. No apostle ever contemplated such an arrangement when
they spoke of “one body” for no physical body ever yet existed with the
contradictions and disharmonies he would have to have to represent these sects.
The Dean Had A Good Illustration But Dean Rieber had a good illustration all the
same. It serves well to get at the popular idea concerning unity. I had rather
say it serves to show forth the idea that was current. Hundreds of people have
come to see the fallacy of trying to pass off divisions by saying, we are all
one at heart. We are all going to the same place.” The automobile with the
ninety six steering wheels will serve to show every man of reflection that the
unity contemplated among Christians was organic and visible and it must be so
today. That was the idea in apostolic times and thereunto must we labor today
Sin and division is frightfully hurtful. It is terrible. It is infidel made and
infidel making. I pray God with all the sincerity of my heart that I may develop
myself to where I will not be, on any account, partly responsible for continuing
division. We should be one. The whole world order awaits it. The world needs to
be a brotherhood. It will never be so in human governments until it is first so
in the religious realm. These religious divisions contribute to the loss of
millions and billions of dollars and in the loss of millions of lives both now
and eternally. This is an awful matter and needs to be studied in the fear of
God. Our fellowship is either with God or with Satan. If we are responsible for
division among God’s people in any degree we are partners with the demons of
terror and destruction everywhere manifest in the world today. Let us get that
straight for it is the truth. And that leads me to the truth the Dean almost got
hold of. It is a truth we need in our own ranks today and we need it badly. It
is true that in the church we do have a harmony of differences as well as
likenesses. It is true! That ellipse does suggest for us a most important truth,
viz: we are different while we are one.

Take now the human body. Look at the foot. Now look at the eye. If each could
talk do you suppose they would speak the same sentiment? Is their outlook the
same? Do you not imagine that they would soon set about in all things as one?
You have heard of the Negro, the Jew and the man who was neither Negro nor Jew
but a rank infidel. They fought side by side through one of the severest
engagements of the world war. They were a unit. They won and they lived. They
returned to camp for relief and rest after the engagement. There they entered
into violent disputations and ended up by striking each other and wounding each
other until they all die it They were all a unit while they had their minds
possessed of a common cause in a common battle. Yet while they had that unity
they at the very same time had all those different views and differences
otherwise. It was when the mind came away from the common task and turned back
upon themselves that they warred it out to death. And when the hand and the foot
and the eye are not possessed of the spirit which constantly they are to serve
they too refuse longer to abide with each other but fall away into dust to be
used in life where common purposes are once again pursued. While engaged side by
side for the good of the person housed in that body they are a harmony of
differences controlled wholly by the one purpose of serving the person in that
body. They are as much different'1 as they are alike.. Yet they make one
harmony, for self is forgotten and the spirit served. In the church we have
those same differences—in every church or congregation Christ ever had or ever
will have. Take the work of elders, that of deacons, that of the evangelists and
the work of the women and of the song leaders, together with that of the
teachers. Are all these the same office? No. They were not the same in the early
church and if we ever do produce that early church we will learn something by
the differences that existed among those spiritual gifts that were given to
build up the church. The body has a multiplicity of functions to fulfill. These
call for different qualifications. All of the dissimilarities the good Dean
found in his ellipse he will find in a full grown church. And like his ellipse
he will in a church of one faith be able to put the segments all together and
thereby to see harmony of the whole.

Romans the twelfth chapter is fruitful of help at this point. There some were to
prophecy, some to serve, some to teach, some to exhort, some to rule. Some like
to study prophecy, some are good at showing the differnce between law and
gospel, some especially fitted to speak of social life and others fitted for
other phases of activity. Whoever thinks he can speak with equal authority in
all of these fields is a dullard in the study of both experience and revelation.
Whoever thinks that views and opinions and persuasions will always be just
alike—just like his—has not the Spirit in himself. There is indeed to be in us
all just one Spirit and together we are to have just one Lord. We are together
to love him with our whole heart and obey his commandments and serve him. And
when we do this we are brothers in Christ notwithstanding our differences in
taste, talents, and the special fields of study for which we are fitted. It is
as reasonable to expect that a brother who comes to study prophecy long will
have some ray of light—some excellency of personality—by which others may be
attracted to the one Lord—some excellency, mark you, that the elementary teacher
of the word will not have—as reasonable, I say, to expect this as it is to
expect that a farmer and a lawyer would be equipped to give forth words of
wisdom in different fields. And if I rise up against my brother who is different
to me because he has exercised himself in a careful study of one part of God’s
word while I have made careful study of another part—and who is there who can be
authority in all of it?—I am against Christ, ruled by the spirit of Satan, and
am in danger of committing trespass against God that will confine me to the
regions of hell. We cannot love God whom we have not seen if we love not our
brother whom we have seen. Whether you like it or not, whoever accepts Christ as
Lord and gives every evidence he is as anxious to obey him as anyone can be,
that man is your brother in Christ (if you are in) and happy are you if you have
the Holy Spirit and its first fruit, which is love, and exercise it toward that
brother.

Elders In That Early Church Out of these very considerations in that early
church were elders. These men were mature as their very name implies. They must
have demonstrated their ability to rear children in the way of the Lord. Here
they would learn the differences in their own sons and daughters—radical
differences—without finding it easy to deny they were nevertheless all of the
same family. These elders were to be perfect—matured—in the ways of Christ. They
would come to have that indwelling Spirit and the fruits thereof. They were
suited to harmonize and keep in one body all members of the church. But,
brothers, what have we done today? We permit our religious journals to give us
men— often times young men—who never would be qualified to preside along with
other men as elders over one church. But notwithstanding they lack this they
nevertheless are turned loose by themselves to manage a whole brotherhood. Such
a prerogative was for the Apostles in the early church who were especially
equipped of heaven for this work. No such person in that early church was
permitted to do as many among us do today. Elders were to preside over the
assemblies. Give us good, godly elders, and let all matters come up through
them, let them pray, and you will have a different brotherhood on your hands.
The guilty will by no means be cleared either—neither the one or the other.

If we will consider well what the New Testament says of unity we will find the
human body perfectly illustrates the ideas not only in the harmony of the whole,
and of the oneness of purpose in each member, but also that these members are
different, while they are one. We need to be joined in perfect judgment relative
to this last—this harmony of differences. It will not be difficult for everyone
to see this. Then our ideas, so far as I can judge, as to the unity of the
church, will be like that of the church in the days of the Apostles. But what
shall be the ideals of this unity? The Saviour’s Prayer The prayer of our
Saviour in John the seventeenth chapter is often only partly quoted and
improperly set forth. “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, are in me, and
I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou
hast sent me.” The words that indicate the ideals of this unity are “as thou,
Father, are in me, and 1 in thee, that they also may be one in us.” In that
sermon on the mount Jesus stressed the thought of growing up into God completely
when he said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven
is perfect.” About thirty three times in the New Testament, one writer informs
us, perfection is held as the goal of life. The ideal of unity was to present to
the world a Christ through his spiritual body— the church—like that Christ that
was here in a physical body. This ideal of unity is so essential to its
realization. The mere idea of it will never bring it. That early church was told
of the ideal and they strove to come to that ideal.

Take as an instance what Christ did for Peter. Peter had no more proper ideal
when he first followed Christ than has any carnally minded Christian today. He
would prevent Jesus going to Jerusalem to suffer. His ideas were wholy different
because his ideals for his Master were so different. So in the matter of
authority when the disciples fell to discussing who should be greatest. In the
washing of feet. All of these incidents show an ideal that was terribly
imperfect. It is noteworthy Christ did not send these disciples into all the
world at this time. Finally, Christ said to Peter, “I have prayed for thee that
thy faith fail not: and when thou are converted strengthen thy brethren.” Peter
was not fully converted then. He did believe Jesus to be the Christ but he
lacked much of knowing what that Christ was like. So long as he did not know
what Christ was like he was unable to get his brethren to see Christ in proper
light. Christ was not fully in him nor was he in Christ at that time. Such an
apostle, no matter what his ideas of unity were, would never be able to bring
his brethren to unity so long as he had this terrifically faulty ideal. Nor can
we do it today. Brethren, it takes something more ihan ideas in order to have
the unity of the New Testament Church. It takes ideals that reach clear up to
the head even Christ.

Acts fifth chapter tells of two, Ananias and Sapphira, who were faulty in their
ideals. They lied to the Holy Spirit. Fire from the Lord devoured them. Yet some
of us today think we have everything in the church of Christ to bring us to one
people in the Lord! Do you suppose we would disfellowship such covetous persons
as these? We have the commandment to do it in First Corinthians the fifth
chapter and eleventh verse. We must not eat with a covetous person. I have never
known of a person to be excluded for covetousness from the church of Christ. It
is one thing to have ideas of unity; it is quite another to have the ideals.
That church in the days of the apostles had the ideals that the Holy Spirit gave
them. And that Holy Spirit took the things of Jesus and showed it to that
church. (John 16:14). Uesus insisted he was going to be in them and they in him.
That is the kind of unity he prayed for. He did not pray for the oneness of
people who have lost the heavenly ideal. He commands in those letters to the
seven churches in Asia that instead of oneness there should be separation.

Railers too by that same passage of Scripture in First Corinthians fifth chapter
were to be excluded from fellowship. Railing against brethren is so common today
I take it many will be surprised to know it is a sin. The New Testament church
had an ideal that made railing stand out as sin. Over against these sins we find
repeated statements throughout the apostlic writings speaking of love, humility,
forbearance, patience, “above all things have fervently charity among
yourselves.” That is Christ in them and they in Christ. That was the ideal
whereby unity was to be in the church.

Phariseeism One is never the same again who enlists in the services of the
Christ. He will grow to where he is worthy the association of angels or he will
come to be like fallen Babylon, “the habitation of devils, and the hold of every
foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean bird.” He will not stand still. The
foulest cruelties in the world have been committed, in the name of religion.
That happens when the true ideal is lost. And if that ideal is lost there is
nothing to prevent us having strong delusion and coming to show forth the wrath
of God in ourselves. The evil of the mind, someone has said, is eror. That of
the emotion is suffering. And that of the will is sin. The Pharisees were
specialists on the evils of the mind—evils in doctrine. And because they were
specialists in that field they thought they knew what sin is. In the realm of
the emotions, however, they were so deficient the blessed Lord gave them to
severest indictment on record in any language. And the awful truth is, my
brethren, when you neglect the ideals of the New Testament, when you do not make
its tender feeling and its pure emotion your concern on a par, at least, with
matters of doctrine, you are powerless to prevent a reproduction of Phariseeism.
Sins find us out.

There never was yet a virtue that could not be turned to error. Every virtue has
its companion virtue whereby we are kept from going either to the right or to
the left. The Lord never did intend that we could be specialists in doctrine but
neglect our hearts. Our vision becomes clouded. We will strain out the gnats but
the camel gets by us. That early church had its idealism from heaven. It had
doctrine to be sure. It also had a practice—a purity—a zeal, a godly sorrow, a
carefulness, a clearing of themselves, an indignation, a fear, a vehement
desire—the elements of true repentance—it had these. Those brethren became new
creatures. An atmosphere of love, respect for each other, general helpfulness,
and condescension prevailed everywhere. It was Christ in them and they in
Christ. This is the idealism the church today has lost. Our petty difficulties
testify in tongues anyone can hear. Let us see why we have lost that idealism.
The Cross Ceases To Be The Method To maintain the ideals of the New Testament
without which the ideas of unity never can be enforced it is necessary to take
up the cross and follow Jesus. There is no other way to get this ideal and to
keep it. Right today the ideals of the New Testament would cause us to plant
churches in every town and community in the United States, and send missionaries
to every country in the world, and to take ourselves completely away from the
sins of this present evil world. That program can be put through in one
generation. It can not be done without the cross. If it is done by the cross you
will see a church that has both the ideas and the ideals of New Testament unity.
The Lord will pour it out a blessing whereby all people will know the Israel of
today as surely as they could tell that one of yesteryears.

There is a difference, brethren, between the cross and burdens and thorns.
Everyone in the world today has burdens of some kind. There are thorns possessed
by all people too. No one can escape burdens and thorns be he Christian or
infidel. But there is one form of suffering we can take up or lay down as we
will. That form is the cross. And that is the form that is all but absent. Yet
it is the one method that leads home.

Preachers today come to have salaries better than hundreds of persons in the
world. They go to a church, preach a couple of years, leave it about as it now
is, all the brethren think well of them, they get relatively good pay, and when
things begin to drag a little they go to another church and repeat the process.
True, if they preach the truth fearlessly there will be some cross in this. But
in many cases it is no more than the cross an executive has in his small office.
Is this the cross of Christ? Is this the way that leads home? Are these crosses
that which marks true discipleship? Catholic priests often have crosses far
heavier than these. For the most part I believe these positions are unworthy the
name of any cross. None of us would like to disgrace any good work or worker but
the abundance of luxuries and equipage is far beyond what many persons in the
world have is a sign there is no cross in this. And without that cross the New
Testament ideals cannot be. The early church kept its ideals just so long as it
kept its cross. . I imagine the demons in hell laugh at ple^s for the unity of
God’s church, or among professed Christians, while they behold the easy times of
this age.

It would gladden the souls who hdSye passed on if the young people of this age
would learn to take the hard and thorny way. When we think of those millions put
to death for their Christ; when we consider Paul in those sorrows and cruel
wrongs; yea, when we see our dear Lord crucified, do you not feel that our lives
today are no sufficient compliment of such beginning? No, the cross is the one
and only method. “All things are yours,” says Paul in First Corinthians third
chapter. “Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death,
or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ’s; and
Christ is God’s.” But we do not want all these experiences. We want the easier
way. We are not hurt enough. We do not suffer enough. There is plenty of it to
be done. Then would our hearts be tender and once again the ideals of unity in
the body of Christ would also be ours.

It is frightful the amount of money we waste annually in evangelistic work. Men
are well paid to go to old established congregations and baptize a few converts
in addition to the children of the members. And we call this the Lord’s
missionary work! I know how easy some of this work is for I have done it myself.
I also know the difference between being carried along on the shoulders of the
brethren, paid exceedingly high wages, in meetings of this type, and of going
into hard places to work and suffer in order to build real Christian characters.
Yea, I know the difference that comes in one’s thinking when he bears burdens
and when he bears them not. The cross comes when we get into the hard places.
There is no cross worthy the name in thia evangelizing all the while with
established congregations with' big pay. Whoever would be greatest among us must
be the servant of all—not the speaker for all.

Thorns and Snares “And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and
said, I made you go up out of Egypt, and have brought you into the land which I
sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.
And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw
down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: Why have ye done this?
Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall
be thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.” (Judges
2:1-3). The Lord’s instruction to Israel was that they should possess all of the
land of Canaan. No vineyards nor olive yards, nor hillswer e to be left to other
people. All the fruits of the soil they were to bring forth. They were to
dispossess all of the enemies of the Lord. And so too did Jesus our Lord intend
that our whole body, soul and spirit should be dedicated to his service. Our
loves and hates and desires— none of them was to be left for the devil to bring
forth fruit. But only the cross could make us to be wholly the Lord’s. Only when
we have denied self can we take up the cross. We have not denied many selfish,
foolish and hurtful things. Our idealism has not been high enough. Other peoples
of the earth have taken much of the ground of the Lord in fervency of spirit in
giving, in personal sanctification, in joy through the Holy Spirit, and such,
and those peoples are thorns and snares to us. Our conceptions of what the
church of the Lord would be like in its fullness is faulty. We have not the
tenderness and love to behold it. We hate too many people. And hate blinds us
until we walk in darkness. There is a remedy for this*—only one remedy. That
remedy is to cease from the way of men and follow the Lord. Study his word anew
and purpose to deny self and to take up the cross. Then will we come to have a
beauty and a passion which bespeaks both the ideas and the ideals of unity of
the New Testament. We can speak with others whose hearts are as good as ours and
they will be able to speak to us. We will hear each other. Christ will come to
be in us and we in him. The unity for which he prayed will be realized. Then
will we know the sweetness of dwelling in his love. Then will we know the
victory of his humility. Then will we know the glory of his cross. In us
everything will be unified—brought to focal point—by the power of the Holy
Spirit for the glorifying of Christ. Outside of us all will be unified too. We
will look to the ends of the earth as our field and to the height of the heavens
for our fellowship.


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  CHAPTER 11: THE CHURCH TODAY IN ITS LEADERSHIP
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The Church Today In Its Leadership THE CHURCH TODAY IN ITS LEADERSHIP BATSELL
BAXTER

God has always called for a trained leadership. He has in ages past trained his
men for what he desired them to do. There are many striking examples. An
outstanding leader is Abraham. God led him out from Chaldea to the west, where
he could learn to be the Father of a nation that should bring back to the world
the name and the worship and service of God.

One of the greatest leaders of Old Testament history is Moses. God set about the
task of delivering Israel from the bondage of Egypt. He brought them out “by a
mighty hand and by an outstretched arm.” How did he do ft? It goes back to the
birth of a baby. That baby was adopted into the king’s family. That boy was
educated in all the learning of the Egyptians. Why? God is training him for
leadership. But he quits training before God is done. He blunders, trying to do
the work of God in the way of the Egyptians. Out in the desert of Midian he goes
to school forty years to God. He received his diploma at the burning bush. This
time, as a prepared leader, he does it right. The successor of Moses was Joshua.
Everywhere Moses went, Joshua went—up into Mount Sinai; into battle for his God;
into the tabernacle; against the enemies of Israel, Og of Bashan, Sihon of
Heshbon. Why? God is training him to be a leader. The day came for Moses to die.
This great leader of Israel went up into the. Mount of Nebo to lie down in
death. Though he was 120 years old, his eye was not dimmed nor his natural force
abated. Israel mourned for Moses. They had lost their leader, but they were not
without a leader. Moses had taken care for that. He had trained Joshua forty
years for this very day when he should leave Israel and turn the leadership over
to this young man. There was hardly a ripple when Joshua took command of Israel.
He was already experienced, he was certain of his duty, and he had his eye upon
the goal. How emphatically he called to Israel, “Choose ye this day whom ye will
serve * * * as for me and my house we will serve Jehovah.” Joshua 24:15. The
splendid success of Joshua’s leadership was partly due to the fact that he had
been well-trained. During his life Israel remained true to Jehovah. When Jesus
came as the Lamb of God, to take away the sin of the world he selected some men
to help him. Our Lord chose twelve men. They went almost everywhere he went.
They saw his miracles they heard his teaching, they heard him pray daily, they
saw his life. For three and a half years there was a more intimate companionship
than exists between teacher and student in any school today; He wa:? with them
day and night, twelve months of the year. They saw his death, they were
witnesses of his resurrection. They were given the Holy Spirit direct from
Heaven to guide them. And somebody has called them ignorant Galilean fishermen!
Far more reason to call a college graduate an ignorant country high school boy.
Why all this training? They are to be leaders—leaders in the great work of
saving souls. And today some men say that all you need is to eat a big breakfast
and borrow a dozen sermon outlines!

After our Lord, the giant figure of the New Testament, towering high above the
others is Saul of Tarsus. He was educated at the feet of Gamaliel. Far above the
average student of his day. He studied at Jerusalem in its most famous school.
He was trained in the learning and philosophy of the Greeks and Romans. Why? God
plans to send the Gospel to the Gentile world. He is training Saul for
leadership. He can talk with the humble women by the river-side at Philippi, he
is at home in the synagogue at Thessalonica. He is equal to the occasion the
next Saturday when the whole city—Jews and Gentiles—is gathered together. He
takes care of the situation when he is mistaken for a god at Lystra and
confronted with a sacrifice. He arises fiom the scattered stones that have but
taken his life, and goes back into the city to preach again the Gospel of his
Lord. He stands in the mart of commerce at Corinth or in the seat of learning at
Athens; he preaches in his own hired house in Rome, chained to a soldier. He
writes most of the New Testament. Why? He was trained for leadership.

One of the sweetest associations of Paul’s life was that with the young
man,‘Timothy, the noble boy whom Paul found at Lystra. “Him would Paul have to
go with him.” Acts 16:3. That intimate companionship, over a long period with an
inspired man! Why? Training him for leadership. Why choose Timothy? He had some
training on which to build. “The unfeigned faith that is in thee; which dwelt
first in thy grandmother, Lois, in thy mother, Eunice; and I am persuaded in
thee also.” 2 Timothy 1:5. This and other young men Paul trained. Why so much
training? These men are to teach men things that are so vital that eternal
destiny depends upon them. These men were admonished to study continually. “Give
diligence to present thyself approved unto God.” 2 Timothy 2:15. There is
nothing finer and more filled with pathos than the charge of the old soldier to
his young lieutenant: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season;
reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will
come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall
they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away
their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in
all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of
thy ministry. For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is
at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept thy
faith.” 2 Timothy 4:2-7. “The things which thou hast heard from me * * * commit
thou unto faithful men who shall be able to teach others also.” 2 Timothy 2:2.

Jesus established a church. He called it "my church.” “Upon this rock (the fact
that he is the Christ) I will build my church.” Matthew 16:19. In this church
the scripture plan provides for leadership. The leaders1 are called elders or
bishops. See 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9. Below we have listed the
qualifications for these men: without reproach, the husband of one wife,
temperate, sober-minded, given to hospitality, apt to teach, no brawler, no
striker, gentle, not contentious, no lover of money, having his children in
subjection, not a novice, good testimony from them without, desire the office.
The fellow who has none of the other is sure to have that last one. These come
from long training and experience. No wonder these leaders are called elders, or
older men. He would be a remarkable character who could gain these, qualities in
youth. The leaders in the New Testament church were trained men. The deacon’s
qualifications were nearly the same. Of course, no man may attain all of these
in a perfect state here, but he can approximate them.

It is hard for us to see the need of training for leadership. Young men
especially desire to get out and preach without preparation. Of course, it is
not right to discourage anybody from trying to save souls', but Paul told
Timothy to “study’’ or “give diligence.” “Study to shew thyself approved unto
God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15.

Some time ago a young man came to enroll for a course, “Preparation and Delivery
of Sermons.” Four and a half months. “I don’t need that. What I want is your
sermon book so I can copy the outlines. I want some sermons.” He did not take
the course.

Twenty years ago at Thorp Springs Christian College I was trying to teach a
young man grammar and composition. He was making a great many blunders in
English and his written compositions were very poor. I have never seen a young
preacher who I thought more sorely needed training in English. Of course, the
work was hard for him. He knew so little about it! Finally, one day he asked me
in disgust, “What’s that got to do with baptism for the remission of sins?” It
has this to do with it—if we make too many mistakes in our speech it will hinder
us in our attempts to get people to hear us when we preach baptism for the
remission of sins. In worldly affairs, in business, and in government it is easy
for us to see the need of training for leadership. Every business of any
consequence trusts its responsibilities to trained men. The success of
government depends largely upon trained men. In the World War I, the German
hosts were advancing steadily upon Paris, sweeping one French fortress after
another. As these men retreated and left their homes to the enemy, they cried,
“Where are the Americans?” Where were the Americans? They were over there in
France, a million of them. What were they doing? Marching up and down, marching,
marching, wheeling to right, to left, learning how to light, how to obey orders,
how to react under the trying situations of the battle field. Finally, one day
the German offensive rolled up against a solid wall that did not yield; but
rolled them back and crushed them in one of the greatest counter-offensives
known to the history of armies. Why was this? The Americans had been
training—training for the task. So it is in every business. Leaders are trained
for their work. It is only in the church of God that men assume and hold
positions of leadership without training.

I talked to a young man a few days ago about what he intended to be. He has been
here some time. He is not gifted with oratory. But he can speak. His talks are
clear and plain. His prayers are well worded and from the heart. His life is
clean and Christian and his habits are studious. He does not intend to be an
evangelist. He plans to go back home, after two more years and serve many years.
“I want to grow to be an elder.” God bless him and keep him and all like him. He
desires a good work. He appreciates the need and he knows how it must be met.

Paraphrasing the words of a poet we say Leadership is not reached at a single
bound. We build the ladder by which we rise To lead men from earth to the skies.
And we serve to its summit round by round


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  CHAPTER 12: THE LARGER VISION AND NEED OF THE HOUR
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The Larger Vision and Need of the Hour THE LARGER VISION AND NEED OF THE HOUR J.
N. ARMSTRONG The reader of the New Testament becomes acquainted with a number of
phrases by which the people, bought and saved by the blood of Christ in New
Testament times were designed. These phrases in the strictest sense are not
names, but descriptive phrases used by the Holy Spirit to assist the reader in
knowing what kind of people the Lord’s people are designed to be and what their
relations to God and to Christ are.

Some of these phrases are “the church,” “the churches of Christ,” “the temple of
God,” “the family of God,’ “the body of Christ,” and so forth. As to which one
of these phrases the Holy Spirit employs in a given chapter depends upon the
subject treated or the lesson being taught. In writing to his disciples at
Ephesus the Holy Spirit declares that Christ is the head “from whom all the body
fitly framed and knit together through that which every joint supplieth,
according to the working in due measure of each several part, maketh the
increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:16).
Again “the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am
not the hand. I am not of the body; it is not therefore not of the body. And if
the ear shall say. Because I am not of the eye, I am not of the body; is it not
therefore not of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where were the
hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? And if they were
all one member, where were the body? But now they are many members, but one
body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee: or again the
head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much rather, those members of the
body which seem to be more feeble are necessary; and those parts of the body
which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant
honor—but God tempered the body together, giving more abundant honor to that
part which lacked; that there should be no schism in the body; but that the
members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member
suffereth, all the members suffer with it; or one member is honored, all the
members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ and severally members
thereof.” 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.

Therefore, when the Holy Spirit employs the phrase, “the body of Christ,” he
does it to emphasize the oneness, the good-working order, the harmony, the team
work, that should characterize the church in all of its activities. He stresses
the necessity of every member, and the necessity of that member’s doing his part
in intelligent cooperation with every other member—that all of them and their
services are needed, each in his place. In the normal human body there are no
schisms, no contrariness, no factions, parties, or cliques, knockers, or
blockers, but perfect harmony and cooperation. Should the hand undertake a task
and find it too great to accomplish alone, without the loss of a moment the
other hand. joins in the effort; should the task prove too great for the hands,
the feet plant themselves advantageously and at once make it their job also. And
so on, till, if required, every member of the body gets into the struggle.
Finally, should the task not be accomplished, it would not be a failure of the
member that first undertook the work, but a failure of the whole body. In the
human body, the members fail together or succeed together. There are no
"grand-stand” players, but each plays with and for the team—It is an example of
perfect team work. The Lesson Applied When the Holy Spirit wrote the first
Corinthian letter, the Church at Corinth was in a serious plight. The members
were warring over preachers; holding in their fellowship a man guilty of the
worst type of fornication; having Jaw suits one with another; tangled up with
idolatry; and torn asunder over spiritual gifts. Surely they needed to see a new
vision; needed to see the miserable state to which their contentions had brought
them. To give them this important lesson He points out to them the beautiful
working order of their own bodies and lets them see how perfectly every member
in these bodies works together with very other member—let’s them see the
flawless cooperation, perfect harmony, and the unstinted per-formance of team
service on the part of every organ in the body, and as they behold, He declares,
“Now ye are the body of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 12:27).

Visualize (if you please, the leadership of a congregation with its
responsibilities, struggling under its load! These leaders are striving to have
the best work possible in the Sunday morning Bible Classes; seeking to build up
the attendace and to strengthen the teaching and to increase the good results.
They are boosting and generating enthusiasm and interest to get all the young
people and the children to attend, while most of the fathers and mothers
“stroll” into the meeting house just in time for the “preaching,” with never a
thought of joining those leaders and boosting for that teaching service and of
making that job theirs. They want the class work to go on, but they want some
one else to bear the burden of it and be responsible for it.

Then think of that missionary contribution! A few faithful souls that feel
keenly their obligation to take care of the chief job for which the Church
exists conxributed it'. What is the matter with the other members of “that
body?” They are not interested; they believe (?) in preaching the. gospel at
home; they don’t believe in sending money across the sea when there are lost
people all around us here at home. That’s it. “If I work with you; if I join you
in an effort, you must do what I want to do and you must do it in my way.” May
the Lord lead us up to heights all but unknown to us and let us see a New
Testament Church in all of its glory. As we behold what unstinted loyalty the
New Testament teaching demands, may we in humility repent and become the body of
Christ, “fitly framed and knit together” for the jobs the Lord has given to his
people; may we like the members of the human body, join one another in our local
work in every program in which a faithful leadership may ask us to cooperate
with it.

“There Is One Body” All Christians in a given place, it is true, constitute the
body of Christ at that place; there are no “wandering stars,” but everyone
belongs to some constellation, and therefore owes duties, hearty cooperation
with a leadership appointed- of God. But there is another and greater vision for
us to behold; namely, that we are fitly framed and knit together with every
other Christian in all the world and that therefore there is a bigger and
broader service than the local work, because we belong first of all to that
larger body over which Jesus is head and into which we were all baptized. Will
my reader observe that all the passages that I have used thus far refer to the
larger body and are designed to reveal the greater vision. Under the greater and
higher Leadership this greater body, this mighty army, that includes all the
local bodies, is going forth to accomplish that for which its mighty Leader came
into the world to accomplish; namely, to save sinners. In our thinking of the
independence of the local congregation, we must not forget that Christ is over
all and that these smaller groups are only in training to fit and prepare
themselves for service through the larger body of which it is said, the members
are fitly framed and knit together” and that by each member of this body’s doing
his part the body, the greater body, builds itself up in love. To put it another
way, when a government is in war, training camps are an essential to the job. To
display military tactics? To put on displays for the governor when he visits the
camp? Verily not. But it is all being done for a job out yonder—to conquer the
enemy. Every soldier is trained looking forward to the time when all of this
training is to be practically employed in a great job ahead. He looks forward to
the time when his camp will be plunged into the real job for which the camp
exists. Verily he has a broader vision of his job than camp activities. In army
camps there is a wise plan or program being executed all the time to enlist new
soldiers; skilful men are everlastingly on the job for recruits; and every man
enlisted is put into daily and extensive training. But why? There is a big job
ahead and every patriotic soldier enters the camp and engages in the daily
training inspired by the vision given him by his leaders. He believes in his
cause and is willing to make the supreme sacrifice for it. His vision may be “to
make the world safe for democracy,” “to end all war,” or “to save America from
German domination”—but for some great cause out yonder—all the activities of his
camp are performed.

What is the job before the local churches of our Lord, the training camps of a
Great Army? Is it to “keep” saved those that come into the camp? Surely this is
in the plan, but is surely to be accomplished by unselfish service in saving
others.

There is no conflict between the two bodies, or a difference of aims or of
objectives. But the local objectives and local jobs must not be disconnected
from the real job and made and end, rather than a means; they must not be
allowed to obscure the sky of our vision or hinder us from the larger and more
important undertaking, the execution of the Lord’s worldwide program.

I believe there is an over stressing, an exaggerating of the local body that is
leading the churches to lose sight of the broader vision and therefore retarding
the cause of our Master on the earth. It occurs to me that we are fast making
the local church an end of effort, rather than a preparation for a great job,
the real service for which the local churches, the training campus, exist. The
Two Functions As members of the body of Christ into which we were all baptized,
there are two ways in which we may serve. In New Testament times, by far, the
greater part of the work done by the new church was accomplished by Christians
working as individuals, men and women filled with enthusiasm for the New cause
and with love for lost souls, of their “own accord” went forth to proclaim the
new message.

They consulted not with flesh and blood, but went out with a burning zeal to
preach the gospel “not where Christ was already named.” Just as Christians have
always done, we may go forth to feed the poor, to care for orphans, and to
preach the gospel at our own cost without consulting with flesh and blood. We
may choose our own field and work, as independent disciples under Christ. (See
Acts 8:4; Acts 11:19-21; Acts 8:5; Acts 8:25; Acts 10:1-48). Not only may
disciples of the Lord go of their own accord, as individuals under Christ, but
these independents may stir other disciples to help them in any work undertaken.
(See Acts 11:25-26; Acts 13:5; Acts 13:13; Acts 15:36; Acts 15:41; Acts 16:1-3.
For instance, Barnabas was sent by the church at Jerusalem to take care of the
young congregation at Antioch, and it appears that he found the work too heavy,
or, at last, in some way he found that he needed help, so, of his own accord, so
far as the record shows, he went forth to Tarsus to seek for Saul; and when he
had found him, he brought him into Antioch. “And * * * even for a whole year
they were gathered together with the Church, and taught many people. Two
“located ministers” labored with this young Church for a whole year. Truly there
was no ecclesiastical strings on the disciples in New Testament times. They went
everywhere preaching the gospel, as their hearts stirred them and as they could
find doors for utterance, without consulting flesh and blood. The history of the
New Testament church thus shows a hearty cooperation on a broader scale than
that within the local church. Disciples recognized their obligation to one
another in that broader sense, since they were “fitly framed and knit together”
in the body of Christ over which Jesus is Head. What was one disciple’s job was
every other disciple's job, also. With one heart and one soul they pursued a
divine program, all heaving the same aims and objectives, each holding himself
ready to join in helping the other engaged in any job committed to the disciples
by the Lord. The Other Function Besides this individual functioning of members
of the body into which Christians have been baptized it is clearly manifested in
New Testament history that congregations combined their strength and resources
in accomplishing a work that no congregation could do alone. As God’s churches,
each congregation keeping its own identity, they cooperated with one another in
the performing of big tasks.

Just as Barnabas found more work at Antioch than ho could do, and called in Saul
to help him, so congregations, as such, united their efforts to render service
that individual congregations could not do alone. The Lord lays upon his
churches the same obligation to work together, as congregations, in executing
the great program given to the disciples, as is layed to individual members of
the church to cooperate or to join together, in acomplish- ing the work given to
the church.

It is not the spirit of the New Testament teaching to leave one congregation to
struggle alone with a load that is a common load—a load laid upon the great body
of Christ over which Jesus is Head and into which by one spirit we were all
baptized. “For I say not this that others may De eased and ye distressed; by an
equality your abundance being a supply at this present time for their want, that
their abundance also may become a supply for your want; that there may be
equality.” (2 Corinthians 8:13-14). This doctrine of bearing burdens together,
of distributing burdens among the churches so as not to ease one church and
distress another was delivered to the Corinthian church in an effort to move it
to join other churches in ministering to poor saints. The job of taking care of
the poor in Judea was a greater burden than one church could bear; yes, it was a
greater burden than even the churches of Macedonia could handle and the Holy
Spirit was urging the Corinthian church to join the Macedonian churches in the
undertaking. The condition was so distressing that Titus became so deeply
stirred that of his “own accord” he went forth to this church to urge it to get
into the struggle. A “Brother” whose praise in the gospel is spread through all
the churches went with Titus. This brother was also “appointed by the churches
to travel with us in the matter of this grace, which is ministered by us to he
glory of he Lord.” Again, “We have sent with them our brother whom we have many
times proved earnest in many things, but how much more earnest, by reason of the
great confidence which he hath in you. Whether any inquire about Titus he is my
partner and my fellow-worker to you-ward, or our brethren they are the
messengers of the churches, they are the glory of Christ. Show ye therefore unto
him in the face of the churches the proof of your love, and of our glorying on
your behalf."

What earnest care! What joining together of effort! What splendid interest
manifested on the part of the churches in that they appointed a “brother” “to
travel with us!” Think of it—a group of brethren—“messengers of the churches”—
going among the churches to stir them to join with other churches to meet the
emergency. A great example.

Some of the group were “appointed” by the “churches,” one went of his “own
accord,” but their going and their effort is plainly approved.

First of all, there is the obligation—a host of brethren who are in need; This
becomes known and individual Christians of their “own accord” became interested.
Churches become so concerned that they “appointed” a brother to travel among
other churches not yet concerned or interested; “messengers of the church” go
forth to assemble contributions to care for the saints in distress.

Surely we need no more evidence to assure us that it is good, wise, and of
divine approval to stir churches to join other churches in accomplishing jobs
committed to the church. Surely it is good, too, and scriptural for one of his
“own accord,” should he be so moved, to go forth to stir the churches to
cooperate in meeting an emergency. It would be no grounds for criticism were he
to “appoint himself” to go among the churches. Titus did this very thing and is
graciously commended for this course. He did not wait for a “church” to appoint
him, but went of his “own accord.” But would one contend that this is an example
for churches to cooperate with one another in supplying the needs of the poor
saints, but is not an example for their cooperating with one another in the
doing of other service committed to the great body of Christ? In other words, is
it an example for combining our strength to feed and clothe the poor, but not an
example for the same and solid cooperation, for preaching the gospel to the
world? As in the case when a nation is facing national peril by the approach of
a formidable foe every citizen, man and woman, is utilized, drawn into the
service, at home or on the field, to save the cause; so every local church on
earth should be filled up to the teeth with knowledge of the great job, the
outstanding work assigned to the army of the saints by the commander-in-chief,
the job of rescuing captives from the Devil’s army by offering deliverance
through Christ Jesus our Lord. Every Christian “at home” should be on their toes
for news from the field and should be preparing to join the army on the field,
or, as eager to supply the needs of those on the field driving back the enemy,
establishing new forts, and possessing new territory, as patriotic fathers,
mothers, sisters, and sweethearts—the army left at home, were eager in the world
war to supply food and clothing—socks, sweeters and every other need—to the boys
gone to war. The cause for which we fight is infinitely greater than the cause
for which those boys fought, and in our interest, enthusiasm, and sacrifices we
should put to shame the patriotism displayed in that war. In the world war we at
home did without, denied ourselves of comforts and even necessities to supply
the wants on the field; we ate brown bread, corn bread, rye-bread, to save the
white bread for those on the field; we did without sugar that the boys on the
field might have it. We stinted ourselves, doing without in every way helpful to
maintain the army on the field. To the patriotic at home the needs of those on
the field came first. Mothers, wives, sisters, and sweethearts donned overalls
and went to the stores, factories, shops, and farms that men might be freed to
join the army on the field.

Although our cause is infinitely important, the greatest in the world, our
workers, the army on the field, go without necessities, live without screens on
their houses, when it u deadly almost to do it, and make other severe
sacrifices, and that without murmur, while we live at home comparitively in
luxury. But worst of all, those few workers we have out yonder are desperately
hampered for supplies, means with which to battle against the enemyt They can’t
rent a hall or support native workers, supply other severe demands of that work,
because we do not hold up their hands as we should. The whole thing is summed up
in these words— we are not in the fight with them.

Every farm, store, factory, shop, and office controlled by Christians “at home”
should be run in the interest of the war, should be dedicated to the great cause
for which Jesus died. Instead we are running them for ourselves; even the
“camps” (local churches) of the army are exhausting themselves on camp
activities. Nine tenths of the means, ability, and efforts of the local churches
are devoted to the keeping of these churches alive. May the Lord open our eyes
and enlarge our hearts that we may get into the real struggle as the faithful
body of Christ “fitly framed and knit together through that which every joint
supplieth, according to the working in due measure of each several part, maketh
the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love.” (Ephesians
4:16).


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  CHAPTER 13: THE CHURCH TODAY IN ITS WAR AGAINST SIN
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The Church Today In Its War Against Sin THE CHURCH TODAY IN ITS WAR AGAINST SIN
W. S. LONG In obedience to the highest impulse—the desire to do good —I come
before you this morning to speak of the Church of Christ and her war against sin
and Satan. When we remember that the Church cost the blood of Christ and was
established to save sinners it should stir every fiber of our souls. When the
word is used as Jesus used it there comes before us that mighty army of saints
and martyrs who have suffered through the past 1900 years—fighting for those
principles dedicated by the blood of Christ and His apostles. It has always been
composed of the noblest, purest, and bravest men and women who have ever adorned
our common humanity. The earthly life of Christ was one continuous battle
against the forces of darkness, and His victorious struggle gave to his Church
the power to overcome sin, Satan, and death, and there are no such words as
failure or defeat to those who follow Him.

Let us think of every Christian as a soldier, clad in the armor of
righteousness, and bravely contending for the right against error in every form.

It has been said, We are against too many things, but not for enough things, but
the true soldier of Christ must not only stand up for all that is true, holy and
right but he must stand out clearly against all forms of sin without fear or
favor. Men who have accomplished the most for the world, and who have measured
up to the preaching of the Apostles and their contemporaries, were severe on
false doctrine and were recognized as “fighters.” Every one should fight sin.
Stephen delivered but one sermon that was recorded, and yet he was immortalized
because he fell with his face toward the foes of death, and with the sword of
the Spirit drawn against false doctrine. He was not one of those “tender footed”
men, afraid some one would be offended if he exposed their errors. If you want
to know the attitude of the Apostolic Church and the preachers of that time
regarding Sin and Satan, I present to you today men like Paul, Peter, James, and
Jude, and call upon them to be our witnesses. Hear their words as the Holy
Spirit sat upon their lips in glorious power and majesty. Paul would walk into
our midst and say, “The night is far spent, and the day is at hand; let us
therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light.”
(Romans 13:12). “Thou, therefore, my child, be strengthened in the grace that is
in Christ Jesus * * * * no soldier on service en- tangleth himself in the
affairs of this life; that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier.” In
his last message to the Church at Ephesus he says, Finally, be strong in the
Lord, and in the strength of His might.” To the Chruch in wicked Corinth he
writes, “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before
God to the casting down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every
high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every
thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” rwomen from the fires of Sin
which is near to consume their souls. Peter says to the great army everywhere
“Arm yourselves with the same mind.” (1 Peter 4:1).

Now, the solemn question, which we are considering is; Does the Chruch of today
measure up to the Apostolic Church in its warfare against sin and Satan. Are we
equipped for the struggle? * Are we ready to endure the hardships as did they?
Are fired with the same degree of zeal possessed by those great souls? Have we
forsaken all that we might follow Christ? Has worldliness, selfishness,
prejudice, narrowness, and petty jealousy been swallowed up by our love for the
Chruch, and our desire to save lost souls from the hand of Satan?

I. Preparedness. The warfare against Sin is the greatest work in all the earth,
and if we would succeed in such a conflict we must, first of all, be well
prepared. To be equipped we must follow the divine instructions, which say
“Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in
the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand, therefore, having girded
your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and
having shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of peace; withal taking
up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts
of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:13-17) The next step in this preparation
is to ask God’s guidance and help. So Paul says, “Praying at all seasons in the
Spirit, and watching thereunto in all perseverance and supplication for all
saints.” What an inspiring picture is here presented of God’s people all over
the world in their war against sin. Each clad in the Armor of the Lord, each
lifting his voice to God in prayer constantly for guidance, and each praying for
all other Christians that they, too, may be more than conquerors through Him who
loved them and washed them in His blood.

II. Satan’s Tactics. In the second place we must know the tactics of Satan, and
his many methods of leading people into sin. Is not this what Jesus means when
He says, “Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” Did not Paul
drive this truth home to every heart when he said, “Watching, there- anto in all
perseverance and supplication for all the saints'.' By knowing the tactics of
Satan do not think for a moment that I mean for any one to go to the places of
Sin and follow he ways of Satan to learn his devices. No, you don’t get it that
way. The banker knows the counterfeit money, the worthless imitations, because
he knows the genuine. He does not go out and take part in handling the false
money and passing it on the public to know the difference. So if you know God
and His truth, you can at once detect the errors of the evil one, and false
teaching the very minute it comes to light. Oh, how Satan has attempted to
whiten and beautify sin that it may appear to have the sweetness of the rose and
the luster of the lily. Look at the billboards stretched along our highways from
Maine to California, picturing the poison cigaret in the fingers of the innocent
girl. The cigarette in the fingers of the girls today is the serpent that will
destroy this nation tomorrow. Every device possible has been seized upon by
money lovers to make sin appear to be harmless and helpful. To illustrate: The
country boy sees a glowing picture of his possibilities if he will enlist in the
Navy or Army. It offers a trip around the world and a liberal education. But
every sowing must have its harvest, and in a few years he faces the fact that he
is engaged in the work of wholesale murder under the name or patriotism.

“Be not deceived—whatsoever you sow that shall you reap.” This Christian
warfare, my fellow countrymen, is not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world, and
against Spiritual wickedness in high places. Satan seeks every avenue possible
to deceive the hearts of men. He uses his servants to secure a seat as
instructor in our colleges and universities. He comes under the pretense of a
preacher of the gospel and from the pulpit he destroys the faith of many in the
wrnrd of God. Such instructors ore but Satan’s servants and are using the Bible,
but handling it deceitfully, as did the Devil when he tried to destroy our
Savior in His hour of temptation. Paul warns us that Satan will transform
himself into an angel of light and his servant as a minister of righteousness. I
pause here to say, I thank God that we have colleges such as Abilene Christian
College, in which all the teachers are true to God, and that Satan can never
have a part as an instructor. Sin and Satan have entered into thousands of what
is thought to be the best books and magazines, and in this way the souls of our
youth are being destroyed—and character undermined. The warfare is prodigious
sin for Satan is the “Prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is at work
in the children of obedience.”

III. Begin at Home. In this great battle against Sin, we must begin first at the
House of God. Jesus twice came to His Father’s house and cleansed it of its
thieves and corruption. The first Church in the world was kept clean as long as
it existed. Men could not slip into the Holy place and into its sacred worship
with a corrupt life and be held in esteem because they were men of prestige in
the world. They were openly rebuked at once, and if they failed to show fruits
of repentance the Church immediately withdrew fellowship. The Holy Spirit so
commands us today. “Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly,
comfort the feeble minded, support the weak, be patient toward all.” (1
Thessalonians 5:15). Again, “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh
disorderly.” (2 Thessalonians 3:6). The story of Akin and the golden wedge is no
doubt given to teach us that we are defeated—anl church is crippled and
defeated— when it permits men and women to be held in good fellowship when it is
known that such are unfaithful and impure.

IV. Endure Hardness. But with all our knowledge and all our scholarship we can
never expect to make successful warfare against Sa^an unless we know ourselves
true soldiers. The true Christian will not be content with a soft seat and be of
ease. A Christian is not a fair weather person who attends worship just to be
entertained. He is faithful for God, and must “endure hardness,” face the
bitterest weather, the deepset sorrows, and the most discouraging conditions—and
this will do with his whole heart if he loves God. The success of the
Revolutionary War was due to the courage of men like Washington, Adams, Heni'y,
Putnam, and Pitt, wlio faced the charges of the wilderness and who hungered,
suffered, bled and died that we might sing of the “Land of the True, and the
Home of the Brave.” By indescribable hardships they planted the tree of liberty
in American soil and watered it with their tears and blood.

If for such a cause they gladly suffered so much, then how much more should we
suffer for the most glorious and sacred Cause in all the earth. The Church of
Christ has a glory higher than the heavens, transcending all time, more sacred
than the bleeding cross upon which our Savior died, and more enduring than all
the Kingdoms of ages past. Such a great cause, and such a warfare calls for men
of the highest type and the deepest convictions. Is it any wonder that Paul
exclaimed: “Watch ye, sand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.” Our
greatest need at this hour is men who are ready to suffer and to fight.

“God give us men: A time like this demands Strong minds, great hearts, true
faith, and willing hands: Men whom the lust of office cannot kill; Men whom the
spoils of office cannot buy; Men who possess opinions and will, Men who have
honor: Men who will not lie: Men who can stand before the Demagogue And scorn
his treacherous flattery without winking; Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above
the fog In public duty and private thinking.”

V. A Love Which Inspires The Church in the days of the Apostles had a love and a
zeal that came from the very heart of Jesus they loved the cause better than all
other things of earth. Upon their banner was inscribed the hope and happiness of
all nations. They believed the word of Christ. “For what is a man profited, if
he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul.” They knew the gospel was
the only power to save men, and that if it was rejected the world would be left
in midnight gloom. The principles for which they contended included every
promise, type, and phophecy of the Old Testament, from the smoking sacrifice of
righteous Abel to the Lamb of God whose precious blood was shed upon the cruel
cross. They were ready to suffer and to die for this gospel because it embraced
all the hopes held sacred in the heart of Abraham and all the holy prophets for
four thousand years. Without this hope no welcome voice resound along the dark
channel house of death: No rose of immortality would blossom upon the grave of
our loved one. It was the Gospel of Our Lord and Savior that inspired their love
and inflamed their souls because it sent its shafts of light divine across the
centuries and wrote life joy, peace and hope upon the dust and ashes of the tomb
of every child of God. Their love was so deep so high and so holy that they
fought with the courage of true men, and with the Calmness of angels till they
had given every ounce of strenght, and (some of them) every drop of a martyr’s
blood. No higher compii- ment was ever paid to men and women than the one
recorded in the 11th Chapter of Hebrews: “And what shall I more say, For the
time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jepthah: of David and
Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought
righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the
power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong,
waxed in war, turned to flight armies of aliens. Women received their dead by a
resurrection: and others were tortured, not accepting their deliverance: that
they might obtain a better resurrection: and others had trial of mockings and
scouragings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonments: they were stoned, they
were sawn asunder, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword: they went
about in sheepskins, in goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented * *
wandering is deserts and mountains and caves, and holes of the earth.” (Hebrews
11:32-39).

I pause and ask, to what degree do we measure up to those brave and illustrous
characters? Is our courage comparable to theirs? Are we found in the slums?
trying our best to save the lost and forsaken? Do you believe the Church of
today compares favorably with the Church in Apostolic times? I fear we are
“weighed and found wanting.” The knowledge that in our Christian wrfare there is
no such word as failure or defeat should stir the heart of every Christian to
the greatest zeal and the brightest hopes. Mighty kings have risen rapidly to
worldly splendor, and received the praise of milions, but soon their flag and
their cause trailed in the dust of forgetfulness, but across the banner of
Christ is written, “Eternal Victory,” and all the powers of earth and hell can
never defeat God’s faithful. We are assured too, that every act of service in
Christ’s name will be rewarded even to the cup of cold water. Napoleon, while an
exile at St. Helena, had time to meditate upon earthly kingdoms, and he gave
utterance to the following words. “ The more I study the world the more I
realize the inability of force to create anything durable. Charlemagne,
Alexander the Great, Caesar and myself, have built empires, but I ask upon what
did these creations of our genius depend. They depended upon force. Jesus Christ
built His Kingdom upon Love, and today millions would die for Him.” Massive
monuments have been erected to men of earthly fame, who led armies to victory or
defeat, and who drenched the land in blood, but the humblest soldier of the
Cross, by faithful service, and a firm stand for truth can come to the closing
bounds of life and say, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course,
and I have kept the faith.” It will be there the answer will come re-echoing
from the throne of Christ, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter
thou into the joy of thy Lord.’ Then may he say in the words of the poet:

“On palaces, Sculptures, and crowns, Your pride with disdain I survey, Your pomp
is but shadows and sounds, That pass in a moment away. The crown that my Savior
bestows, Yon permanent sun will outshine, My joy everlasting flows My God and my
Redeemer is mine.”

VI. Our Greatest Need I am persuaded that our greatest need is faith. Israel
lost 40 years wandering in the wilderness because of unbelief. John tells us
that “Faith is the victory that overcomes the world.” In Apostolic days it was
Faith that cast out all fear and sent the Gospel into all parts of the earth in
less than a century. God give us faith, and victory is certain.


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  CHAPTER 14: SPREADING THE GOSPEL OR SOUNDING OUT THE WORD
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Spreading the Gospel or Sounding Out the Word SPREADING THE GOSPEL OR SOUNDING
OUT THE WORD W. S. LONG

“For from you hath sounded forth the word of the Lord, not only Macedonia and
Achaia, but in every place your faith to Godward is gone forth; so that we need
not to speak anything.” (1 Thessalonians 1:8). My Beloved Brethren: From my
youth this has been a very interesting subject and I have often spoken of the
marvelous success of the Church in the days of the apostles. Time is well spent
on the question: “Why was the early Church so successful?” It has challenged the
interest of the most brilliant minds and the most gifted thinker of the past.

Let us picture the scene of Jesus’ farewell words on the Mount of Olive, and
then see these eleven men turn their faces toward Jerusalem, where the heartless
rulers had six weeks before crucified their Lord. See them encounter a cruel
world, made up on the one hand of Romans who were then preparing to destroy
Jerusalem and put to death thousands of Christians, and on the other hand the
bitterness of the Jews who in blindness to their own good, would do their best
to stamp out of existence the very name of Jesus.

What hopes had they (humanly speaking) of success? What prestige to open the
door to proclaim the Glorious Gospel? They had no degrees, no money, no
colleges, no church buildings, no orphanages, no publications, no men in power
to advocate their cause before the Rulers. Yet, they begin in the City of
Jerusalem with only a handfull of men and women—not a Church anywhere else in
all the wide, wide world. Favor was granted for only a few years and then they
soon became so unpopular that their own people began a severe persecution and
were joined by pagan rulers, and it grew so cruel that it meant death to be
known as a Christian. Such a name was odious, and the followers of Jesus were
counted as scum of the earth—“the offscouring of Creation.” Viewing this Church
from a human standpoint it would be of short duration, and pass away with the
death of its first leaders; yet, in the face of this persecution God lead them
from victory to victory until we hear the Glorious message spoken by Paul to the
Church at Colossae: “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be
not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which was preached to every creature
which is under heaven: wherof, I, Paul, am made a minister.” (Colossians 1:23).
He further says, that the gospel which had come to them as it had in all the
world. From these statements we learn that in this short time, less than 100
years, the gospel had gone into all parts of the known world.

1. The First Three Decades: It is an old, old story, yet an interesting one to
follow the spread of the gospel from the one little band in Jerusalem till it
reached all the known world. When the dark clouds of persecution fell upon them,
and blow after blow took many of their best members, it looked as though they
were soon to be blotted from the earth. The apostles were whipped, threatened,
cast into prison; Stephen was martyred as a warning to any one who would mention
the name of Christ. Soon the persecution broke forth like a storm everywhere,
and “at that time there was great persecution against the Church,” and it was
scattered to the four winds, yet God overruled this seeming calamity to his
glory. We rad “Therefore, they that were scattered abroad went everywhere
preaching the word.” With their hearts warmed by the fresh blood of their
leaders, and their zeal fired by the love of Christ, no power on earth or in
Hell could silence them in telling the message of salvation. Twenty-one brief
chapters of Acts that followed this persecution is pulsating with the wonderful
missionary spirit of the early Christians.

Philip plants a Church in Samaria, and then proclaims Jesus to the treasurer of
that far-away land of Etheopia and thereby the gospel is made known in Africa.
He then passes to Azetus and all the cities in order till he comes to Caesarea.
Peter and John visit Samaria and evangelize many of the cities of that State.
Soon Paul is converted in the City of Damascus and began at once to preach Jesus
everywhere he set foot. If Iuke had been permitted to tell us of all the work of
each one wtro was scattered everywhere it would have made one of the most
interesting books ever written. Missionaries went to very point of the compass
from that first Church and the plan outlined by Jesus when He said, “Jerusalem,
Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth,” is effective beyond
the dreams of the most optimistic souls. By the time the Gospel had reached
Antioch of Syria, the number of Christians had reached into the hundred of
thousands and there is no way to measure the extent and strength of the Church.
The blood of the martyrs was the seed of the kingdom and it was destined to
cover the earth. As we follow Paul and his faithful company of workers through
Galatia, Asia Minor, into Europe on to Greece and Achaia and the islands of the
sea, our minds stagger to comprehend the rapid growth of the Chruch against he
odds of poverty, persecution and martyrdom.

II. Why This Rapid Growth: It would be well to study the question, “Why had the
Church such rapid growth in those days?” If the work that brought about this
wonderful success can be put in operation today then as certain as effect
follows cause, we may again spread the Gospel as did they. If not, why not? Some
might conclude that it was because miraculous power accompanied the preaching of
the Word. We must admit that this brought many to hear the Word, yet God did not
intend the miracles to be the power to reach the lost or he would have continued
their use. The Gospel is the power of God to save and not miracles. I believe
there were causes which may be applied today that will bring the same success as
it did then. I shall mention a few of these causes.

(1) Their great faith in God and his promises. They had a faith that was unmoved
by all the persecutions, threats and hardships that could be heaped upon them.
They went into cities where you and I would not dare to go today, and where it
looked as though they were casting pearls before swine, preached in parks,
dungeons, jails and dwelling, even where death was hanging over them.

(2) Their Convictions: They were wholly converted to the Lord, and ready to
forsake all for His name. Their love for Christ inspired them to tell everyone
they met the wonderful story of Christ who died for them. We take our vacations
and go everywhere seeking pleasure; they went everywhere preaching the Word.
Salvation meant so much to them that they wanted o save every one else.
Moreover!! they did not believe they could be saved unless they gave their lives
in saving others.

(3) A Third Cause Of This Success Was The Liberality Of The Early Church. It has
been recognized as the most liberal Church in the world. They sold possessions
that this Gospel might be preached. If prosperity came they gave; if deep
proverty overtook them they still gave, and begged the Church to accept their
offering. Why don’t we give today as did they?

(4) The Purity Of The Church. The Church stood out before the world as a body of
people honest and upright in their transactions, and pure in all their deeds and
words. It was a high calling to be a member of the Church and the world
respected such a people. The highter we life the standard of membership, the
greater influence we will have and the more right thinking people will seek our
fellowship.

(5) Prayer And Hard Work: When the Church becomes prayerless it becomes
powerless also. This model Church was born during a great prayer meeting.
Whatever they did in word and deed they first took it to God in prayer. There is
a lifting power about prayer. By it they were lifted from discouragement and
sorrow; and given renewed strength and hope to go forward. But with all the
promises of God of comfort and help they knew nothing could be accomplished
without hard work. So they worked at the job day and night “in season and out of
season.” No farmer, business man, teacher, lawyer, doctor, mechanic, student or
preacher will ever succeed in this calling without hard work. No Church can ever
expect to make success without hard work. Every member of the Church should be a
worker and if they are truly converted they cannot be happy without work. A
working Church never finds time to stop to fuss. “There is no place in the
Church for grumbling or complaining. Smile and boost; “Lift man Lift” would be a
good motto for any Church I wonder if the church today is trying as hard to save
souls as did the one in Paul’s day?

(6) The earnestness and boldness which they preached the Gospel. Their every
soul was poured into every sermon and the people who heard them were made to
feel their lost and condemned state and to tremble under the mighty power of the
preachers. “I see Paul as he stands up day and night for three years in Ephesus
with tears flowing freely down his cheeks and with marks of persecution on his
body, boldly, earnestly and sympathetically telling of the wonderful love of
Christ.

(7) Now, there was one other thing that had to do with their success. Many new
congregations become missionary Churches, for we read that the congregations at
Philippi and Thessalonica “sounded out the -Word of the Lord, not only in
Macedonia and Achaia, but in other places.” They began to do that soon after
they were established.

Let us suppose that every congregation in America that has as many as fifty
members would seek out a new location at once and place a good preacher there
and support him until a new congregation was established in that field, and then
teach the new congregation to plant another. The growth of the Church in afew
years would excel anything since the days of the Apostles. With the help of God
and the application of these principles used by the first Church, we would
establish 10,000 new congregations in the pext ten years. Truly, “the field is
white unto the har- test,” and the Church of Christ should catch the spirit of
the early Church and follow their example to “Sound out the Word.” If this is
done (and let us pray that it will be done) there would not be an idle preacher
to be found and the call would be made for many more, and every saved man would
try to save some one else. Now, let us by tongue and pen, appeal to every
congregation in America to reduce the causes of success to practice, and set the
New Testament plan to work in each local congregation. Then we will begin to
measure up to some degree with the Church of those days. With our splendid modes
of travel, our wealth and our talents we should surpass them in growth. Oh, are
we making the sacrifice we should? Are we doing our best?


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Source: https://sermonindex.net/books/abilene1935-lectures/
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