From the Pen of Paul

Reactions to the Truth

As long as time and man have existed there has been a variety of reactions to the truth. Pilate asked, "What is truth" (John 18:38)? Jesus said of the Father's word, "Thy word is truth" (John 17:17). The truth is something that we can know. Jesus said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). How man reacts to the truth will determine his destiny and where he will be in eternity. How do we react to truth today?

Some are offended. Jesus, after stating truth to the scribes and Pharisees, was informed by his disciples, "Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying" (Matt. 15:12)? They were offended but it was not because Jesus had not told the truth, nor because he had been ugly in his presentation. They were offended because they did not like what he said. The same thing often happens today. When the truth is preached on any given subject, those who do not plan to make any changes in their lives to make them conform to the truth often become offended at the speaker. However this does not change the truth. Truth is still truth even when folks become offended at it.

Some become angry. It is easier to get angry at the messenger than it is to be honest with the truth. Some become angry when their doctrine is shown to be false. But, instead of giving up the false teaching and embracing the truth, they become angry. Paul asked the Galatians, "Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth" (Gal. 4:16)? Some become angry when it is pointed out from the Scriptures that baptism is a necessary part of the plan of salvation; others become angry when they learn that the Bible teaches that there is but "one body" which is the church (Eph. 1:22-23; 4:4). They become angry when the application is made which shows that all denominational churches are churches of men and that one cannot be saved in them. Some become angry when taught the truth about New Testament worship. This list could go on and on. But, as in the previous point, getting angry when the truth is preached does not change the truth. The truth is still the truth no matter how mad I get when I learn it.

Some walk no more with Him. In John 6, following some difficult teaching by Jesus, we are told, "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him" (John 6:66). When Jesus asked the twelve, "Will ye also go away?" Peter answered, "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life" (John 6:67-68). Those disciples that went away rejected these very words of eternal life. Jesus lost some disciples, but those disciples lost their souls. Truth was not affected.

Some do not believe. To some of the Jews Jesus said, "And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not....And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me" (John 8:45-46)? If God, "that cannot lie" (Titus 1:2), said it, then it is true. Whether I believe it or not does not alter that fact. Sometimes, today, when you tell men what God requires for them to do to be saved, their response is, "I don't believe that." However, if it is the truth, their refusal to believe does not keep it from being the truth.

Some, on the positive side, receive the word gladly. The reaction of some on Pentecost is reported in these words: "Then they that gladly received the word were baptized" (Acts 2:41). And in Acts 4:4, we learn that when the truth was preached, "many of them which heard the word believed." If you read carefully you will also see that when the taught word was "received gladly" and "believed," obedience to the things taught followed. After Philip had "preached Jesus" "beginning at the same Scripture" that the Eunuch was reading, He asked, "See, here is water: what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the Eunuch; and he baptized him" (Acts 8:30-38).

How about you? There are a number of ways to react to the truth. You can become angry or offended at it. You can reject it; refuse to listen to it. You can deny that it is truth. You can believe it or refuse to believe it. But whatever reaction you have will not change the truth; and no matter how hard you try nor how greatly you embrace false teaching, it can never become truth. But remember that how you receive and react to the word of God will determine where you are in eternity. James 1:22 says: "....receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls."
—Paul Wilmoth

From the Preacher's Viewpoint. . .

Are You Persecuting Jesus?

When we first meet the apostle Paul in the New Testament, he was Saul the Pharisee. He truly believed he was doing God service in persecuting Christians (Acts 26:9-11). He was a chief leader in the Pharisee sect and lived in good conscience before God all along the way (Gal. 1:12-13; Acts 23:1-2).

Saul of Tarsus went to the high priest seeking permission to persecute Christians in Damascus (Acts 9:2). While on the way to Damascus Jesus appeared to him in a vision saying, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me" (Acts 9:4)? But Saul was not persecuting the literal body of Jesus. Jesus was in heaven at the time of this vision. Saul was persecuting the church of Christ and the way of Christ. We must conclude from this that when one works against the church of the Lord or the work of the Lord he is persecuting Jesus.

Saul of Tarsus was not the only one to persecute Jesus by persecuting the church and good works of Christians. Many instances of such persecution of Christ have taken place in history and at the present. The sad thing about the matter is that so-called Christians are often involved in persecuting Jesus in that they try to destroy faithful churches and faithful works of members of the church. When men persecute and try to take down scriptural works of orphan homes, they are persecuting Jesus. They may be innocent in their destructive work as Saul of Tarsus was, but they are still persecuting Jesus. When men fight institutions like Tennessee Bible College without cause, they are persecuting Jesus. There are those who have talked against the training of gospel preachers at Tennessee Bible College without any scriptural reason. The only reason they have done so is because they do not like some person involved in the work at TBC or perhaps they feel that they should have been consulted more about the work being done. There may be also a bit of envy and resentment in the hearts of those who would destroy the work being done at Tennessee Bible College. No matter what the reason is, those who fight and try to destroy good works are in actuality persecuting Jesus just as Saul of Tarsus was (Acts 9:1-6). This is no little matter and brethren who are guilty of such need to give this prayerful and serious thought.

Some preachers and churches refuse to make announcements about the good work being done by Tennessee Bible College. Some churches and preachers would not think of supporting the work being done by their presence and moral support. Some to this point have not dared to come on the campus. Why so? What wrong has TBC done or are they doing at the present? We challenge the opposers to come up with one Scripture that has flagrantly been disobeyed. Tennessee Bible College is stricter in her operation than most churches of Christ where these brethren preach, work, and attend. The opposers to the good work of Tennessee Bible College are antis like the anti orphan home brethren, the anti located preacher brethren, and all other antis. The anti rule is: "If I do not like it I will fight it," and this attitude is far, far away from that of the spirit of Christ. We wish we could find one of these opposers to TBC that has the courage to stand up in a public discussion and set forth the reason for his opposition.

Before we close, let us say Tennessee Bible College is in its finest day and making excellent progress. This makes her opposers very sad but it is making a host of righteous people very happy.
—Malcolm L. Hill