From the Pen of Paul

The Man of God and the Old Prophet

There is an interesting story recorded in I Kings 13. It involves a man of God, a prophet out of Judah, that came unto Bethel to the altar that Jeroboam had set up contrary to God's commands. The man of God came to the altar while Jeroboam stood by the altar and prophesied against the altar "in the word of the Lord" (v.1-2). The man of God also "gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the Lord hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out" (v. 3). Jeroboam's first reaction was to "put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him" (v. 4). Jeroboam's hand was paralyzed and he had to request the man of God to "entreat now the face of the Lord thy God, and pray that my hand may be restored me again" (v. 6).

Jeroboam was very much like men today. When the truth is presented, those who do not like the message will attempt to silence the messenger. Jeroboam thought that if he could silence the messenger he would not have to answer for the message. Today, we have folks with "itching ears" who seek out men who will preach the message as they want it preached (II Tim. 4:3-4). In Isaiah's day, he wrote of "a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits" (Isa. 30:8-10). Human nature has not changed much from Jeroboam's and from Isaiah's day!

Following the healing of the king's hand, he asked the man of God to "Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward." But the man of God told him that he could not go home with him nor eat or drink with him because God had said, "Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest" (v. 7-9). As the man of God left Bethel, going another way from the way he came as God had commanded him, an old prophet, that lived in Bethel, went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak tree resting. He also asked the man of God to "Come home with me, and eat bread" (v. 10-15). When the man of God protested that he was forbidden to do so by God, the old prophet lied to him and told him that God had spoken to him and told him to bring the man of God home with him that he may eat and drink water (v. 16-18). And the man of God, regrettably, believed the old prophet's lies. To make a long story short, his disobedience to God's direct commands caused the man of God to be slain by a lion on his way home (v. 19-34).

Again, human nature has not changed very much. Literally millions of folks are disobedient to plain, simple commands of God because they take the word of some prophet or"pastor" who claims that "God spoke to me." They read passages like Mark 16:16 and Acts 2:38, which are about as simple as anything recorded in the Bible, and they tell their flock, "God has changed his mind; you are to come home with me and eat and drink." Instead of just accepting what God said, they seek ways to "explain away" what God said. And the sad part is, like the man of God in I Kings 13, these lies are believed and souls are being led to their eternal destruction.

You can blame the old prophet for lying to the man of God, and certainly he was an evil man. But this did not excuse the man of God for disobeying the instructions that God had given him. He should have taken the time to consider carefully what he was doing instead of going head-long into disobedience. And today, we can blame the many false teachers out there who are preaching lies when they tell their audiences, "Baptism is not necessary for salvation, You can be saved at the point of faith prior to and without being baptized." And, of course, they are to be blamed; unless they repent, they will "burn in unquenchable fire" because of their disobedience and their deceptive teaching. But, like the man of God in I Kings 13, each one of us has the responsibility to read and study God's word and to reject the lies of false teachers.

How about you? Do you "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (II Tim. 2:15)? Or, do you just blindly, like the man of God of I Kings 13, accept anything and everything that some preacher, "pastor" or "Reverend" tells you? Like the people of Berea, we need to "Search the scriptures daily, whether these things are so." (Acts 17:11). Don't be misled by the "old Prophet's lies." Listen to God. Open the Bible and study it diligently. You will be judged by the things written therein (John 12:48).
—Paul Wilmoth

From the Preacher's Viewpoint. . .

Decently and in Order

The Bible teaches Christians to do things decently and in order (I Cor. 14:40). Of course, the things to be done in worship are to be authorized by the Scriptures (Col. 3:17). This means that a woman baking a cake in the worship of the church would never be decent or in order. This would also forbid a man from yodeling in the worship of the church. We must understand that there is a time and place for things to be done.

There was a time for those who had the gift to edify the church and there was a time for them to remain silent and this is what I Corinthians 14:40 was dealing with. There is a time and place for one to clap his hands and there is a time and place for him not to do so. It would be out of place for one to clap his hands at the end of a prayer at a funeral. It would be out of place for one to clap his hands when his mother had just died. He could pray and say amen and it would be perfectly in order but leave off the hand clapping.

Some have said that hand clapping in worship is the same as saying amen. If we are going to accept this kind of silly reasoning, then why could we not say that playing a piano or picking a guitar or banjo is the same thing as singing? So hand clappers, clap on, and instrument pickers, play on in the assembly of the saints.

Would it be out of place to ring a cowbell when the preacher makes a good point? Would it be scriptural to blow a trumpet when a good point is made? You see, it is not a cowbell that makes an act sinful and out of place, but what people do with a cowbell in the assembly of worship to God. The same is true with a banjo, guitar, or a piano. We have folks clapping their hands when one is baptized in the assembly, or when a point is made or an announcement is made. If you want to clap your hands, go to a place where it is fitting to do so. The worship of God has no place for hand clapping. If we can clap our hands as an act of worship, then we can play an instrument on the same basis. There is as much Bible for one as there is the other.
—Malcolm L. Hill

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April 30 - May 4, 2008
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