UNSCRIPTURAL ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION OF CROSSROADS

In New Testament days every local church had"bishops and deacons with the saints" (Phil. 1:1). Everychurch had elders appointed to oversee that church(Acts 14:23; 20:28); this was true in every city (Titus1:5), and their scope of work was limited to that flockwhere they were overseers (1 Peter 5:2,3). That is all theorganization the New Testament church had.

Each church had the opportunity to grow to the ex-tent of its ability. There were no special rewards of-fered, no praise given, no special glory expressed to anychurch because of its large membership. Severalchurches in New Testament days grew rapidly in thebeginning days. The record we have in the early chap-ters of Acts concern the activity in Jerusalem, Judeaand Samaria where large numbers were added to theLord, but when Paul was in Athens, as recorded in Acts17, the record does not give the glowing success innumbers as found in Jerusalem. Only a few believed.That did not signify anything wrong with the gospel, orwith the preacher, or that the church had no plan.

Crossroads church is aggressive by the very nature ofits philosophy, and defensive of its name and work. It isa success at what it strives to accomplish. The organiza-tion functions smoothly. It is WHAT is being done andHOW it is being done that concerns us at this point. Thefact that the operation runs smoothly and is successfulat something does not indicate that it is scriptural ineither its organization or its operation.

Unscriptural Power and Controlat Crossroads

Who has the power at Crossroads? Who is the real

architect of the campus ministry? Who controls and

directs the policies and programs at Crossroads?

There are times when expediency and best judgment

must dictate that the Crossroads elders, Rogers

Bartley and Richard Whitehead, step forward and

speak out, sign a statement or make a defense of the

Crossroads system. But the whole country knows that

Charles "Chuck" Lucas holds the power at Crossroads

church. Here is some of the best evidence to that fact:

1. The very operation of Crossroads revolves aroundChuck Lucas. The printed material from Crossroadsboldly points to Lucas; nearly any defense of the Cross-roads doctrine and practice will be made by Lucas. Hisname, person and plans will move more wheels in the operation than anyone else. I realize there are somezealous young fireballs who are well trained, but as longas Lucas is around he will be the power.
2. The outpost churches—those established or takenover by Crossroads trained ministers (Yater Tant saysthere are nearly a hundred, editorial, Vanguard, Janu-ary 1984) acknowledge Chuck Lucas as the director ofthe Crossroads system. Most of them will deny thatthey have any connection with Lucas or Crossroads,but when either comes under fire they immediatelycome to their defense. If you can keep them in discus-sion with you on the subject, you will learn three facts:1) Lucas IS the power at Crossroads, at least in theirminds; 2) Crossroads is NOT just a local church at work,but an organization with tentacles from headquartersin Gainesville into many sections of the nation; and 3)Crossroads presents the face of an extremely successful church, but the inner-workings are a destructive forceto Bible authority.
3. The elders at Crossroads reflect Lucas as the per-son in power. Certainly they would not admit this forthey likely do not realize it. But in their attitude andpractice they are subordinate to Lucas, and his nameand his skill of operation prove it!
4. The critics of Crossroads all acknowledge ChuckLucas as the head of the movement. The Gospel Advo-cate addressed Lucas as the leading advocate of errors

taught at Crossroads church. One could not read the

articles appearing in the Gospel Advocate about Cross

roads without understanding that they perceive Lucas

to be the power in the Crossroads system.

Ira Y. Rice, Jr. and his staff have painted the pages of

several issues of his paper, Contending For The Faith,

with a "skinning" of Chuck Lucas, the elders and the

"Crossroads Philosophy." Probably no source has pre

sented more evidence in picture, correspondence, re

ports and articles of the scandalous activities of some in

connection with Crossroads than Ira Rice and his staff.

I do not know whether it is all fact or not. Crossroads

vehemently denies their charges. My purpose here is

not to judge the validity and accuracy of the charges in

Rice's paper, but to show that from their articles they

recognize Chuck Lucas as the principal one with influ

ence and power at Crossroads.

1. Campus ministers and Crossroads ministersaround the nation consider Lucas to be the center of operation. I have talked to some of them and I have readwhat several have said in defense of Lucas and heard them praise him. They consider him to be the mostimportant person connected with the Crossroads move-ment.
2. Those outside: people of the world, the media, de-nominations of the area, and the business world. Wegenerally understand that those of the world have someidea that the preacher is the man with power, but due topublicity about Crossroads there is a more concrete wayin which Lucas is considered the man of power.

Unscriptural Activity And Methods at Crossroads

The "ministries" at Crossroads and their organizedarrangements are in evidence as to the unscripturalorganization of the system. Following are some of theworks listed by Crossroads in both the bulletin and thebudget:

1. Christian Family Services. This is a ministry of Crossroads designed to assist families in distress (Taken from letter of August 23,1983, byKent Brand, ACSW Director of Social Services). Thisprogram is also a child adopting agency through which children are placed in homes. In the letter justmentioned a footnote stated that eight children hadbeen adopted through this agency so far this year(1983).

New Testament churches have no authority to beinvolved in child adoption programs of any kind. This isa family, social or government matter.

2. My School is a day school, open to the public,where the facilities, personnel and care are provided byCrossroads. It is a "ministry" of that church, but theycharge for the service. It is another example of an un-scriptural operation through an unauthorized organiza-tion within the church.

Providing school for children on any level is not thefunction of the church of the Lord. There is no Bible authority for any thing but spiritual and moral teachingfrom the word of God.

3. Evangelistic Campus Ministry. This operation hasa high priority both as to time and money spent. It is atightly knit and well organized operation. Those who

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A SHAMEFUL FAILURE

That the gospel is for all men of all nations is too wellknown among Christians to be a subject of dispute. Theseed of Abraham was to bless all nations (Gen. 12:3). OnSolomon's porch in Jerusalem, Peter cited this promiseand said "Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every oneof you from his iniquities" (Acts 3:26). The business of turning men away from sin and to God should be theprincipal concern of the people of God, both collectivelyand individually.

Sin ravages the soul and alienates the sinner fromGod. In that condition he is dead, walks according tothe course of the world, serves the Devil, has a disobedi-ent spirit which fits him for the just wrath of God (Eph.2:1-3). Those to whom the gospel is hidden are lost (2Cor. 4:3). Those who obey not the gospel will perish (2Thes. 1:6-9). The gospel is God's power to save the lost(Rom. 1:16), The gospel provisions spring from the richlove, abundant mercy and amazing grace of God (Eph.2:4-10).

But the gospel must be taught. Our Lord's religionrequires a teacher or preacher to go and make known the gospel of the grace of God. In the New Testamentboth individuals and congregations had fellowship withthose who went about teaching the truth. John wrotethat when Christians "bring forward on their journey"those who went forth "for his name's sake" that in so doing they became "fellowhelpers to the truth" (2 Jno.6-8). Churches supplied wages to Paul at Corinth (2 Cor.11:8). At Thessalonica, the church at Philippi "sent onceand again" unto his necessity (Phil. 4:15-16). This isGod's plan. It is simple. It worked then and it will work now.

Brethren, we are not ignorant of these things. Weoften speak of them. Yet, in works we deny what weconfidently affirm to be so. Many congregations aredoing very little to even evangelize their own immediateneighborhoods. There are populous areas of this nationwhich are virtually untouched with the gospel. Even instates where there are numerous congregations, someof which are large and prosperous, there are yet vastareas in those very states which are barren fields.Christians work every day for years with people, sitdown day after day with them at lunch time, or standaround and chat with them at "coffee break" time and never once mention the Lord, his church or the gospel.

Christians live for years in the same community, con-verse amicably with neighbors, work with parents inschool affairs, little leagues and projects to better thecommunity, but never once mention the Lord. Some arenot even trying to evangelize their own children. Theyare given clothing, food and drink, money, their owntelevision set, education and preparation for some avo-cation, but leave the family nest ignorant of that whichthey need most—a personal knowledge and convictionof truth. When God, Christ and the word of God werenot part and parcel of daily life, it is no great surprisethat such children are converted to the persistent voice of humanism.

Beyond that, there are vast reaches of the world where no men and women labor to plant the seed of thekingdom. Indeed, as the song goes "millions are grop-ing without the gospel." Who will go? Who will send?

The task will not be done until we absorb the attitude of our Lord when he looked upon the multitudes in hisday. First he "looked." There are opportunities andopen doors, if we will only look. Then, he looked "withcompassion." It mattered to him whether they wereserving God or not. Until we develop a yearning for souls, springing from hearts full of deep feeling for man-kind, (perceived not in mass, but in units of one), weshall continue to fail. Then he charged the discipleswhen he said "the harvest truly is plenteous, but thelaborers are few." Next, he urged them to "pray yetherefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forthlabourers into his harvest" (Matt. 9:36-39).

The number of men and their families now workingaround the globe is pitifully small. What few are scat-tered among the nations are overworked and often un-dersupported. The world is aflame now with wars, ter-rorism and greed. The answer to these perplexities isfound in the same one who calmed the turbulence of the sea with his word. When his word is planted now in thehearts of men, it produces not only peace with God, butthe by-product of it is peace with all men as much aspossible. Wherever God's people are found, there islight to illuminate the darkness, and salt to add season-ing to what would otherwise be an unsavory mixture.

While the world groans under the burden of sin withall its tragic consequences, we pride ourselves in the"good life." We have our houses, lands, cars, boats,campers, trips, televisions, micro-waves, video-tape re-corders, stereos and retirement plans. And, oh yes, aren't we fortunate to be only 15 minutes from themeeting house? There we park on neatly striped pave-ment, after letting out wives out under the carport,walk into vestibules covered with lush carpet, enter awell heated (or cooled) auditorium, sit down upon acushioned pew, sing "Count Your Many Blessings" and "The Gospel Is For All", hear a sermon, put our check inthe basket (after all, don't we send $100 a month tosome poor fellow out in who knows where to help himpreach), then rush out to beat the Baptists to the cafete-ria and rejoice in that we have "done" our religion forthe week!

There are congregations with huge bank accountsand no plans made to use the Lord's money in the very work for which it was given. Some of these will not evenanswer a letter from a godly man who has compassionon souls without a shepherd and who asks a modestamount of help to go to the back side of the world andpreach the gospel.

Why are so few even talking about going to someneedy field to preach the gospel? Where is the failure? Isit in the pulpit? Is it with the elders? Is it with parents(or grandparents) who encourage their children to doeverything else but teach the gospel? Parents, let meask you a question. If your son were to announce to youthat he earnestly wants to go to some far away place toplant the seed of the kingdom, what would you do?Would you encourage him or think up two dozen rea-sons why he should not go? If your daughter were mar-ried to such a man, what would be your reaction? If theyhave children (your grand children), what would be yourreaction?

Elders, let me ask you a question. Have you lookedover your teaching program to see to it that effort ismade to prepare young men and women for lives ofdevotion to gospel work, at home and abroad? Or do youplan that for an "off night" when perhaps a small hand-full showup?

Will God hold us guiltless who are so blessed, if weselfishness clasp the gospel to our bosoms, lock it up inthe back corners of our minds, and occasionally dare tosound it forth to the four walls of the meeting house?Brethren, look at the huddled masses of humanity with-out a shepherd. Have compassion—feel their hurt anddespair. See them, not as poor unfortunate souls just tobe pitied, but as a harvest of grain ready to be gathered. See yourself as one of the laborers. Prayfor others to enter into the harvest. Our failure is intolerable. May the Lord have mercy on us.

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succeed in this work are used in other areas to organizeand put into operation such programs.

4. Florida Evangelism Seminar and Youth Forum. This is a program of lectures, sermons, classes, youth forums, special training programs, banquets, entertain-ment and programming for further expansion of the Crossroads philosophy.Some young men have been sent to these seminarsto be prepared for the Cross- roads style evangelism.

Crossroads has been having these annual seminarssince 1967. This was the launching pad for their campusministry program, soul talks, prayer partners, retreatsand advances, school of ministry, and a dozen other programs.

5. The Crossroads Singers. This special groupof trained singers form a chorus in the Crossroads church which they list as a "mission activity." Theywrite that this group "is an integral part of the total unitand work of the congregation," for evangelizing and edification.

The Crossroads Singers was formed in 1973 as a spe-cial group for the purpose of entertaining and giving special worship in song at Crossroads and other churches. They perform as any other secular group forentertainment at special functions such as dedications ofmalls, college buildings, fairs, special interest groups, toursand "concerts" all over the country. They sing secular songs to entertain in church buildings, often at Crossroads. They sing songs of praise and worship atfunctions where the setting is obviously secular and thesinging is for entertainment. In a word, the CrossroadsSingers is an important part of the system for promo-tion, display, entertainment, recruiting of new mem-bers, and not to be forgotten, it is a source of INCOME! Theyproduce and sell tapes and records of their songs. Onesuch album was advertised by Crossroads as follows:

Holiday Souvenirs

The Crossroads Singers are pleased to an

nounce the arrival of their latest album—

Holiday Souvenirs. It is a collection of tradi

tional songs of the holiday season, as well as

several original compositions. It is available in

records, 8-track tapes, and cassettes for $6.98

each. Included are 'Home for the Holidays,'

'White Christmas,' 'Silver Bells,' 'Winter

Wonderland,' 'Silent Night,' and more. Orders

and inquiries should be sent to The Crossroads

Singers, 2720 S.W. 2nd Ave., Gainesville,

Florida 32607."

The money from sales of tapes and records and "con-certs" go into the church treasury at Crossroads, and expenses for the Singers are paid by the church. At least the budget indicates that. In the 1983 Crossroads churchbudget the Crossroads Singers were given $13,402.00from contributions (Lord's day), and nearly $55,000.00 "funded separately."

6. Tape Ministry and Book Ministry. This operationhas become a business within itself. Tapes of sermons,Seminars, Retreats, Lectures and other activities are offered for sale by the church. The book ministry pub-lishes and sells books to its membership and to thegeneral public. This is an operation like any commercial business.

Unscriptural Revenue And Use of Funds at Crossroads

I believe the New Testament is quite clear in its au-thority for both the source of revenue for the church and theexpenditure of those funds. The only authority forincome for the church is the first day contribution ofsaints (1 Cor. 16:1, 2). The silence of the scripturesforbids revenue from any commercial endeavor, fundsfrom persons other than saints, and proceeds from in-vestments.

The New Testament church is authorized to use funds to support the preaching of the gospel (1 Cor, 9:14; Phil. 4:15;1 Tim. 3:15), to provide some place for worship and theessentials to that end, and to provide benevolence to the saints for whom it is responsible. Beyond that the churchhas no responsibility.

The 1983 budget of Crossroads shows two separate sources of income: "Funded by Contributions" and "Funded Separately." The latter is from sales of books,

tapes, records, registration fees for Seminars, Forums, Ministers training, kindergarten and day school, charges from camp sites and activities at FanningSprings, interest from loans made to students and oth-ers, rental property or financed homes for poor mem-bers who pay mortgages with interest, and a dozenother similar sources of income. The Singers earn money for some of their concerts.

Crossroads is a system which renders a service tomany different people who pay and calls it a "ministry"of Crossroads church of Christ. The amount of income at Crossroads from other than contributions is nearlyas much as the annual contributions.

The fact that Crossroads flourishes as a commercial business in many different areas, is established proofthat it is not the New Testament church, but an unscrip-tural organization doing an unauthorized work.

ELDERS AND ADOPTED CHILDREN

QUESTION: Will you please write an article onwhether a man with only adopted children can qualifyas an elder and if those children can disqualify him ifthey stray from the truth?—A.M.

ANSWER: The verses which involve the qualifica

tions of an elder in relation to his children are: "One that ruleth well his own home, havinghis children in subjection with all gravity;(For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church ofGod?)" (1 Tim. 3:4, 5)."If any be blameless, the husband and wife, having faithful children not accused of riot orunruly" (Titus 1:6).

The answer to the first question can best be under-stood and appreciated after a study of the meaning anduse of the word "adoption" in New Testament times.Such study is very significant.

W. E. Vine defines the Greek word translated "adop-tion" as follows: "HUIOTHESIA, from huios, a son,and thesis, a placing, akin to tithemi, to place, signifiesthe place and condition of a son given to one to whom itdoes not naturally belong."

According to Roman law and the concept prevailingin New Testament times the term was more meaningfulthen than in our day. This is evident from the study of afew quotations from authorities.

William Barclay in commenting on Eph. 1:5 says, "In theancient world where Roman law prevailed, this wouldbe an even more meaningful picture than it is to us. In the Roman world the family was based on what was calledthe patria potestas, the father power." He then proceeds toemphasize the "father power" in relation to the adoptedchild. Of course, the rights and privileges of the adoptedchild are also significant which he admits, saying, "The person who had been adopted had all the rights of alegitimate son in his new family, and completely lost all rights in his old family. In the eyes of the law he was anew person" (THE LETTERS TO THE GALATIANSAND EPHESIANS, pp. 91, 92).

Charles R. Eerdman says, "The word translated 'adop-tion as sons' is peculiar to Paul. It expresses a particularrelation to God, implying special privileges of access andcommunion and also the rights of inheritance. It is an ideaborrowed from Roman law. According to this provisionone who was a stranger in blood became a member of the family into which he was adopted, and had all therights and privileges which would have been his had hebeen a son by birth" (EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THEEPHESIANS, p. 30). I can well understand what thismeant to the early Christians from the view-point ofassurance—no favoritism from God the Father toward those who became adopted sons, whether they be Jewsor Gentiles.

From Vincent's WORD STUDIES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT we learn that the word "adoption" is from "huios son, and thesis a setting or placing: theplacing one in the position of a son. Mr. Merivale, illus-trating Paul's acquaintance with Roman law, says: 'The process of legal adoption by which the chosen heir be-came entitled not only to the reversion of the propertybut to the civil status, to the burdens as well as therights of the adopter—became, as it were, his other self,one with him . . .' " (p. 708). Vincent proceeds to focusattention upon the union of the father and the adopted son.

In view of the meaning and use of the word "adop-tion" in New Testament times, I do not see how anyonecould exclude an adopted child from the word "chil-dren" in the qualifications of an elder, especially if the father were one who had "brought up" the adopted child inthe "nurture and admonition of the Lord" (Eph. 6:4).

It would follow from this conclusion that just assurely as a child related by blood can disqualify an elder, so may an adopted child.

The qualification of an elder related to his childrenhas to do with his ability to rule those under his juris-prudence. There is both a positive and negative aspectto the qualification. Positively, he must have his chil-dren "in subjection with all gravity"—have "faithfulchildren" or "children that believe" (ASV). Whether theword translated "faithful" relates to the father or the Lord is a point of some controversy, but it hardly seemspossible to me that a father could have a child "in sub-jection with all gravity," if that accountable child werenot in subjection to divine authority. This is furtherconfirmed by the negative aspect of the qualification: "not accused of riot or unruly." The word "unruly"simply means not in submission to duly constitutedauthority. This would include parental, civil, and divineauthority. If the word "children" means one or more inthe positive aspect of the qualification (and I hold thatit does), then it means the same thing in the negativeaspect of the qualification. This means that the individ-ual with only one accountable child (though he mayhave more not yet of accountable age) meets the de-mands of this qualification, if that child is a faithfulChristian. However, if he has two accountable childrenand one is "faithful" and the other is not, he fails thequalification—having "one or more" who is "unruly,"i.e., not submissive to divine authority.

It should be remembered that this qualification has todo with one's ability to rule those under his jurispru-dence, hence, "his own house." A father's "rule" does not extend to another household—not even that of his son or daughter. The rule of elders is limited to thecongregation "which is among you" (1 Pet. 5:2), and therule of a father is limited to his own house. Hence, I donot hold that in every instance children who "stray fromthe truth" after they leave their father's house and establish households of their own constitute a reflection upon the father's ability to rule those under his jurispru-dence. Perhaps other factors besides this particularqualification should be considered in such instances.

AN AMBASSADOR TO THE VATICAN

On November 22,1983, President Reagan signed theState Department Authorization Bill that included anamendment lifting the 1867 prohibition against ex-penditure of funds to support diplomatic relations withthe Vatican. The road is now open for an ambassador tothe Catholic Church. This development represents aserious and dramatic reversal of the long-established

U.S. policy of not having such official relations with theVatican.

We honor and respect our president, but we opposethis action. We think our readers are interested in our views, and those of others, on this controversial issue.

Just what is the Catholic Church? Is it a religion or astate or both? If it is a civil state, then it should stoppretending to be the church. On the other hand, if it isonly a religion, then why official connections with na-tions? Why not also send ambassadors to the headquar-ters of other major religions and denominations of the world?

In providing answers for the above questions, thefollowing quotations may be helpful:

"The fact is that the Vatican is a state-church hybridwhich alternately poses as a church and as a state de-pending on which will prove the most profitable at the moment. The Vatican claims all prerogatives as a state,but denies all responsibilities as a state because it is achurch." (C. Stanley Lowell, Christianity Today, Feb. 1,1960.)

The Roman Church believes it has authority to enterthe political arena and control the affairs of the world.

O. C. Lambert proved this by quoting the following from their own source:

"There is nothing strange in attributing to the Roman Pontiff the fullest authority and power to laybare, a just cause moving him, not only the spiritual butalso the material sword, and so to transfer sovereign-ties, break sceptres, and remove crowns. The canonistsproduce numerous instances when this has been actu-ally done, as when Gregory II deposed the Byzantineemperor Leo III; Gregory VII deposed the emperorHenry IV; Innocent IV in the Council of Lyons deposedthe emperor Frederick II." (Catholic Dictionary, p. 258.)

George W. Cornell, AP Religion Writer, said, "AmongRoman Catholics, bishops had been non-committal prior to Tuesday's formal announcement by the Vati-can, although some have reservations. Jewish leadershave shown no particular concern about it.

"Except for objections by Baptist and Seventh-dayAdventist leaders, most Protestant opposition hascome not from current denominational leaders, butfrom umbrella agencies on the basis of past stands, some not reviewed by denominational representativesfor decades.

"The reactions seemed distinctly mellowed from thestorm of protest that arose when the late PresidentHarry Truman sought to take the same action in 1951,but dropped it."

The difference in the degree of opposition in 1951 and today may be attributed to a change in attitude and conviction among religious leaders. Ours is an age ofcompromise. One is not to say that anyone or anythingis wrong in religion.

According to the Arkansas Baptist Newsmagazine,James T. Draper, Jr., president of the Southern BaptistConvention, called it an "extreme disappointment" andsaid it "violates every rule of reason as it relates tochurch and state." He further stated, "The Vatican con-trols no country so there is absolutely no reason for anyformal tie."

A brief news item in the newspapers on February 8 said: "Rev. Billy Graham, the evangelist, played a behind-the-scenes role in President Reagan's decision to establish formal diplomatic relations with the Vatican,the Rochester Post-Bulletin reported in Rochester, Minn."

So Billy Graham was in the deal. It would be interest-ing to know what his behind-the-scenes role may haveentailed. With no more conviction than he has, we wouldnot be shocked to hear of Graham's endorsement of Catholicism. He doesn't condemn it!

Liberty magazine offered four interesting objectionsto the Vatican appointment:

"1. Diplomatic ties with the Holy See run counter tothe fundamental U.S. concept of separation of churchand state.

"2. Vatican City is really an artificial state. It is exclu-sively the headquarters of a church—the Church ofRome.

"3. It is impossible in practice to differentiate clearlybetween the Pope as head of the Roman CatholicChurch and as head of the Vatican City state.

"4. The manner of the Senate's surprise action favor-ing diplomatic relations with the Holy See seems inap-propriate and a cause for concern."

We now quote from a letter by Travis L. Bishop ofMalvern, Arkansas to the local paper. Having observedthat Christ built His church (Matt. 16:18), and that it isa kingdom that is "not of this world" (John 18:36), hesaid:

"When the great falling away came (I Tim. 4:1), one ofthe first things that the carnally-minded church did wasto start diplomatic adventures with Rome under Con-stantine. Little did he and the following Emperors real-ize the nightmare they had conjured up for when thePope came to rule, freedom became a fading dream.Under that Religious Theocracy the torch of freedomwent entirely out while the dark ages settled over theworld.

"But the flickering fires of the bodies of many mar-tyrs kindled a burning passion for religious and politi-cal independence that could only shine brightly in sepa-ration of church and state. The waves of freedom would wash upon a different shore as multitudes fled the tyr-anny of the Holy See. A new nation was born in thissearch for freedom. My fellow Americans, we cast outthis spirit of popery once. Shall we invite him and hislegions back? See Matthew 12:43-45.

"I know that the Papal head is more than ready to leta U.S. attache into the walls of the Vatican. The spideris always willing for the fly to come into his parlor-why, he'll even invite him to dinner. It is obvious that Mr. Reagan is pleased with what he has done, but re-member: 'A lady from Nigar smiled as she rode on theback of a tiger. The tiger returned with the lady insideand the smile on the face of the tiger.' "

The moves to appoint an ambassador to the Vaticanwere very subtle. Announcement was made in a one-sentence statement. To endeavor to bring about such aradical change in a longstanding national policy with-out public discussion and with no hearings seems to be acircumvention of the democratic process. Such an ap-pointment merits full debate and careful constitutionalscrutiny. It is much too momentous a question to besettled without recorded votes and without opportu-nity for input by interested parties. But we know poli-tics, and remember the percentage of Roman Catholicsin the Congress.

Ironically, about the time our ambassador to the Vati-can was announced, it was reported that the nation ofItaly and the city of Rome were taking steps to break some relations with the Vatican! They have hadenough, while we are just getting started.

I am honored by the request of brother Connie Adamsto write a periodic column for Searching The Scriptures.The magazine has a very fine group of writers. Becauseof it's influence for good, I am glad to contribute whatever I can to the teaching of God's Word to all who will read.

I have chosen to write under the heading, "Bread ofLife". Jesus, being the bread of life on which we are tofeed, means every teaching of our Lord, or that author-ized by Him, is bread of life. This gives a very wide fieldof subjects or themes. As long as it is the teaching,character, or practice of Christ, it is bread of life. In thisinitial article, I want to expand on this thought, whichmay be entitled—

EATING THE BREAD OF LIFE

"Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say untoyou Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; butmy Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. Forthe bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him,Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said untothem, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shallnever hunger; and he that believeth on me shall neverthirst" (John 6:32-35).

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth onme hath everlasting life. I am the bread of life" (John6:47-48).

"I am the living bread which came down from heaven: If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will givefor the life of the world"

"Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the son of man, and drinkhis blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh,and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raisehim up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh anddrinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As theliving Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: sohe that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is thatbread which came down from heaven; not as your fa-thers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of thisbread shall live for ever" (John 6:53-58).

WHAT IS THE BREAD?

Having just miraculously fed a multitude, he said tosome who sought him, because they "did eat. . . andwere filled", "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life,which the son of man shall give unto you" (John 6:27).Jesus pointed to a "meat" different from that for whichthey physically labored, identifying it as a meat "thatendureth unto everlasting life" and given through theSon of man. When the people asked "What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?" Jesus repliedwith "believe on him whom he hath sent," thus pointingto faith in Christ as the meat or bread for which man should labor. He then identifies the "true bread" as "He (A he, not a something) which cometh down fromheaven, and giveth life unto the world" (vs. 33); In other words, Himself (vs. 35).

How One Eats Of This Bread

Jesus said, "I am the bread of life; he that cometh tome shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shallnever thirst." A material illustration of this statement might be, Here is the grainery: he that comes and par-takes of what is therein shall be fed or fully supplied.Eating of the spiritual bread (Christ) involves thesesame conditions. Coming to Christ is a must (Matt.11:28). The comer must be a believer, and believinginvolves more than mental accent (Jno. 12:42; Jas.2:19). The how of eating this bread is expressed thuslyin John 6:40, "that everyone that seeth the Son andbelieveth on him, may have everlasting life". An educa-tional process is involved, "hearing and learning" (vs.44-45), which produces faith (Rom. 10:17).

When Jesus said "The bread that I will give is myflesh, which I will give for the life of the world" (vs. 51),He was referring to his death on the cross. Since believ-ing is equated with eating, then the death of Christmust be believed and accepted in order to have eternallife. "Verily, verily I say unto you, except ye eat of theflesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, hath eternallife; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my fleshis meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed" (vs. 53-55). Here are life-giving ingredients. Jesus further says,"He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwel-leth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sentme, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, evenhe shall live by me. This is that bread which came downfrom heaven" (vs. 56-58). To eat of this bread thatresults in everlasting life is simply a matter of coming toChrist in true gospel obedience.

Continual Eating

Christ is not only the life-giving bread for the redemp-tion of lost, starved, spiritually dead man, but he is thebread that sustains spiritual life. The one who passes"from death unto life" through Christ must continue tofeast on this bread (eat and drink the blood of Christ) orhe will weaken and die. The new born babe in Christ must desire and feed upon "the sincere milk of the word,that ye may grow thereby" (1 Pet. 2:2), and "grow ingrace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and SaviorJesus Christ" (2 Pet. 3:16).

Our Lord says "Abide in me, and I in you. As thebranch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in thevine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. . . for with-out me ye can do nothing" (Jno. 15:4-5). Continual feast-ing upon Christ is a matter of abiding in Him, His wordabiding in us, remaining faithful in the midst of purg-ing, and bearing fruit (Jno. 15:) Indeed, Christ is thebread or meat of life. Eating and drinking involves anobedient, living, active faith. Faithfulness in study,prayer, worship, endurance, separateness from theworld, and diligence in every good work is eating anddrinking of the life-giving bread from heaven.

(The following is the first of three articles of a sermonpreached by brother Puckett at Paden City, W. Va. nottoo long before his death. He had not planned to preachthis sermon on that occasion but got started in thatdirection and just kept going. Thanks to Paul Rockwellof Paden City for supplying the tape and to Carol Smithof Xenia, Ohio for transcribing the sermon. We haveomitted some preliminary remarks and we regret thatthe tape ran out before brother Puckett finished. How-ever, the major thrust of his speech will be presented,—Weldon E. Warnock)

There are those who are now holding to the idea thatchildren of God can be wrong in their lives and in theirpractices and in their beliefs, and that they can even livein these errors and die in them, and that God will takethe imputed righteousness of Christ, the perfectness ofChrist, take it and apply unto us who are over here, andaccept us as being righteous because Jesus Christ wasrighteous, even though we are unrighteous. My friends,that is not what the Bible teaches. And such a supposi-tion is fraught with all kinds of dangers.

I

Now it is true that Jesus Christ lived perfectly. Andhe was absolutely sinless and by his sinless perfectionhe was qualified to serve as the sacrifice for our sins, forhe was the Lamb of God without spot, without blemish.And, not only that, he is thereby qualified to become forus our Advocate with the Father and the minister in the role of our great High Priest. But the perfection of Christ is not, somehow, transferred to us. I know thatnone of us are perfect, but all of us will sometime stum-ble and fall. But God's grace is provided for us by meansof the atonement that Jesus Christ, the perfect Onemade, a system whereby we who are guilty of sin cancome to the forgiveness of our sin and stand innocent inthat forgiveness.

But the righteousness that is attributed unto us isthat righteousness that comes when our sins have been remitted, not while we are still continuing in them, butwhen our sins have been forgiven. And any thing that isnecessary for the forgiveness of sins is essential untobeing accounted righteous. And in order that we mightsee that, and this is not my subject, I'm just giving youa free sermon before I get started. But in order that wemight see that, in Romans, chapter 4, the apostle Pauldeclares that David describeth the righteousness which is apart from works, and how did he describe it? "Say-ing, blessed is the man whose iniquities are forgiven andwhose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin" (Rom. 4:6-8). Now, to whom isit that the Lord does not impute sin? Who is the man towhom the Lord does not impute sin? It is the manwhose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are cov-ered. That's what the word of God says about it and that's what I believe!

But this man whose iniquities are forgiven and whosesins are covered does not have sin imputed to him be-cause of this forgiveness. And since he must not havecharged to him because of their being forgiven, hestands in the same condition as if he had never commit-ted sin. Had he never committed sin he would have been declared innocent, righteous, not guilty. And now thathis sins have been forgiven, he can be declared innocent,righteous, not guilty. It is he who is righteous becausethrough the redemption that is in Christ, he has come tothe forgiveness of his sins. And whether he be aliensinner of erring child of God, my friend, whatever isnecessary for the forgiveness of sins is necessary for theimputation of righteousness.

Now we could spend the rest of our time tonight andtomorrow night and the next night on this subject, dealing with the various facets that belong to it andwith some of the sophistry that is used in connectionwith it. But I want you to see the truth regardless ofwhat people may say about imputed righteousness, ac-cording to the word of God.

As given here in Romans, chapter 4, a person to whomthe Lord does not impute sin is the person whose iniqui-ties are forgiven and whose sins are covered. And this isthe person to whom he imputes righteousness, apartfrom works. So if you want righteousness imputed untoyou, you are going to have to come to the forgiveness ofyour sins and if you are an alien sinner, you are going tohave to come in compliance with those conditions ofpardon by which one who is an alien obtains forgive-ness. If you are an erring child of God, you are going tohave to come unto the forgiveness of your sins by com-pliance of the conditions upon which our sins are for-given. And so we need to learn those conditions andrealize the necessity of walking day by day in the humil-ity of spirit and of soul and of mind, complying withevery condition of pardon that we may stand free of sinand have righteousness imputed unto us.

II

Now, what is righteousness? Words are the signs ofideas. We need to know what words mean. The word,"righteousness," is used here in the Scripture as a termthat means "the investiture of righteousness or ac

cepted as righteous or justification." A second definitionis "the state or condition of being as such an one oughtto be." And a third is "innocence, not guilty, acquitted,pardoned." These are definitions of the term "righteousness." Now the person who is righteous is onewho is accounted not guilty. The word, "impute," simplymeans "to account, to regard, to deem." One is regarded ordeemed innocent, not guilty, either when he has never committed a sin or when, having committed a sin, his sinsare forgiven. And so, while the Bible talks about the possibility of one being righteous through two different processes, one by law, the other through faith, to be accounted righteous by law would demand sinless perfection of us so that we would never have violateddivine law at any point, but would be as inno-cent and asperfect in our doing that which is right as was the Son ofGod, himself. None of us can so be accounted righteousbecause all have sinned and come short of the glory ofGod.

So if we are ever accounted righteous it will have to bethrough faith and we are accounted righteous through faithwhen, by the faith, we through faith, come in compliancewith the conditions on which forgiveness of sins is bestowed. When our sins are forgiven, than we are innocent, not guilty, having been acquitted or pardoned ofour sins. That is what it means to be accounted righteous orto have righteousness imputed unto you.

Now you watch what I am telling you, brethren. Thisvery position is not simply an innocent position that brethren assume. It is part of Calvinian theology. It has been the teaching of Protestant denominationalism down through the years. While some would deny it's logicalproof, other readily accept it. And some among us havealready begun to accept it. But the logical end of that kindof teaching that, here, we can live in sin, be imperfect, andthus continue in our wrong doing with-out compliancewith the conditions of pardon, and God will take the perfection of Christ and say, "Well, he is a Christian. I will put it over here with him," will yield as its ultimate fruitthe doctrine of the impossibility of apostasy. It can't keep from it.

Already, some are beginning to take that position thatwe are always in grace, in the grace of God. Well, thatexpression can be used in different senses. True, those who are Christians have come into that relation-shipwhich grace has established. In that sense they continuein it. True, we are under the influence and direction of the

gospel and in that sense we are under the grace of God.But when we do wrong even as chil-dren of God, we donot stand in divine favor for the wrong we do until we getforgiveness of it. Now we are not again thrown back intothe world but we are still covenant children of God in that sense—are continuing in the covenant of grace, the gospelof Christ, but we cannot go out and continue in sin without being guilty. When we are guilty God will chargesin against us. The only hope that we can have is to getforgiveness of it. Now that's what the Bible teaches.

Now this idea that Christians can get out here and go offthe straight and narrow, start practicing things that are erroneous without divine authority, and that God

will just continue to hold them in divine favor, that they canlive in error and die in it, and every thing is all right, iscompletely out of harmony with what the Bible teaches.And it's going to encourage a lot of people to continue intheir wrong doing, thinking it's all right.

And that is exactly what Jeremiah was talking about aswe quoted him last night when he talked about those thatwould say that no evil would come upon you, no harmwill come upon you, peace be unto you. And God said thatthey would encourage them to continue in their sin andwould not turn from the error of their way. If you don'tpoint out what is wrong, why then, they will never beencouraged to turn from the error of their way. Now this emphasis that is now being placed upon this has for it's background something that you should keep in view thatyou may have it in proper perspective.

—To be continued

PROOF TEXTS AND DEFINITIONS

Today those who endeavor to bring lost souls toChrist are plagued by finding so many who, eventhough perhaps in their 20s, have already been divorcedand remarried a number of times. This is due in part tothe "no fault" divorce law that has now been ratified in nearly all fifty states. In most large cities an uncon-tested divorce may be obtained for less than $100.00.

What should we do about the people who are in thiscondition? Should we "overlook" all of these adulterous relationships and, like the ostrich, hide our head in thesand and hope the problem will go away? It is not going away. If anything, it will probably get worse.

In giving some of the reasons for the decline and fallof the old Roman Empire, Gibbon said it was: "Therapid increase of divorce: the undermining of the dig-nity and sanctity of the home, which is the basis ofhuman society" (Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the RomanEmpire, 1788). It appears that this is the exact road wehere in America are traveling today.

In this article, I want us to read all of the New Testa-ment passages that actually deal with divorce and re-marriage. Later on in our study, I will deal with somepassages that brethren "think" apply to these issues.Matthew 5:32—"But I say unto you that whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornica-tion, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoevershall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery."Matthew 19:9—"And I say unto you, Whosoever shallput away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall

marry another, committeth adultery: whoso mar-rieth her which is put away doth commit adultery."Mark 10:11-12—"And he said unto them, Whosoevershall put away his wife, and marry another, committethadultery against her. And if a woman shall put away herhusband, and be married to another, she committethadultery."Luke 16:18—"Whosoever putteth away his wife, andmarrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoevermarrieth her that is put away from her husband com-mitteth adultery."Romans 7:2-3—"For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth;but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law ofher husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, sheshall be married to another man, she shall be called anadulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free fromthe law; so that she is no adulteress, though she bemarried to another man." I Corinthians 7:10-11—"And unto the married I command, yet not I but the Lord, Let not the wifedepart from her husband; But and if she depart, let herremain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband:and let not the husband put away his wife."

Definition of Words

Besides having before us the passages that deal withsubject, I also want to define some of the "key words"that we will be discussing in this study. You will proba-bly need to refer to these definitions from time to time.

"Put Away"

According to Mr. Joseph Henry Thayer in his Greek-English Lexicon, the words "put away" are from theGreek word apoluo and mean, when used to divorce, "to dismiss from the house, to repudiate" (Thayer, Page66). W. E. Vine in his Dictionary of New TestamentWords (Volume 3, Pages 235-236) defines apoluo as, "Toput asunder, to send away, Matthew 19:6, Mark 10:9."Sometimes people confuse the "putting away" with the writing of divorcement. Even though both are involved in that which Jesus was discussing, the word "divorce"is a technical term that is used in the English languageimplying the right, according to civil law, to remarry."(1) Legal dissolution of marriage; (2) Complete separa-tion" (Webster's New World Dictionary, Page 181).

"Fornication"

The word "fornication" is from the Greek word por-neia and means, "prop, of illicit sexual intercourse ingeneral" (Thayer, Page 532). "Prostitution, unchastity, fornication, of every kind of unlawful sexual inter-course" (Arndt and Gingrich's Greek-English Lexicon,Page 699). "Which is rare in classical Greek originallymeant 'prostitution,' 'fornication,' but came to be ap-plied to unlawful sexual intercourse in general" (Moul-ton and Millikan, Page 529). In the New Testament theword porneia ("fornication") is sometimes used for "adultery," as it involves married people; "homosexual-ity," illicit sexual relations with those of the same sex;"incest," sexual intercourse with family members; and "bestiality," as one tries to satisfy his sexual desirewith animals.

"Adultery"

The word "adultery" is from the Greek word moi-cheuo. Its basic meaning is, "to commit adultery with,to have unlawful intercourse with another's wife" (Thayer, Page 417). In the Old Testament the word"adultery" was used almost exclusively of all kinds ofillicit acts. In fact, according to Young's Analytical Con-cordance, the word "fornication" was only five (5) timesin the Old Testament, and each time it was used in afigurative sense to refer to the illicit spiritual actions ofGod's people (Ezekiel 16:15, 26,29; II Chronicles 21:11;and Isaiah 23:17). Although in the New Testament theword "adultery" is generally used to denote illicit sexualintercourse with another's spouse, it is sometimes usedin (in context) to include all people, cf. Matthew 5:28, IIPeter 2:14.

"Bound"

The word "bound" is from the Greek word deo and means "to bind by a legal or moral tie, as marriage,Romans 7:2; I Corinthians 7:23,39" (Bagster's Analyti-cal Greek Lexicon, Page 89). "To bind, i.e. put underobligation, sc. of law, duty, etc. to be bound of one; of awife, Romans 7:27, 39" (Thayer, Page 131). As you canobserve from the definition of the word, the "binding" isa "spiritual binding" in the mind of God. The same ideais set forth in the word "joined" in Matthew 19:6. "Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. Whattherefore God hath joined together, let no man putasunder." The word "joined in this passage is from theGreek word sunzeugnumi and means, "to yoke to-gether, is used metaphorically of union in wedlock" (W.

E. Vine, Page 616). Since it is God's law that binds, only God is able to release from "the obligation of law,"

"Bondage"

The word "bondage" found in I Corinthians 7:15 isused by some brethren to discuss the "marriage bond."The Greek word used in I Corinthians 7:15 is dedoulo-tai, and is "3rd person, singular, perfect, indicative,passive of douloo, to be under restraint, I Corinthians7:15" (Bagster, Page 85, 107). The word douloo, or aderivation thereof, is used 133 times in the New Testa-ment; and unless it is so used in I Corinthians 7:15, it isnever once used to mean "the marriage bond." It means,"To make a slave of, reduce to bondage. In I Corinthians

7:15 to be under bondage, held by constraint of law ornecessity, in some matter" (Thayer Page 158). "Origi-nally the lowest term on the scale of servitude, camealso to mean one who gives himself up to the will of another" (W. E. Vine, Volume 1, Page 139). (I will have a complete lesson on this point later, jts).

Context Determines the Meaning

As you will observe from the next three charts, eventhough we must have the proper definition of a word, itsmeaning must always be determined by its usage in thecontext.

HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?

In San Salvador drunk drivers can be shot. In South

Africa the penalty is ten years in jail and a $3,800 fine.

In Turkey, a drunk driver is often taken 20 miles from

home and forced to walk back. In Australia the drunk

driver's name is listed in the local newspaper in a

column with the headline, "He's drunk and in jail".

That information is included in a 1983 Random

House publication entitled, "How Much Is Toe Much?

The Effects of Social Drinking" by Leonard Gross.

The author of the book is not a teetotaler. He is a social drinker. But the facts he has amassed in this well documented work presents a mighty good case for ab-stinence.

Some of the observations presented include:

1. The effect of alcohol on nerve cells is to dissolve fat, increase fluids, and make the cells temporarily inac-tive. Every time you take a drink you are putting someof your brain cells temporarily out of commission.Drinking at moderate levels can impair the drinker's brain power when he is sober. The threshold betweenmoderate and heavy drinking should probably be abouthalf the alcohol consumption that is normally consid- ered to be such. Gross views consumption beyond twodrinks a day as in the "heavy" range.
2. Perceptual and attentive mechanisms are affectedafter just one drink. This is the primary cause of alcoholrelated accidents. It's not the drunk that's weavingdown the road who causes most such accidents. It's the impaired driver who simply fails to see the red light,pedestrian, motorcyclist, or curve. Such a driver is not aware of his problem because he obviously doesn't know that he fails to see things. With a blood alcoholconcentration of .05% (half that of legal intoxication inmost states), the driver has increased his accident prob-ability by 100 percent. At .10%, he has increased it by600-800 percent. At .15%, by 2,500 percent.
3. Widely publicized studies which indicates thatthose who drink in moderate amounts have lower mor-tality rates than those who do not drink at all leave agreat deal to be desired in terms of research and a fairand adequate conclusion. In all such studies, the all-important question: who were the abstainers who diedprematurely? Were they true abstainers who neverdrank? Or were many of them former drinkers who wereno longer drinking for reasons of health? When thisquestion is considered it is found that former drinkers

who had quit account for most of the abstainers' excess deaths. The reason abstainers have appeared to com-pare so poorly to moderate drinkers in mortality tablesis "because unhealthy former drinkers are loading thecategory."

"Said Don Cahalon in an article in the journal of theAmerican Heart Association: 'These findings would in-cline one to be cautious about concluding that smallamounts of alcohol taken frequently tend to stave offheart attacks.' "

4. Alcohol produces an immediate effect on the liverthat is actually visible under a microscope. A single drymartini substantially increases the fat in the liver. 5. Enormous quantities of evidence have established that drinkers contract cancer more frequently than non-drinkers more or less in direct proportion to theamounts they drink. 6. Most studies show that anything more than twodrinks a day raises blood pressure and contributes tohypertension which increases in proportion to the aver-age daily consumption of alcohol. 7. Indications are that even small amounts of alcohol imbibed by pregnant women, including those who aren't aware they've conceived, could produce somedamage to the child. 8. While wine is portrayed as a benign drink by com-parison to spirits, still, a person drinking a 5 ounce glassof wine is consuming just as much alcohol as if he weredrinking a standard highball. 9. Alcohol beverages are ranked second in terms oftheir actual annual contribution to the number of deaths in the U.S. They contribute to 100,000 deaths,exceeded only by smoking, which accounts for 150,000.
1. There is a trend throughout the field of alcoholresearch toward implicating smaller and smalleramounts of alcohol in adverse consequences of drink-ing. For example, a new report has appeared to theeffect that even moderate amounts of alcohol damagesthe bone marrow, which in turn affects the production of red blood cells.

A quotation in the book from alcohol researcherErnest Noble is appropriate, I think: "If my cognitivestuff tells me that my social drinking is going to affect my ability to conceptualize, I 'm not going to drink whenI'm going to do any business. I won't drink in the daytime, even a beer for lunch. My advice is not to drinkat all in situations when you have to use your highmental faculties. If I wanted to be sinister, I'd get theman with whom I'm doing business the best stuff todrink, and I'd order a Perrier water. Because I'd havethe edge on that person. That's what they do in Las Vegas. It's not because they're generous that they give out all those drinks."

No wonder the Scripture says: "It is not for kingsto drink wine; nor for princes strong drink. Lestthey drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted" (Prov. 31:4,5).

"Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but letus watch and be sober" (I Thess. 5:6).

GOD'S ORDERS FOR PARENTS

We have observed previously that parental duties aretwo-fold—physical and moral-spiritual. Parental needsare also two-fold—knowledge and wisdom. First, knowl-edge has to do with the child's natural bent, turn, or inclination, or aptitude as to strength, weakness, men-tal ability and emotional reactions and stability. A mo-ment's reflection by any careful observer of children,particularly a parent of two or more children, revealsthat no two are identical and therefore cannot be placedrealistically in the precise mold of treatment in everydetail without creating lifelong emotional problems forthe child and probably, unwittingly, for the parent. Sec-ond, profitable parental knowledge deals with variousfacets of the child's physical, mental and emotional en-vironment. Well did Tennyson say, "I am a part of allthat I have met." Far-reaching effects are necessarilyborn of child's contacts with the regular in-house reali-ties of parents, siblings, television, radio, recordings, reading, etc., along with the influences of teachers andassociates in school, church, scouts, and even parents ofplaymates.

Coupled with knowledge is that wisdom set forth inJames 3:17 as "first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easyto be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, withoutvariance, without hypocrisy." Every one of these quali-ties is indispensable to the parent who recognizes his orher responsibilities to his or her offspring.

When one reads the New Testament he may beamazed at how few commands or exhortations, are ad-dressed specifically to Christians as parents. We shouldremember, however, that God need not say anythingbut one time for it to be his word and thereby expresshis will.

There are two passages from apostle Paul's pen which contain specific "no-no's" for parents. Ephesians 6:4says, "Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath"and Colossians 3:21 says, "Fathers, provoke not yourchildren, that they be not discouraged." The fact thatthe Holy Spirit addresses fathers implies that fathermay be directly responsible for either of two forbiddenactions—the unnecessary anger of his child on the onehand, or the unnecessary loss of courage by his child onthe other. Too often a parent angrily addresses the childonly to find that fire added to fire makes a greater fire.Though a parent may provoke a child by a deed done orleft undone as well as by a word uttered or left undone

as well as by a word uttered or left unspoken, it is the

angry word that usually brings forth anger in the child.

I like the following observation on Ephesians 6:4 re

garding "Provoke not your children to wrath" from

Albert Barnes' Notes on the New Testament, pp.

118, 119: "That is, by unreasonable commands; byneedless severity; by the manifestation of an-ger. So govern them, and so punish them—ifpunishment is necessary—that they shall notlose their confidence in you, but shall loveyou. The apostle here has hit on the verydanger to which parents are most exposed inthe government of their children. It is that ofsouring their temper; of making them feelthat the parent is under the influence of an-ger, and that it is right for them to be so too.This is done, (1) When the commands of a parent are unreasonable and severe. The spirit of a child then becomes irritated, andhe is "discouraged," Col. in. 21. (2) When aparent is evidently excited when he punishesa child. The child then feels (a) that if hisfather is angry, it is not wrong for him to beangry; and (b) the very fact of anger in aparent kindles anger in his bosom—just as itdoes when two men are contending. If hesubmits in the case, it is only because theparent is the strongest, not because he isright, and the child cherishes anger, while heyields to power. There is no principle of pa-rental government more important than thata father should command his own temperwhen he inflicts punishment. He should pun-ish a child not because he is angry, but be-cause it is right; not because it has become amatter of personal contest, but because Godrequires that he should do it and the welfareof the child demands it. The moment when a child sees that a person punishes him underthe influence of anger, that moment the childwill be likely to be angry too—and his angerwill be as proper as that of the parent. Andyet how often is punishment inflicted in thismanner? And how often does the child feel that the parent punished him simply becauseit was right! and how often is the mind of achild left with a strong conviction that wronghas been done him by the punishment which he has received, rather than with repentancefor the wrong that he has himself done!"

Temperaments Vary Greatly Among andWithin Individuals

We need to remember that the same heat that har-dens clay melts butter. Everybody knows that the tem-perament of one child may be different from that ofanother child and may manifest itself because of paren-tal treatment. Reactions of different children vary, asdo reactions of the same child to the same or different stimuli. Like the clock pendulum's extremity swing, the temper of the same child, may reflect anger today as oneextreme and loss of self-confidence tomorrow as the other. In one instance antagonism is stirred like boilingwater inside a tank. Reacting to heat from beneath, itproduces steam which bursts the container. On theother hand the same water in the same tank may befrozen so hard that the tank bursts. I have known some children so enraged by a provocative parent that theyresolved to break their parents' hearts in retaliation. (Idiscouraged one teenager from leaving home becauseher parents were hyper-critical of her, majoring only inwhat they considered faults and never seeing any goodqualities in their growing daughter.) Discouraged byundiscerning or uncaring parents some youngsters es-cape the trap by putting bullets through their ownheads. Parents need to study carefully the implicationsof Colossians 3:21 and Ephesians 6:4.

I have preached on the radio, perhaps as much asany body in the church. I know something of the "rules"and arrangements of radio preaching. There are manystations on which you CANNOT preach the truth andcondemn error. I have never preached on such a station.But it is common knowledge that one can't preach on anation-wide radio hook-up where sectarianism is con-demned. It is common knowledge that one who contem-plates such a program must "program himself" to backoff and ease up and soft pedal and compromise thetruth. But our brethren who preach and teach nation-wide admit that such a compromise with denomina-tions is present in their work.

WORLD RADIO (Mail bag section of World Radio News) reported as follows:

"Clearwater Highlands, California . . . We heardyour program this evening for the first time, and I mustsay our hearts were thrilled with the message on the 'New Birth'. We are Baptist and must say that yoursermon lined up with our beliefs 100%."

I don't know what World Radio said in the sermon. Perhaps they said baptism was NOT essential to salva-tion. Or maybe they said water didn't mean water. Orcould they have said baptism is an outward sign of aninward grace? I say, I don't know what they said but IDO KNOW what they said TWASN'T SO or it wouldnot have lined up with Baptist beliefs.

Direct Mail Evangelism (Letter from Don Dewelt,

Christian Church preacher said this:)

"The brothers of Hurst, Texas are of the group who donot use the instrument in accompaniment with theirsinging. We are in full agreement that neither of ourconvictions will be violated in this effort to reach the lost world."

The only convictions these people have on both sidesis their conviction that their convictions should be SUP-PRESSED in their efforts to compromise the truth.

G. VINCENT GASKILL (Gospel Advocate March 23,1961) reported: (Commenting on signing ofcontract to televise the Herald of Truth)

"This in itself is quite an achievement, in view ofthe dominant Catholic influence here; which in the past had been exerted against the Churches of Christbecause of some unfortunate radio preaching. To theknowledge of this writer there has been no opposition tothe Herald of Truth program by the Catholics, or anyother denomination."

Were the Catholics and denominations promised in advance that they would not be condemned? Whywouldn't they oppose the Herald of Truth IF THETRUTH WERE PREACHED?

WORLD RADIO (Germany, Letter from a YoungCatholic Priest) reported:

"Often I have been listening to your sermons and contemplations over the radio and have taken materialfrom them for my morning and evening lessons and alsofor my sermons. I am yet a young priest (age 31—3years priest) and have come to realize through manyradio sermons that one should and must use the HolyScriptures more often. Certainly your help would be abrotherly service to a young fellow-brother."

He had listened to sermons often yet hadn't learnedthat he was not saved. In fact he thought he was afellow-brother.

I moved to Harriman, Tennessee several years ago and started preaching daily on the radio. I preached twoweeks and had to go away for a meeting. The preacher Isucceeded was still in town and we asked him to fill-in for me while I was away. He went to the station and when he had finished his sermon the announcer asked him into the studio. "You don't agree with Grider's preaching, do you? he was asked. "Yes I do, we justdon't approach the subject the same way." said thepreacher. Then the announcer said: "You don't ap-proach it at all. I have listened to you seven days a weekfor three years and I didn't know that you thought onehad to be in the church of Christ to be saved. But I learned from Grider in two days that such was his be-lief."

Send all News Items to: Connie W. Adams, P.O. Box 69, Brooks, KY 40109

VERNON LOVE, Box 742, Tarpon Springs, FL 33589—We beganwork with the church at 570 E. Orange St. in Tarpon Springs onAugust 1,1983. They had never had a full time preacher before, but itis going well. One has been baptized and several non-members areattending. A Bible correspondence course advertised in the paper iscreating some interest. Some members are doing personal work. We have also been busy with correspondence for the brethren in thePhilip-pines. I am grateful that some churches in the U.S. are supporting faithful men there to proclaim the gospel. I would beglad to put interested brethren in touch with worthy men needing support. We had a discussion on marriage and divorce on February 20and will have a lectureship in April.

JAMES W. ADAMS, 1402 Robinwood Dr., Lufkin, TX 75901— I ceased full time local work on January 1st. We have purchased aresidence in Lufkin and have identified with the Timberland Dr. con-gregation. I shall be holding several meetings each year, doing supplypreaching, teaching Bible classes, and hopefully doing some writing which I have been neglecting. I am presently teaching two adult Bibleclasses at Timberland Drive, preaching on Sunday nights until Junefor Loop 287 here in Lufkin and have just concluded a short meeting at Mound and Starr in Nacogdoches. I shall conduct four or five moremeetings this year. I feel certain I shall have more to do than I can getaround to doing, but I will enjoy being free of the technical details andresponsibilities of full time work. On December 31 I concluded fiftyyears of gospel preaching and 48 years of full time local work. Myhealth is good and I think my mind yet alert, though some mightconsider that a debatable subject. At present, peace, happiness, and areasonable degree of usefulness in the Lord's service seem very attrac-tive.

DON MARTIN, 105 Smith St., Clute, TX 77531— I have now moved back to Texas to work with the church meeting at 343 South Main in Clute. Clute is on the Texas Gulf coast about 40 miles south of Houston. Thus far we have had 5 baptisms and 8 confessionsof public sin. This is indicative of the kind of people among whomwe are working—sincere, open-minded people. The church is overseen by three good elders and served by four conscientious deacons. The potential is good in this populous area which has the world's largest refinery in Dow Chemical. We have an unusually large percentage of young couples most of whom are interested in spiritual matters and advanced studies. When in the Brazosport area, be sure to worship with us.

GARY FISHER, 112 E. 35 St., Jasper, IN 47546—After preaching for the church in Galena, Indiana for 3 1/2 years, I am now working with the Duff congregation in the Jasper area. Galenawas my first full time work and the church helped and encouraged me while overlook-ing my inexperienced mistakes. The Duff church is 7 miles Southwest of Jasper and has about 40 in Sunday morningattendance. To my knowledge it is the only church of Christ inDubois County (pop. 35,000). The area is predominantly German Catholic. If you know anyone you would like for me to contact and encourage spiritually in Jasper, Huntingburg, English, Tell City,Boonville, Petersburg or Washington, please contact me. Rememberus when traveling. We are 25 miles from the Patoka Lake area and about 2/3 of the way from Louisville to Evansville, only 10 miles off of I 64. Call Jerry Whitsitt (683-3386) for details of directions and times of meetings.

JOE R. PRICE, 1053 N. 1390 W., Layton, Utah 84041— February, 1984 marked nine months with the Kaysville, Utah church. During this time we have baptized four and 10 have moved into join with us. Several Bible studies are under way by myself and other Christians

here. We have 28 members with a Sunday morning attendance of 38

40. The church has been able recently to pick up part of my support.This August we will have Connie W. Adams here for a meeting withfuture meetings planned with Hoyt Houchen (August, 1985) and LeonGoff (August, 1986). Unity of purpose has generated enthusiasm.Should your travel plans bring you through northern Utah, we arelocated 25 miles north of Salt Lake City and 15 miles south of Ogden,on I-15. Take the Kaysville exit off I-15, go west about 1/2 mile, thenturn left onto Flint. We meet on Sundays at 9 A.M. for worship, 10

A.M. for Bible classes and 11 A.M. for a second worship service. Wemeet Wed. nights at 7:30. For more information, call me at 801-546-6216.

YOUNG PREACHER NEEDS HELP DEE BOWMAN, 808 Fresa Rd., Pasadena, TX 77502—As many of you know, several people have been left with financial difficulties as aresult of the recent demise of the RELIGIOUS EMPLOYEES ASSO-CIATION, a group insurance plan administered by Garrett StreetAssociates, from Madison, Tennessee. DALE HENDRICKS, a fine young preacher and son of Roger Hendricks, a well respected preacher among us, has been left with a huge debt as a result of the bankruptcyof the Tennessee firm. His total expenses not covered by the insurancehe thought he had amounted to $14,800. Of this amount he has beenabove to pay about $4,000, leaving a balance of $10,800.

It would be a fine thing if people everywhere could help Dale and his family through this hard time. It is hard enough that he has faced twosurgeries (one for his wife, Judy, another for his young son, Chad), buthow sad that after having paid in over $3,600 in premiums, he hasbeen able to collect nothing from it. Will you help?

Dale said to me, "Though we don't feel responsible for creating theproblem, we are certainly responsible for the payment of these debtsand are determined to pay them." I believe him to be entirely worthyof our help. Brethren, "let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but indeed and in truth." If you can help, please send any amount to: DaleHendricks, 716 S. 8th St., Nederland, Texas. You can call him at (409)722-8331.

AN INSIDE LOOK AT DAILY LIFE IN THE PHILIPPINES

(Editor's note: The following report is lifted from a letter written by amature, seasoned preacher in a large metropolitan area in the Philip-pines. Because of the political situation there and the fact that manycopies of this paper are circulated each month in that land, we with-hold his name.)

"Today, there is no sight for improvement in the life of the people,but instead, the closing of factories, business enterprises continue tolay off their employees. It is not quite safe to go out at night. Snatch-ing, holdups of banks often happen. The government is facing terribleproblems. Unless this Catholic nation will turn to the living God inheaven, they will not find the right solution (Prov. 3:6; Deut. 7:12-13).The government's move in order to pacify the agitation of the masses isto publish in the papers that helps from other countries are forth-coming. There is no specific date for the coming of these helps. Some-one asked 'What will you do with the grass when the horse is alreadydead?'

Our Christian faith is now put to the test. We are encouraged bystudying the life of the apostle Paul who experienced abundance butalso hardships. He survived them all and did not hesitate to shout tothe world that he was triumphant in his service to the Lord (Rom.8:35-39; 2 Tim. 4:6-8). Please remember us in your prayers that trialsof any kind will not deter us from doing what we have committed to do for Jesus."

Page 17

DEBATES SMITH-DEAVER DEBATE ON BENEVOLENCE

All agreements and propositions have been signed for a religiousdiscussion between Roy C. Deaver and J.T. Smith to be conducted inthe church building in Gainesboro, Tennessee, located on MurrayStreet. The dates are April 23-26, 1984. For information on lodging either contact the church in Gainesboro at (615)268-9675, or P.O. Box341, Gainesboro, TN 38562.

On April 23-24 J.T. Smith will affirm that "The Scriptures teachthat God has placed the responsibility for orphan care on individual Christians." Roy C. Deaver will deny.

On April 25-26 Roy C. Deaver will affirm "The Scriptures teach that a congregation, from its treasury, may (has the right to) contribute to(send funds to, render assistance to) a home for orphans." J.T. Smithwill deny.

Roy C. Deaver is associated with Tennessee Bible College inCookeville, Tennessee and is an experienced debater, lecturer andwriter. J.T. Smith is a native son of Putnam County, Tennessee andreared in and around Cookeville. He is an experienced debater andpreacher and writes a column for this paper. This debate is perhaps thefirst of its kind in this area of the country. We urge brethren to attendand spread the word.

MOSELEY—GIBSON DEBATE ON APOSTACY

The following propositions will be debated April 23-24 in BeaverDam, Kentucky.April 23—"The Scriptures teach that it is impossible for a child of God to so sin as to be finally lost." James Gibson, pastor of the BeaverDam Bible Baptist Church will affirm this, while Mark Moseley,evangelist of the Beaver Dam church of Christ will deny. April 24—"The Scriptures teach that a child of God can so sin as to be lost."Mark Moseley will affirm and James Gibson will deny.

April 23 the discussion will be held in the building of the BeaverDam Bible Baptist Church. April 24 the discussion will be held in thebuilding of the Beaver Dam church of Christ. Sessions begin at 7 P.M.

Preachers Needed GATESVILLE TEXAS—A good family has moved to this countyseat town of 6,500 people. They presently are driving into Waco forservices but wish to begin a congregation in Gatesville. The brother isa pharmacist and his wife works for the U.S. Postal Service. FortHood is nearby. Support would have to be raised. Should anyone beinterested in coming to help, please contact Paul D. Stringer, Rt. 2,Box 230 A, Gatesville, TX 76528.

GALLATIN, TENNESSE—The Southeast church of Christ, 165 Witherspoon Avenue, is looking for a full time man to work with thecongregation. The church has about 35 members and is able to provide about $500 per month support. Gallatin is located about 30 milesnortheast of Nashville. If interested, please write to the church or call

(615) 451-2667, 451-1582, or 451-2750.

GULFPORT, MISSISSIPPI—The Morris Road church is in need of a full time preacher. We are not far from Keesler Air Base. Most ofthe support must be raised elsewhere. Contact Leroy Henry, 603Rosemary Dr., Gulfport, MS 39501. Phone (601) 896-6312.

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA—The church meeting at 9923 Sunny Cline Dr. in Baton Rouge is in need of a preacher. For information contact Gerald L. Wise, 3246 Winnipeg Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70819 or call (504) 272-9820.

PREACHER AVAILABLE CAROL BATES, 3114 N. 18th, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho 83814—For the past five years I have been engaged in secular work but I amvery much interested in resuming full time preaching. For 2 1/2 of the five years I worked and at the same time preached every Sundayfor a small congregation. I preached full time for 13 years prior tocoming to Coeur d'Alene. I am 46. For anyone interested, I would behappy to furnish further information and references. Phone (208) 667-7922.

DEATH COMES TO THOMAS OSCAR OGLESBY

On January 24, 1984 Thomas Oscar Oglesby passed from thisearthly life. He is survived by a loyal wife of 48 years, Eunice Oglesby; three sons, Harold, Tom and Don; a daughter, Helen; their spouses; hisown sisters and brother and a host of grandchildren, friends andbrethren in Christ. While he was not widely known outside the Pensa-cola, Florida area, brethren there knew him as a perceptive, diligentBible student and as a man of courage, hard work, quiet determinationand selflessness. All his children and their spouses are faithfulChristians. When the institutional battle heated up, he was quick tosee the fallacy of liberalism and was forced by his conscience to aheart-rending separation from friends and brethren of many years andfrom a congregation where he had served as both a deacon and anelder.

Randy Pickup and Sam Hastings spoke words of comfort to thefamily and a large crowd of friends and fellow saints who gathered forthe graveside service in a chilling wind and rain. We will meet again inHeaven.

Tom Oglesby Hohenwald, TN 38462

PREACHER LOSING SOME SUPPORT

We have learned that Keith Clayton, who is doing such good work inVermont, has recently lost $200 a month of his support and is about tolose $150 more. It is urgent that this good man be allowed to continuehis fruitful work in New England. You may write him at 55 East St.,

Bristol, VT 05443, or call (802) 453-2593.

IN THE NEWS THIS MONTH BAPTISMSRESTORATIONS(Taken from bulletins and papers received by the editor)	299 111