Watchman Archives

By definition, the Book of Genesis is a book of Beginnings. Included in the list of beginnings in the book must be the beginning of faith. Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Creation is the beginning of the proof that God is. We must take the rest of the evidence and believe what the Bible says about the reward of the believer. There is no need to alter in any way the story of creation. It stands as the great testimony of God concerning our own personal origin and our perpetual destination.

Doctrinal matters, brethren, are in the public domain. No subject is taboo; no theme is forbidden; no field of study is restricted to closed doors and an elitist’s set of arbitrary rules. Teach the truth. Record it and spread it abroad. Only error will suffer by comparison. “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops” (Mt. 10:27).

The authority of God in all his appointments and plans should not be attacked but humbly honored and respected. It is only when we do God’s work according to God’s revelation that the churches grow, the lost are saved, and the saints are edified. And this is what God wants.

Young people need our older brethren to take them by the hand and teach them all the counsel of God (Acts 20:20). We do not need back-slappers, and men who compromise “the faith once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3) to keep the young people interested. This is a detriment to spreading the borders of the kingdom, it is not an asset.

Brethren, churches must demand preachers who will preach the whole counsel, and preachers must demand churches respect the whole counsel. Some preachers may be fired as a result of standing for the whole counsel … and some churches may need to fire some to be able to receive the whole counsel.

We live in the information age, in which both truth and error travel at rates measured in fractions of seconds. No longer is the false teacher confined to horse and buggy. Now, he can wreak havoc with a magazine or a modem, in locations which he could never visit, perhaps even continents away. It is not wise to contend that an error on the east coast is not dangerous to folks on the west coast. Though we may think ourselves safe in “the mountains of Esau” (Obadiah 3-8), the forces of destruction can invade like a bolt of lightning.

Local churches of Christ should not tolerate immorality. These sins ought to be exposed as such and the brethren warned about their destructive nature. Those who refuse to heed the warnings and rebukes of faithful Christians should be disciplined for their own good and the good of the congregation (1 Cor. 5; 2 Thess. 3:6-14). Preachers must cease not to warn. We must “preach the word” and be faithful in our work as ministers of Christ (2 Tim. 4:2-5).

Truly we need watchmen in our time, and we need good brethren to stand with them in their mission of righteousness. Will you be an “Obadiah” to the “Elijahs” and “Ezekiels” of our day?

DOES MAN HAVE A FREE WILL?
This series of articles is a response to an article by “Elder Wayne Camp, Pastor” of Pilgrims’ Hope Baptist Church, Memphis, TN. Elder Camp’s article was entitled, “THE COMMONLY BELIEVED LIE CONCERNING THE ALLEGED FREE WILL OF MAN,” and appeared in The Grace Proclamator and Promulgator, August, 1995, Pp. 1-10. While this review will not completely cover Camp’s conclusions, it will supply sufficient study material to address the question of our title.

Today, we have brethren who desire to “accentuate-the-positive” to the exclusion of anything negative. Their attitude and resulting actions have paved the way for error to enter in among brethren. It is high time we realized that we are not in an academic debate over various philosophical points–we are at WAR (2 Tim. 2:3). We are in a battle between truth and error, the outcome of which will determine the salvation of souls (Eph. 6:10-18; cf. 1 Pet. 5:8). Let us not be shy about calling sin exactly what it is–sin. Let us advance truth and expose error, even among brethren (Gal. 2:11-14).

We hope this article will serve the purpose of informing our readers of our plans for this page. However, we also hope it will encourage brethren involved in or connected with foreign evangelism to contribute such news, reports, and information as we have detailed herein. Our ultimate hope is that our efforts herein will fall out to the furtherance of the Gospel.

Como los editores de la revista electrónica Watchman me han concedido la oportunidad de redactar una página mensual en español, lo acepté con mucho gusto….

Parents: concerning the Bible classes in the local congregation, love your children enough to see to it at home, long before the class hour, that the children have their Bible class lessons ready, that they understand why they are going to the classes, what is expected of them, and otherwise show your interest in their learning great lessons from the Word of God. After each class, ask them about what they learned and encourage them in making application of the lessons. Finally, exalt the Bible before them in your own daily use of it.

When there is an apparent contradiction it is wise to interpret the difficult in light of clear passages. The many scriptures mentioned earlier clearly demonstrates that God is Truth, He cannot lie, He commands and demands his servants to speak the truth and He punishes those who refuse to repent of dishonesty. Thus, all the difficult passages must be considered in light of these irrefutable facts about the nature of God.

A good way to begin dealing with John 14:26 with a “oneness” Pentecostal is to look at the last part of the verse first. When the text says, “he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance,” ask them if they understand who is being referred to by the pronouns, “you” and “your.” Generally, they will see that “you” and “your” refers to the disciples being addressed. Once they agree to that, they have shown their ability to distinguish between persons mentioned in the text. If they can see that “you” and “your” refers to certain people, and if they can infer from those pronouns who those people are, they should have no problem being able to see the same thing with respect to the other pronouns used in the text.

God organized the church on the local level only. Through its collected resources and the expended energy of its individual members, the local church is a powerful buttress for the truth. Committed individuals to the truth is where it all begins. Unite them in a local community in preaching, practicing and defending the truth, and you will see the truth of God standing firm and influencing the hearts of men, where it has always counted.

Error is being taught regarding fellowship, divorce and remarriage, worldliness, the deity and humanity of Jesus in the flesh, the A.D. 70 doctrine and other matters. The only way we can be set for the defense of the gospel is to study the truth, preach it, and contend with those who promote error. We cannot hide in a corner and wish the enemies of truth would cease their evil campaign. If we fail to stand for truth and oppose the error, we will answer to God in judgment concerning our disregard for the gospel, lack of love for the erring, and the neglect of our own soul. May God help us to stand with courage and fight the good fight of faith as those set for the defense of the Gospel.

Some of our brethren seem to be ashamed of the gospel, but Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). Thus, we could never imagine Paul preaching like this: “Unless you repent, in a measure, and are baptized, by some mode, in order to be saved, so to speak, you are in danger of being lost, at least to some extent.” Many brethren here and in other foreign lands who have been associated with the liberals, are tired of their weak and watered down, social and self-centered gospel. We cannot afford to go down that same path of destruction.

To the extent that the convicting power of the gospel is compromised, we have perverted the gospel and nullified its power to save. It is imperative that we be vigilant against all intrusions into the purity and power of the gospel to save the lost (2 Corinthians 11:3-4; 1 Corinthians 4:6). Only a gospel which is free from the contaminants of human wisdom and worldly influences will save sinners from their sin (Romans 1:15-17). Only the full and complete message of truth will lead the lost soul out of the bondage of sin into God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness.

Perhaps every form of teaching, every means of honorable, militant defense of the truth, has its own particular “down side” or “drawback.” Debates are no exception. Let us not, though, fail to use any medium simply because of its potentially negative aspects. Avoid the abuses as much as possible (Rom. 12:18). Understand, too, that not all allegedly “bad” results connected with a debate are therefore evil. Despite the ugly reaction to Jesus and the apostles, there was nothing inherently “wrong” or sinful in their manner and methods (Matt. 12:14). Their debates led to many unfortunate and regrettable events, but the fault was not theirs (Cf. Acts 7:51-60). In other words, debate and discussion are not to be abandoned because some “set all the city on an uproar,” or because opponents make the minds of others “evil affected against the brethren” (Acts 14:2; 17:5).