ON BUILDING UP THE CHURCH

H. E. Phillips

"That we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, bythe sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby theylie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love,may GROW UP into him in all things, which is thehead, even Christ: from whom the whole body fitlyjoined together and compacted by that which everyjoint supplieth, according to the effectual working in themeasure of every part, MAKETH INCREASE OF THE BODY UNTO THE EDIFYING OF ITSELF IN LOVE" (Eph. 4:14-16).

A favorite slogan today is: "Get the church on the March." By this is generally meant: "Let's get the church to doingbigger things in bigger ways and keep reaching for biggerand better goals." No one resents or objects to a scripturaland sound growth of the church both in numbers and inspirit. In fact, that is the very goal every sincere Christiandesires and labors toward. If calling in question this idea ofputting the church of the Lord "on the march" in the senseof adding all sorts of "programs" to win approval of men,causes some to charge us with being against the growth and progress of the Lord's church, be that as it may. We are NOTagainst scriptural growth; we oppose modern innovations thatare called growth. We speak against the methods employedand the goals set by these churches "on the march." When we have to serve doughnuts and coffee following "worship" toget the crowds; or when we have to join the "Little AngelsSoftball League" and dress "our young people" in their"church uniforms" to plan the Methodists, Episcopalians,Presbyterians, etc. in order to "save" our young people; orwhen we must build, maintain and promote "Hobby Shops,""Church Camps," and "Church Play Grounds" to "win soulsfor Christ," we are not growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord; we are "on the march" in reverse— we are marching straight toward apostasy.

In New Testament times the "word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly."(Acts 6:7). This was accomplished by sound, firm preaching of the gospel, and only that. No schemes or worldly appealswere made, yet the church grew greatly. "And believers werethe more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women" (Acts 5:14). That is the kind of "marching forward"we need today. The preaching must be the kind that draws the line between right and wrong.

Also, one of the greatest means of the church growing inNew Testament days was the strict discipline of the unrulyand false teachers under the direction of the apostles. Thereis no doubt about it: the church really "marches forward"under sound gospel preaching and proper discipline of allwho walk not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel.When death was administered by the Lord upon Ananias andSapphira for their sins against God, as recorded in Acts 6, "great fear came upon all the church" and "the believers werethe more added to the Lord." (verses 11, 14). We are commanded to withdraw from every brother who walks disorderlyand not after the word delivered by the apostles. (2 Thess.3:6). But it is not now considered "expedient" and "diplomatic" to enforce scriptural discipline in the church "on themarch." Don't speak against the modern dance; don't opposedivorce and remarriage; don't preach against social drinkingand the like. To do this will drive people away and we will not grow as we should! Apparently this is the philosophy ofthese modern day "growing churches."

Another view generally held by many churches is that NUMBERS and CONTRIBUTION are the only real gaugeof growth. Nearly any effort to get more people in attendance and raise the weekly contribution is deemed scriptural. Bythis standard the church at Philippi was everything but agrowing church because they were in poverty as comparedto some when they sent relief to the poor saints. Yet thischurch was commended by Paul in his letter to them. Thechurch in Smyrna was suffering tribulation and in poverty,but in Revelation 2 Christ said "thou art rich" as he spokeof their spiritual condition. Not one word of condemnationwas spoken against this church which did not have the "sign" of a growing church. In the same connection the church of the Laodiceans considered themselves "rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing," but the Lord saidthey were "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind,and naked." (Rev. 3:17,18). This "growing" church was sickening to the Lord, if, indeed, growth is determined by thewealth of a congregation.

The constant begging, employing of schemes, and settingand raising of goals to increase the revenue of a congregation is a very common practice of the "marching" church of today.We are not speaking against the scriptural teaching on theobligation of each member to give of his prosperity liberallyon the 1st day of the week. This must be done to obey God. I Corinthians 9 shows that the church is to support thepreaching of the gospel, and chapter 16 shows that there areobligations to relieve poor saints who are really in need. Butwe are here speaking of the over-emphasis on the financialstanding as an indication of a "growing church." Many extremely wealthy churches are far from growing in the waythat pleases God; they are simply growing as the CatholicChurch— growing wealthy but not spiritually.

As to the increase of "members"— large numbers— as a sign of a growing church, this, like that of the financial measurement, is often over-emphasized. No one can say that the increase in those being added to the church as in Acts 2:41,47is wrong, or that it is not an indication of good growth. However, to ignore all other elements and make this one test of agrowing church is wrong. The various denominations are increasing in numbers, but all the while they are thus increasingthey are declining in morals and religious conviction. I personally know of some congregations that have steadily, andeven rapidly, grown in numbers during the past five years,but there is far less spirituality and conviction among themembers that are being added. Yes, they have even grown in weekly contributions. Even though having a much largermembership, and much more financial power, these churcheshave NOT grown; they are not "on the march" in a scripturalsense. We want the "number of disciples" to "increasegreatly," but we want this growth to be on a sound basis with deep spiritual conviction. Spiritual growth is the kind thatcounts, and this kind of growth will produce the increase innumbers without all the "extra aids" used by many today.

One other disgusting practice that grows out of the concept that numbers prove growth is that of proselyting membersfrom other congregations. Many preachers become so busytrying to convince members of other congregations that they should leave and "place membership with us" that they havelittle or no time to teach the lost the word of salvation. It is possible that these preachers are more interested in making apersonal reputation of making the church "grow" than in converting souls to Christ. They are especially gifted in "selling"the faithful and prosperous Christians of other congregations on the idea of "coming over to help us." Perhaps you havebeen approached by some preacher of another congregationwith, "We need you more than they do." "We are small andyou will be happier with us because you can do more." "We will give you a class to teach, etc., etc."

Now let me make this one thing clear: Any time Christians are attending a place where error is taught and are themselves teaching and practicing error, it is the duty of any gospel preacher, or anyone else, to teach against sin and try to save as many as possible. If a congregation is teaching thefalse doctrine of Premillennialism, any true preacher of theword will try to teach and save as many as possible from thatcongregation. But the "sheep thieves" operate on an entirelydifferent level; they are trying to persuade faithful members from other congregations to leave and "come with us." Theyare not trying to convert a sinner to the truth. They are robbing other churches to "build up" their own congregation.

The verses read at the beginning teach that the speaking of the truth in love, the fitly joining together of each membersupplying what he can to the growth of the body, and theedifying of itself in love are the means of spiritual growth.Proper growth of the church includes individual growth inknowledge of truth by each member. If such spiritual growthis obtained, the growth in number and financial ability willfollow.

NOTE CHANGE OF ADDRESS

The new address is P.O. Box 17244, Tampa, Florida. Send all correspondence for Searching The Scripturesand Phillips Publications to this new address.

One of the greatest joys in the work of the Lord is to finda church working at peace among themselves. "And be atpeace among yourselves" (I Thess. 5:13). The kind of peace that really counts comes from God. "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give Iunto you" (John 14:27). "And the peace of God, whichpasseth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and mindsthrough Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:7). "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints"(I Cor. 14:33). This peace that comes from God is boundupon His children by commandment. "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God" (Matt.5:9). "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men" (Rom. 12:18). "Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live inpeace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you" (2 Cor. 13:11). "Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spiritin the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:3). "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in onebody; and be ye thankful" (Col. 3:15). "Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and thingswherewith one may edify another" (Rom. 14:19). "Behold,how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" (Psa. 133:1). "Woe unto the world becauseof offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to the man by whom the offence cometh!" (Matt. 18:7).

While we speak about peace in the church, it is not to be understood from this that the Bible permits Christians to beat peace at any cost. Sometimes it is impossible to be at peace with some. Even Jesus, who is the leal source of the peacewe are speaking of, said he came to bring the sword ratherthan peace in some instances. "Think not that I am come tosend peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword" (Matt. 10:34). When it is a matter of right and wrong therecan be no peace or compromise with them. Jesus came tomake war and not peace with evil. Paul said, "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men"(Rom. 12:18). This statement implies that in some cases,and with some men, it is not possible to be at peace. But justas far as possible Christians ought to strive to have peace, butnot to the point of compromising with any evil or false doctrine. This peace must be "among yourselves." The so-called peacemakers of our day in the church would have us all compromise with the practices and doctrines of liberal thinkingbrethren in about any departure they wish to promote. Theidea is not to oppose the "great" and "big" preachers and churches, but just go along with them and do not causetrouble by bringing up the matter. If it be a matter of faith,we SHALL bring up the matter, and besides that we shallPRESS the matter until the unscriptural teaching and practice have been stopped. We strive for peace among brethren, butonly on the Lord's terms.

There appears to be evidence that the days of creationwere days of ordinary length since there is mention of "evening and morning." If these days were, as some contend, thousands or millions of years in length this would presentquite a problem. In Genesis 1:16 we read that two greatlights were made, one to rule the day and the lesser to rulethe night. Since these days were divided, according to Genesis 1:15, into "evening and morning" we would have to assume that the sun came up but did not go down for a fewthousand or a few million years!

There is another problem if we assume the "days" wereeons of time. The plants were brought about on the third dayof creation and the sun on the fourth day. Plants must havesunlight in order to produce their food through a process ofphotosynthesis. Animals are dependent upon plants as a basicsource of food. Carnivorous animals are ultimately dependentupon plants for food which are, in turn, dependent on thesun. It is inconceivable, in the light of the knowledge we havein this matter, that plants and animals could exist for thesemillions of years without energy supplied by the sun. It is contended that the plants could have been supplied by the"light" of Genesis 1:3. If this was done it would be necessaryto contend that plants were supplied by this "light" for agreat and unknown period of time and then their dependencewas transferred to another source of energy, the sun, at the end of this period of time.

God tells Israel in Exodus 20 to observe the Sabbath Daybecause He rested from His labor on the seventh day. Thereis no evidence that either God or Israel observed a period oftime longer than our normal day of today. Even "days" ofmillions of years would hardly satisfy the evolution theory.Even the evolutionists are not in agreement as to the millionsof years needed for the evolvement of living organisms, according to their own theory. The evolutionists readily admit that they are not sure of the time necessary for the events oftheir theory to come to pass. They willingly or unwillinglymust admit that they cannot be sure that their theories answer the questions as to how these organisms came about inthe first place. In light of the lack of evidence to support their theory, they are ready to say that they are at least sure thatthe creation did not occur in seven solar days as indicated by the record in Genesis. This attitude is neither new nor limited to this area of discussion. Men have always been ready toreject evidence that does not aid their positions or beliefs.

BIBLE ANSWERS TO BIBLE QUESTIONS

By E. L. Flannery

I. WAS PAUL SENT TO BAPTIZE?

Paul was sent to preach the gospel. He preached Christ.He preached Christ's will. He preached baptism washes away sin, puts us into Christ, into his death. Paul was inspired bythe Holy Spirit and hence equipped to reveal God's will. Anyuninspired Christian helper of Paul's could attend to the baptizing, just as uninspired men could attend the widows table in Jerusalem, leaving the apostles free to preach and teach.Had the apostles become waiters, which they were capable of doing, it would have left the preaching of the gospel undone, because uninspired men were not capable of revealingGod's will. However, Paul himself was baptized to "washaway" his sins (Acts 22:16) and he did baptize some folks,Crispus, Gaius, the household of Stephanas. But he let othershandle that part, for he was sent primarily to preach the gospel, letting his helpers assist believing sinners to obey the gospel.

II. IS BAPTISM PART OF THE GOSPEL?

Certainly. Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach thegospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptizedshall be saved." (Mark 16:15-16). Philip preached the gospel to the Eunuch, and his first question was, "What doth hinderme to be baptized?" (Acts 8:36). Some mis-teach Paul's statement, "For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach thegospel" (I Cor. 1:17) to mean that baptism is no part of the gospel. They write up a syllogism like this:

1. Christ sent Paul to preach the gospel.
2. He did not send Paul to baptize
3. Therefore, baptism is no part of the gospel.

This sounds very "logical" but it is in error. To keep it inproper order it should read like this:

1. Christ sent Paul to PREACH.
2. He did not send Paul to BAPTIZE.
3. Therefore, PREACHING is not BAPTIZING, or to PREACH is not TO BAPTIZE.

Now it is true when a man is preaching the gospel he is notengaged in the act of baptizing. Paul was to engaged in preaching, others could baptize those who believed and repented. Paul feared some would not see that baptism was tobe in the name of Jesus, in the name of the one CRUCIFIED, and wrote, "Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? orwere you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that Ibaptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius, Lest any shouldsay that I had baptized in my own name. For Christ sent menot to baptize, but to preach the gospel ... " (I Cor. 1:1317). If God forbid Paul to baptize why did he baptize a few? If baptism is not essential to salvation, no part of the gospel,why did Paul "re-baptize" 12 men who had received John's (the Baptist) baptism, baptising them in the name of the Lord Jesus? (Acts 19:1-5). Baptism may not seem logical tomen, but we do not walk by sight (human reasoning) but byfaith; by what the new testament plainly teaches. It was not"logical" to deliver the Israelites by going through the RedSea, but God chose that way. It is not "logical" that Naaman could heal his leprosy by dipping in Jordan, but God located his healing there. It may not appear "logical" to men todaythat baptism is essential to salvation to the alien sinner, but that is where God has chosen to forgive a penitent believer.God has revealed this unto us by his new will, the new testament. It is a matter of faith whether we believe it or not. We affirm that the new testament teaches that water baptism isessential to the salvation of the alien sinner. Who will deny it in light of the scriptures?

Hamartano, "I sin"— No. 7

In the LXX hamartano is equated with the Hebrew ma'al, "act unfaithfully:" "And it came to pass, that in the fifth yearof king Rehoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up againstJerusalem, because they had transgressed (LXX, hemarton)against the Lord," II Chron. 12:2. The RSV is faithful in following the Hebrew and rendering the text "because they hadbeen unfaithful to the Lord . . ."

Further equations of hamartia and idolatry of deserting Jehovah to play the harlot are seen in two passages in Ezekiel: ". . . Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the greatabominations (in Codex A, hamartias) that the house of Israel committeth here?" Ezek. 8:6. The latter passage in Ezekielreads: "Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations (in Codex A, hamartias) more than they," Ezek. 16:51. In both of these passagesthe sin of idolatry is meant: deserting Jehovah to play theharlot.

"THE SPONSORING CHURCH"-NO. 2

Thomas G. O'Neal, Jasper, Ala.

In a previous article, we called attention to the 'sponsoringchurch'. This article showed how the 'sponsoring church' wasa product of our time; that it had been tried in days gone byand rejected. For the benefit of our reader who did not see the last article, a 'sponsoring church' is a church throughwhich other churches or a church work in performing herwork. This is the meaning that has been given to the 'sponsoring church' in our time.

We want in this article to look at an advanced step in the'sponsoring church' concept. In the Firm Foundation, March 1, 1960, Pages 136-137 can be found this advanced concept of the 'sponsoring church'. In order to preach to those in foreign countries, a campaign was launched to raise one milliondollars for each of the following places: South & Latin America, Africa, Europe, Middle & Near East. This drive is called"THE MILLION FOR THE BILLION."

Taking the lead in this effort is the Gladstone church inFrederick, Okla. This church proposes to do the following in the campaign: 1. "Find out the needs of each Asian or Australian project whose sponsoring congregation volunteers to receive and disburse money from this million-dollar campaign." 2. "Donate the advertising of their needs to churches, preachers and members everywhere." 3. "Those who participate in this campaign are invited to send the money raised orcontributed directly to the church sponsoring the particular Asian or Australian project they have chosen voluntarily tohelp." 4. "Contributors are invited to report to Frederick theamount of money sent to the sponsoring church. The reasonfor this reporting is to keep the record straight." 5. "Sponsoring churches whose names appear below are invited to send a report of the money received through the efforts of thiscampaign." 6. Thus, while the Frederick elders continue torecord and digest these reports and further advertise theseneeds to the brotherhood the churches sponsoring projectswill exercise freely their autonomy to disburse these funds as their respective projects may require."

However, there are "three things the Gladstone Elders wishto emphasize:" 1. "All reporting of funds sent or received willbe strictly voluntary." 2. "The Gladstone Church of Christdoes not seek to receive funds." 3. "This campaign in no wayis designed to take the place of other efforts churches interested in Asia now have in progress, or will have in progressin the future."

There are two things about this arrangement that should be kept in mind: 1. All of this sending and receiving is on avoluntary basis! 2. The Gladstone elders at present do notwant to "seek to receive funds." This writer wants to know what would be scripturally wrong if the sending and receiving was not on a voluntary basis and these elders did receivefunds? (I am sure more brethren than just this writer wouldlike this question answered!)

THE EIGHTH CHAPTER OF ACTS

Jas. P. Miller

In my last article I suggested that the second chapter ofActs carried four great lessons:

1. The beginning of the New Testament Church.
2. The work of the Holy Spirit
3. The beginning of the reign of Christ on David's throne

4. The answer to the question, "What must I do to besaved?"

Now let us study the eighth chapter of Acts. We will find that three of these lessons are continued.

1. Philip is preaching the Kingdom of Heaven.
2. The Holy Spirit is at work converting men.

3. Men and women believe and are baptized and thus aresaved.

Read the first four verses for the setting. "And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a greatpersecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; andthey were all scattered abroad throughout the regions ofJudea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout mencarried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentationover him. As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, enteringinto every house, and haling men and women, committedthem to prison. Therefore they that were scattered abroadwent everywhere preaching the Word" Notice that the preaching of the Word is the work of those early Christiansand they were ready to sacrifice that the Word might reachfallen mankind. The work of Philip, the preacher in the threecases of conversion recorded in this eighth chapter, beginswith these words: "Then Philip went down to the city ofSamaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the peoplewith one accord gave heed unto those things which Philipspake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did." Nowlet us notice the order of New Testament preaching:

1. Philip preached Christ.

2. They gave heed to the words he spake because they saw and heard the miracles that he did.

This was the order of all New Testament day preaching. The gospel was God's power to save, Romans 1:16. The miracles that accompanied the preaching of the gospel were tomake men believe that high heaven had given its indorsement to the speaker.

If many denominational preachers are correct, men weresaved when they believed, but the Bible does not so teach. Let us continue our study. Acts 8:9-12: "But there was a certain man, called Simon, which before time in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This manis the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, theywere baptized both men and women."

Notice now that the people believed the word that Philipspake and were baptized, both men and women. We foundin the study of the second chapter that the men on the Day of Pentecost were commanded to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins. We find here that both men and women believed and were baptized. Christ gave the great commission as recorded in Mark16:15,16, in these words: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." It is not surprising then that the preaching of Philip caused men and women to believe and to bebaptized, for this is what Christ commissioned him to preach. This is what all men and all women must do to be children of God. Christ declared it, and the apostles preached it.

SIMON

See now that Simon does exactly the same thing, verse 13:"Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding themiracles and signs which were done."

Now, let us ask the question, "Was Simon a saved man?"Well, put it to the test: Christ said, Belief plus baptism equals Salvation, Mark

16:16: Simon Believed, was baptized and thus was saved.Men who deny that a child of God can fall from grace,

deny this, but if Christ spoke the truth, Simon met the requirements and was a helpmate of Philip in his work inSamaria.

After the apostles came down from Jerusalem, Simon, who had been laboring as a child of God, was tempted and triedto buy the power of the Holy Spirit with money." Hear therecord. "And when Simon saw that through laying on of theapostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered themmoney, saying. Give me also this power, that on whomsoeverI lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter saidunto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hastthought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter; for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thywickedness: and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thineheart may be forgiven thee: For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond on iniquity."

THE SECOND LAW

The second law of pardon is here found, namely, repentance and prayer. We have already found that the sinner must take the following steps to be saved:

He must believe (Mark 16:16).

He must repent (Acts 2:38).

He must be baptized (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38).

John had this to say, in I John 2:1, "My little children, these things write I unto you that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."

Thus, when man sins, the law that Peter lays down here is the rule to follow: He must repent (Acts 8:22). He must pray (Acts 8:22). Christ will intercede (I John 2:1).

The little child who disobeys his parent returns and says,"Father, I am sorry: forgive me." The father gladly forgivesthe child. God stands ready to forgive also. Therefore, thesinner must do one thing, and the erring or disobedient childmust do another to be forgiven and be reconciled to God.

THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH

The last case of conversation found in the eighth chapter,is one of the most famous in all the Bible: The conversation of the Ethiopian eunuch. We will take up the story in thethirtieth verse. "And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said. Understandest thou whatthou readest? And he said, How can I, except some manshould guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he readwas this. He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and like alamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:In his humiliation his judgement was taken away; and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from theearth. And the eunuch answered Philip and said, I pray thee,of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of someother man? Then Philip opened his mouth and began at thesame scripture, and preached unto him Jesus."

Observe that we have this simple statement, "Andpreached unto him Jesus." That is all that Philip preached.Now listen to the record. "And as they went on their way,they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

There is only one answer to this principle. When menpreach Christ, they preach baptism into Christ (Galatians2:27). No man preaches Christ as Philip and the apostlespreached Him unless they preach that by baptism we arebaptized into Christ and thus put on Christ. "And Philip said,if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And heanswered and said. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." That is the good confession. Now let me read Romans10:9,10, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the LordJesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shall be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

Now, notice scriptural baptism exactly as it should be practiced today. This is the ONLY way that the Bible approves,Acts 8:38-40: "And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch: and he baptized him. And when they were comeup out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went onhis way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus; and passing through, he preached in all the cities, till he came to

Caesarea.

SUMMARY

Sinner, friend, no man needs to comment on this plainexample of conversion. It is easy and clear for all. Trace thesteps of the eunuch and we find that he Believed the

gospel, Confessed his Savior, Was buried with his Lord

in baptism. Thus we find the following steps unto

salvation recorded in Acts 2 and Acts 8:

The Pentecostians Repented— Baptized— Saved

The Samaritans Believed— Baptized— Saved

Simon Believed— Baptized— Saved

The eunuch Believed— Confessed— Baptized— Saved

Can any man say more? Will you resolve now to obey thegospel?Believe with all your heart that Christ is the Son of God.Repent of your every sin.Confess his name. Go down with Him into the waters of baptism, to be born

of water and of the Spirit.

OTHERS SEE THE GATHERING STORM

(We noticed that the editorial in the Firm Foundation ofMay 2, 1961 by brother Reuel Lemmons gives a good pictureof the "Gathering Storm" which so many have ignored fortoo long. In this we stand with brother Lemmons. Following is the editorial in its entirety.)

THE GATHERING STORM

Some three or four years ago we expressed the opinion onthis page that certain brethren would allow "the issue" of church support of a private enterprise to be fought out on the orphan home level, where highly emotional values can bebrought to bear, and where they can, and do, overshadowreason; and that later, when these brethren thought the timewas ripe, the pitch would be made to put the college in thebudget upon the basis that "church support of a private enterprise has already been proven." The low rumblings of thegathering storm have been heard for some time now, andmore recently there have been flashes of lightning!

There are indications that some seem bent upon forcingthe issue. We hope they do not. We do not believe any sizablesegment of brethren are willing to let the "college in the budget" become a wedge to divide hundreds of congregations.

Colleges are expensive things. The never ceasing struggle to secure funds for their operation would cause most anyoneto cast longing eyes upon an ever ready source of incomeraised by others and simply ear-marked. It is part of the business of the church, and of faithful elders of the church, to guard the church treasury against the designs of any and allwho would dip fingers into it unscripturally.

Part of the present pressure has been generated by "theissues" of our times. Discussions of orphan homes and colleges have begotten a rash of both. Now, many are thinking of starting an orphan home. Many others are thinking ofstarting colleges. No doubt the discussions have generatedthis thinking. If anyone wishes he can start either, and thenlay it on the doorstep of the church and say, in effect, "thisis your baby; you take care of it," then the Lord alone knowswhere this trend may lead.

There has been much concern expressed recently regardingthe beginning of so many new projects. All must be financed,and all sponsors and promoters seem to feel that they can go straight to "the brotherhood" for funds upon which to operate. Even most small groups wanting to build a church building seem to feel that this is the way to raise money. To saythe least of it, this is an unhealthy trend. A feeling seems to be developing that the church is a sort of benevolent richuncle whose sole happiness comes from dropping shecklesinto outstretched hands!

Maybe we are forgetting the purpose and mission of thechurch. The church was never intended to be institutional fodder. While the church may be benefited by many institutions, it is dependent upon none of them, and obligated tosupport none of them. Let us always bear in mind that ourprojects are simply that— our projects. The church does notdepend upon any of them for either its existence or itsgrowth. When any of these projects reach the point wherethey pose a danger to the unity of the church, it is time forthem to be disbanded and folded up. Other arrangementscan, and will, take their place. We must never become sowedded to our projects that we give them precedence overthe church.

Some storm clouds blow over, and we hope this one will.But the continued rumblings we hear from pulpits and papersand preachers and people makes us to feel that the wavesahead may be rough on the old ship of Zion, and that in the path ahead there may be the rocks of institutionalism. Eldersof the Lord's church in whose hands the helm is held up mustkeep a sharp lookout posted.

"SIN UNTO DEATH"

QUESTION: Brother Patton, will you please give us anarticle in SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES explaining the"sin unto death" in I John 5:16?-B.C.M.

ANSWER: In answering this question I do so in recognition of the fact that it is a difficult passage and that commentators differ widely as to its meaning. Space limitationsforbid my identifying and replying to the many positions taken on this verse. Brief notice of one or two must suffice. However, I assure the reader that if he should desire an examination of any one of these positions in the light of Scripture, I shall be happy to comply with such request when directed to this column. Now, let us notice the verse:

"If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it." (I John 5:16).

Perhaps the most popular position is that which makes the"sin unto death" identical with the "blasphemy against theHoly Spirit" in Matt. 12:31. This I deny with emphasis andwithout doubt. Another popular position limits the "sin untodeath" so as to include only those concerning whom "it isimpossible to renew again unto repentance." (Heb. 6:4-6). I believe, however, that it is more general in its application.

The subject under discussion in the context is PRAYER—For what may a Christian pray with assurance of being heardand answered? The answer to this question is in verses fourteen and fifteen: "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him." (IJohn 5:14,15). The conditional phrase, "if we ask any thingaccording to his will," is very significant and demands a clear understanding in order to arrive at truth on this subject.

It is God's will that all our petitions be overruled to ourgood. In Him we may have confidence that all our prayerswill be answered to our good— maybe not the way we expected, but, nevertheless, in a way which in his wisdom is best for us. (II Cor. 12:7-10).

When it comes to the matter of praying for "life" (spirituallife or the forgiveness of sins) in behalf of a brother, God'swill must be respected here as in all other matters. Early in this epistle John has shown what God's will is concerningforgiveness for the erring brother. He says such may becleaned of all unrighteousness, IF he confesses his sins (IJohn 1:7-9). This confession, in the light of the context andother passages, necessarily implies a penitent confession.Thus, in the final analysis— no matter how willing and anxiousGod and all others are to forgive— God has made the erringbrother's "life" (forgiveness) depend upon his own will. Of his own volition he must repent and confess! Until this isdone we need not expect prayer for "life" in his behalf to beanswered. No prayer of any person can possibly cancel theerring brother's free will. Such a brother is in rebellion to Godthe ultimate end of which is the "second death" (Rev.20:14,15), hence, is "sinning a sin unto death." Such a sin,then, is one of which a person will not repent.

However, when the guilty brother repents of his sin andconfesses the same unto God or unto God and the brethren, as the case may demand, his prayer and that of all othersin his behalf will be answered. The sin for which forgivenessis sought is no longer "unto death" since it is one of which the guilty has repented. For such a person John says ask and"life" (forgiveness) shall be given.

In this verse John simply would have us to know thatprayer on the part of one person will not substitute for repentance on the part of the guilty— either in life or after death— Catholic doctrine to the contrary notwithstanding.

There are things we may do and for which we may praythat might lead the erring brother to repent. To this end weshould work and pray, but do not expect your prayer to takethe place of repentance on his part. Until he repents he is"sinning a sin unto death" and prayer for "life" (forgiveness) on his part is to no avail. Such i" contrary to God's will. However, if he repents, hence, is no longer sinning unto death,ask for "life" (forgiveness) for him— it shall be given!

DO JUSTLY, LOVE MERCY, WALK HUMBLY

F. F. Locke, Lawrenceburg, Tenn.

I would like to discuss a verse of scripture found in Chapter 6, Verse 8 of Micah, it is as follows: "He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Jehovah requireof thee, but to DO JUSTLY, and to LOVE MERCY OR KINDNESS, and to WALK HUMBLY WITH THY GOD.

DO JUSTLY. What is it to do justly? Here are some ofthe elements of doing Justly: Be benevolent and charitable.Always have a spirit of cheerfulness. Always do our best tobe good citizens. Be content. What ever we do be consecrated, and have courage of our convictions. Never allowourselves to be covetous. Always be diligent. Be honest, and obedient. Be efficient in everything we do. Always tell thetruth. Do not be false witnesses. DO NOT SOW DISCORD. THAT IS TERRIBLE.

PRACTICE FELLOWSHIP. Be prayerful. Have pride inwhat we do. I do not mean haughty, I simply mean to dowhat ever we do to the extent that we will be proud of whatwe have done and not be ashamed.

Always be prudent, and have the spirit of purity. Be penitent, and always do the best we can in everything. Train ourselves to be righteous. Not mind sacrificing ourselves and ourmeans for God's plan. Serve our fellow man and give GODAND JESUS CHRIST THE GLORY.

Always examine ourselves and be mindful of ourselves sothat we can keep ourselves under control at all times. Besympathetic. Guard against temptation. God will not allowus to be tempted beyond that which we are able to bear, butwe must guard ourselves at all times against worldliness.

Be friendly and forgiving, practice gratitude. Try to alwaysbe happy and not lazy and slothful. Help to make goodhomes. Not be hypocrites. Never be idle, but keep busy doinggood all the time. Practice fidelity. Study the Bible and beapt to teach. Practice integrity. Be joyful. Be liberal. Havelove. Not be lustful. Carry no malice in our hearts. Be meek.One of the Beatitudes is BLESSED ARE THE MEEK FOR THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH. Be patient, steadfast, and zealous. Do not forget to worship, and always give God and Jesus Christ the Praise, Honor and Glory for everything.

MERCY OR KINDNESS

Small kindnesses give greater charm to character than thedisplay of great talent and accomplishments.

I wonder why it is that we are not kinder and more merciful to each other. It is so easily done, and the world needsthis badly.

We should guard ourselves so that we know how to givewithout hesitation— How to lose without regret— How to acquire honesty and kindness always showing mercy to thosewith whom we deal.

Life is made up not of great sacrifices of duties, but oflittle things such as smiles, kindness and mercy and smallobligations given habitually. This is what preserves the heartand secures comfort.

Industry, economy, honesty and kindness or mercy form aquartet of virtue that will never be improved upon.

We do not pass through life but once, and if there is anykindness or mercy that we can do to our fellow beings, let's do it because we will not pass this way again, and ifwe do not do it now it will be everlastingly too late.

When you find yourself over powered by melancholy andrestlessness go out and do something kind or show some actof mercy, and will find that this is the best tranquillizer you can get.

Our greatness is measured by our kindness or mercifulness and consideration and tolerance we have for others. The world measures us by our kind looks, kind words,merciful acts, even if nothing but warm handshakes.

We are all sowers of seed, and seeds of kindness and mercy, goodwill and human understanding, when sown in fertile soil spring up into untold fruits that will never fade out.

Kindness or mercy practiced by ourselves is the honey thatblunts the sting of unkindness or unmercifulness in others.Shakespeare said, "Sweet mercy is nobility's true badge."

Only acts of kindness or mercy will give us peace and ajoyful life. BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL FOR THEYSHALL OBTAIN MERCY.

Humility is the part of wisdom and is most becoming in men.

We bask in the sunshine of accomplishment and lose thespirit of humility which helps us visualize all the factors which have contributed to our success.

It is no great thing to be humble when you are broughtlow; but to be humble when you are praised is a great andrare attainment.

There are three things that we can hold fast and prize:

1. Gentleness. 2. Frugality. 3. Humility, which keeps oneselffrom putting oneself before others. Be gentle and you can bebold; be frugal and you can be liberal. Avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader among men.

We should not lose ourselves in vainglorious schemes forchanging human nature all over the planet. Rather we shouldlearn to view ourselves with a sense of proportion and Christian HUMILITY before the enormous complexity of the world in which it has been given us to live. Humility leads tostrength and not to weakness. It is the highest form of self-respect to admit mistakes and to make amends for them.

We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility.

Pride is a deeply rooted ailment of the soul. The penalty is misery. The remedy lies in the sincere, lifelong cultivationof humility, which means true self-evaluation and a properperspective toward the past, present and future. Some persons are always ready to level those above them down tothemselves, while they are never willing to level those below them up to their position. But he that is under the true influence of true HUMILITY will avoid both these extremes.

Praise those that are worthy of rising, and acknowledgethose that are worthy of praise.

Lack of proper HUMILITY, which is the fundamental aspect of Christianity is the reason many men fail to displaythe courage and foresight that comes through complete faithin God.

Greatness is a two-faced coin, and HUMILITY is the reverse. WE MUST BE HUMBLE TO BE ACCEPTABLE IN THE SIGHT OF GOD.

In closing I would like to say that we can find in the NewTestament by reading it carefully without prejudice what itis to DO JUSTLY, LOVE MERCY OR KINDNESS AND WALK HUMBLY WITH OUR GOD. If after reading thescriptures, we find that we are not doing so, simply do likePaul of olden times when he realized that he was not doingright. When he said "WHO ART THOU?" the answer was,"I am Jesus whom thou persecuteth." IMMEDIATELY heanswered, "What wilt thou have me to do?" If we have that spirit, then we will have no trouble following old Mica'squotation. "I HAVE SHEWED THEE O MAN, WHATDOTH THE LORD THY GOD REQUIRE OF THEE, BUT TO DO JUSTLY, LOVE MERCY OR KINDNESS AND WALK HUMBLY WITH THY GOD."

I have before me on the editor's desk a little pamphlet announcing in bold type "THE GREAT PREACHERSSERIES." Interested in great preachers, I opened the pageexpecting to find the announcement telling more of some of the giants of the past or perhaps the apostles, but beholdthere were the pictures of seven preachers of today. Underthe picture of each of these great preachers was a small paragraph telling why he was a great preacher. Here are all ofthe reasons given. Some where television and radio speakers, others were listed as world travelers, orators, editors, brilliant scholars, lecturers, presidents and vice presidents, lectureshipdirectors and prominent evangelists. To be sure all of thesein their rightful place are wonderful recommendations, butone is strangely missing. The one that is not there is theDEBATER. Not one of the men who are carrying the fight for the institutional brethren was named. Not a one of those who in the heat of the day are serving as the "hatchet men"of the "New Frontiers" was given.

I marvel that these men cannot see "the handwriting onthe wall." There will be no place for their talents in the neworder of things. The brethren will no longer believe in debating or contending for the truth. All seven of the onesnamed are on the sweeter side and can show no scars of battle. There are no dents in their armor and no wounds in their bodies. They have made a career out of preaching to thechurch and for it. The only opposition they encounter is fromsound brethren who are opposed to their selling the blood bought church into the hands of the denominations. They arenot willing to meet this opposition face to face.

No, in the new order there will be no place for those whowant to contend for the faith and the very ones who arecarrying the load for these great preachers today will not bewelcomed in their pulpits tomorrow. I cannot help but marvel.

NOW IS THE TIME TO OBEY THE GOSPEL

"Not yet," said the youth. "I don't want anything to interfere with my pleasure. When I grow older I'll think aboutmy soul."

"Not yet," said the young married man. "I am just beginning to do well in my trade. When I see by business prospering, then I shall have more time."

"Not yet," said the middle-aged business man. "I haveworked so hard getting my business to where it is today. I want to take it easy a while and devote more time to recreation."

"Not yet," said the gray-haired man. "Somewhere along the line I have picked up some bad habits I will have to conquerfirst. Then too, it would involve several changes, and when you get to my age changes are difficult and you don't wantto make any."

And so he lived without God and died without hope. How sad. His big sin was procrastination. Is that yours too? "Todayif ye shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts."— selected

(This article appeared in the Gospel Guardian, April 29, 1954, page 3.)

ANOTHER NEW IDEA FOR THE CHURCH

H. E. Phillips

Brethren, I think I have another new idea for a combined program of churches of Christ in America. I have been read-about and listening to all the "wonderful" plans and arrangements "we" have made to do greater work in the church, andI have an idea for a "needy" work that will put our namebefore the world— and it is as scriptural as all "our" other great works. Honestly, with all the new ideas and plans wehave to do the work of the church, we can't miss.

Now my plan is this: First, I realize that I must get a"sponsoring" church somewhere, but that should be easy withso many big churches eager to "sponsor" something big andnew. Surely some "Board of Elders" or "Planning Committee"will see the possibilities of this great work and "sponsor" meand my program. Of course, I want it to be scriptural, so itmust be under an eldership somewhere.

Now here is what the work is: We are neglecting to feedthe poor and care for the sick as we should. Thousands allover this country are not being cared for as they should be.This is the WORK OF THE CHURCH to care for the poor and sick. Never can anyone say I "created" all these poor and sick people; it is as much an emergency as at any time andplace in the world where poor and sick people are. Now wewant to get the best workable plan to do this work. My planis to get the "sponsoring" church to take the "oversight" of all phases of the work; that would make it scriptural. Thiseldership would employ and oversee all personnel: the treasurer, secretaries, doctors, nurses, chef and cooks, tailors and dress makers, collecting agents, and advertising men. Not only would this eldership oversee all this, but they would personally check all food, clothing, and medicine. We could call this'"The Angels of Mercy." Now since this IS the work of the church, and since it WAS NOT an emergency created by anyone church, and since it IS "under an eldership," it is scriptural.

We could set the budget for the first year at Two MillionDollars. It would take that much to reach all over the countryand do the kind of job we want to do. The plan to raise thismoney would be the same as "we" have used in our other"big" programs. We could get the "sponsoring eldership" tocontact 10,000 churches and have them "cooperate" in thisprogram by sending regular contributions to the sponsoringchurch. Each "contributing" church could have its preacher or some member to contact each member of that church and solicit a contribution. Each church in turn could send the Page 9

amount to the "sponsoring" church. All checks should bemade payable to: "Angels of Mercy," or to the eldership of the "sponsoring" church. Also, if any preacher or churchknew of any poor or sick, they could get in touch with theeldership of the "sponsoring" church and "The Angels ofMercy" would dispatch some workers to the territory immediately to do the job. This plan would work because it has been proven. The Salvation Army, the Red Cross, and theChristian Welfare Board are all proof that it will work. Wecould do a much bigger job in less time with less money bythis plan. Why not start it? Just think of how much morecould be done in a disaster area by this program. It is thework of the church to care for the poor and sick. If someoneobjects that the church should only care for her own poor andsick, this plan would still be more effective to do "big" things.

By now nearly every one who has read this far is objectingto such a plan for the churches of Christ to do benevolentwork, and they should. I doubt that very many would approve of this method of doing this work of the church. Someone may say, where is the Bible authority for such a method, and where is the Bible example? Another would object thatsuch a plan would deprive the local churches of doing theirown work in their own locality.

Now if the church can "Care for Orphans" through churchsupported "Orphanage Societies;" or "Mission Work" in theforeign fields through church supported "Missionary Societies" (for this is what some of them are); and do "HomeEvangelistic Radio and Television Preaching" through "Nationally Supported Elderships," why cannot the church have a "National Welfare Board" called ANGELS OF MERCY, under a "Nationally Supported Eldership?" I don't see anydifference in any of them in principle.

The truth is, none of these organizations have any scriptural authority to exist. If one of them can be proved by thescriptures, all of them can. The absurd plan I outlined is asmuch scriptural as any of the church "sponsored" MissionarySocieties and Nationally Supported Radio Programs. TheLord Jesus Christ, who, by the way, is still Head over "allthings" to the church, never intended such "methods" to beused to do the work he outlined for the church to do. I am certain of that for the Bible will furnish us in "all things" tolife and godliness, and will completely furnish us to every good work (2 Peter 1:3; 2 Tim. 3:16,17); and the Bible isas silent as the grave on any such combined organizationalpower in one church or a human institution to do any phaseof the work of the church. Each local church should performits work in its own community, according to its own ability, and to the extent of the oversight of its own eldership. Theremust be no relation of one church to another in any workthat would impose upon the absolute autonomy of each localchurch. That is the Lord's way, and it is the best way. Wecannot improve upon any plan or organization for the workof the church above the plan given by the Lord, that eachchurch do its own work in its own locality under its own eldership. If any church should need help to do its own work in its own community, other churches may help by sendingaid to be used by that church in the realm of its own workunder its own elders and not beyond. We will do well to stopand survey our position in these matters before we reach thedeparture from the faith that divided the church a half century ago. If we continue in these practices the church willhave "headquarters" somewhere in the United States in some"Super Eldership" in the next twenty-five years. One departure leads to another. Where will we stop?

". . . THEY REHEARSED ALL THAT GOD HAD DONE WITH THEM . . ."— Acts 14:27

OLIN KERN is moving from Berea, Ohio to work withthe church in Charlotte, Tenn. . . . HOWARD McCUTH-EON has moved to his farm near Tennessee City in that same section and will be busy with the churches there. . . . HAROLD HOWARD reports, "Everything is still going fine withthe work here. We have had a number of responses recentlyand broke another record in the Bible Study just two weeksago." . . . BOBBY THOMPSON was the preacher in a meeting with the new congregation in Coral Gables, Florida. Thisis the location of the University of Miami and the work thereis off to a good start. . . . L. E. SLOAN of Palmetto, Florida,preached in a meeting with the 7th Avenue congregation in Miami the first part of May. This effort closed on May 14th.. . . BYRON CONLEY baptized 5 in the meeting at Seminolein Tampa the latter part of April. The meeting was the bestattended in the long history of the church in that Florida city. . . . CONLEY will do the preaching in a meeting with thesmall congregation at Ruskin, Florida the last half of May.The church at Ruskin has had a struggle and anyone movingto that city would do well to help in the work.

EARL FLY reports baptisms regularly in the work atHolden Heights in Orlando, Florida. . . . HUGH DAVIS ofLake Wales, Florida will preach in their fall meeting starting November 5th. . . . BILL LAMBERT of Fultondale, Ala., was guest speaker at the congregation where W. C. HINTON preaches in Atlanta. This new congregation meets in the Decatur Federal Saving building at 1807 Chandler Rd. inDecatur, a suburb of Atlanta. . . . CECIL DOUTHITT preaching in a meeting with the Haldeman Ave. church inLouisville where he worked so long. . . . EUGENE BRITNELL was in a meeting with the Preston Highway congregation in that same city. . . . FRANKLIN T. PUCKETT is todo the preaching at St. James, Mo., July 2-11. Readers takenotice . . . HOMER HAILEY will be the speaker in an effort with the Wendell Avenue congregation in Louisville June 25July 2nd. . . . W. H. ROY is the preacher for the church inTitusville, Fla., where BYRON CONLEY has recently helda meeting. . . . The North Street congregation in Tampaplans new class rooms and on May 1st had a contribution of$639.37. They will have a Vacation Bible School the week ofJune 12th. JIM COPE and JOHN WITT will work in the school. . . . GROVER STEVENS of Spring and Blane in St.Louis had several additions in a meeting with the Jackson Heights Church in Columbia, Tenn., where T. T. CARNEYlabors.

FERRELL JENKINS was sent by the Spring and Blanecongregation to Memphis to preach in a meeting with the Whitney Avenue church where JAMES L. GAY is working.. . . LEONARD TYLER of Pine Bluff, Ark. is to be in Indianapolis for a series with the Belmont congregation. . . . RUFUSCLIFFORD of Eastland in Nashville was in two meetings inthe last few weeks. He baptized 11 and restored 7 in a meeting with the Valley Station church in Louisville where HAROLD SAVELY preaches and then worked in another effortat Mt. Pleasant, Tenn.

LESLIE DIESTELKAMP and family will leave Nigeriaabout the first of July. He has done a great work in that country. . . . HOMER HAILEY to be with Spring and Blane inSt. Louis, June 12-21st. . . . The church in Newbern, Tenn., where CONNIE ADAMS works in publishing a bulletin called the Admonisher. The address is P.O. Box 72, Newbern, Tenn. , , , FRANK INGRAM was in a meeting with the Mac-Dill congregation in Tampa in May. 4 baptized, one restored. . . . Nine responses so far in 1961 is the record of the churchin Romulus, Mich., where C. L. McLEAN labors. . . . FERRIS SMITH of Birmingham is to be the speaker in a meetingwith the Norwood congregation in Knoxville, Tenn. withWILLIAM H. LEWIS. Dates for the meeting June 18-24. . . . ROBERT JACKSON of Nashville is to preach in a meeting with the Academy Street church in Dickson starting June10th. . . . JAMES P. MILLER co-editor of the paper was in a meeting with the 6th Avenue church in Pine Bluff, Ark.LEONARD TYLER has worked with the church there for the last 13 years and has done a wonderful job. The church is sound in the faith with good elders and deacons. There were6 additions in the meeting. . . . MILLER followed the Pine Bluff meeting with a series with the Temple Crest congregation in his home city of Tampa. RHYMER KNIGHT preachesfor the Temple Crest Church. . . BOB TUTEN at WarnerRobins, Georgia, PAT FARISH at Concord, N.C., and ALBERT ROBINSON in Ashville, N.C. are all good men working hard fields and making progress. . . . Records are beingbroken at Par Ave. where MARSHALL PATTON preachesalmost every Lord's Day now. . . . Wm. R. LAMBERT in ameeting in Concord, N.C. the last days of April.

The special series on the issues before the churchtoday in which H. E. Phillips did the preaching withthe Forest Hills church in Tampa was well attendedand received. Brother Phillips spent long hours in preparation for these sermons and this work showed in the clear and kind way the material was presented. Everyphase of the Institutional and Co-operation problemwas discussed in full with every statement made fromothers documented. Much good was done by this series.I am hopeful that brother Phillips will make himself and his material available to brethren over the nation who want a fair and kind series on these vital subjects. Theywill not be disappointed. JPM.

The following table will show the steady progress that theCollege View congregation is making in Florence, Ala. CURTIS FLATT is the preacher for this new church. They arenow in the process of building a new house of worship andhave as bright a future as we can find anywhere.

FOR THE RECORD

8 A.M. 8:30 A.M. 5:15 P.M.

Classes Worship WorshipJanuary 151 172 160 February 156 190 168 March 168 211 171 April 178 215 200

A complete lectureship on all issues before the church was recently conducted with the McArthur Heights Church in Jasper, Ala. In addition to THOMAS G. O'NEAL, the preacher for the church there, the following men took part. CURTIS FLATT of Florence, Ala., JOHN T. LEWIS of Birmingham, Ala., PRYDE E. HINTON of Dora, Ala., HOLLIS CREEL of Albertville, Ala., BOB CRAWLEY of Bir

mingham and QUENTIN McKAY of Birmingham. This series

was held in April 23-29. . . . JACK FROST baptized two at

Milledgeville, Ga. last month.

Brother BAXTER EVANS and his family begin work withthe church at Mango, Fla., as of May 1, 1961. Bro. Evans'address is: P.O. Box 284, Mango, Fla., Phone no. 49-2001. "Along with the church here we extend an invitation to allour friends and neighbors, to come study with us the truthof God's word." .. . A. HUGH CLARK preached in a meeting in East Columbus, Miss, and 12 were baptized. . . .EARL FLY will be in a meeting at Umatilla the first of June.

ROSS SAUNDERS-

The work at Lebanon, Kentucky, continues in a fine way.It was my privilege to speak in a gospel meeting here, inwhich two confessed wrong and one was baptized. One ofthe elders said the attendance was the best in ten years if not in the history of the congregation. This was because the members worked for it, which is indeed encouraging. Thus farthis year, we have broken all of the attendance records, except one (during a meeting), in the church's history, and twelve have confessed wrong and two have been baptizedinto Christ. For this we rejoice and ask your prayers thatChrist may continue to be glorified here.

Also, I take this opportunity to express my appreciation,though a little late, to all my beloved brethren who were so kind and helpful when looking for a place to move. All of myinquiries were answered. This is indicative of the closeness ofbrethren who love the truth and are willing to sacrifice themselves in defending the truth against innovations of any description which seek to destroy the purity of the Lord'schurch and the attitude of scriptural authority for that whichwe do. It is pathetic that this bond of interest for one another cannot be universal among preaching brethren.

A. H. Payne, East Columbus Church of Christ, Columbus,Mississippi. May 5, 1961— We are happy to report 12 baptisms during the month of April, 10 of which occurred duringour meeting with A. Hugh Clark of Lubbock, Texas. Also,one man was restored and one lady identified with thechurch.

Aubrey Belue, Jr., Griffith, Indiana, will be working withthe Columbus Air Force Base church the week of June 18. A number of East Columbus members have and are working inconnection with this group. We would appreciate any interested contacts that you might have in that community. Sendyour letters to me at the above address.

AKRON, OHIO, May l-"Have held meetings at NewMartinsville and Martinsburg, W. Va., this spring, with sixbaptisms, two restorations. Have five more meetings this year. Five additions here at Kenmore recently." P. J. Casebolt,2245 9th St., S.W.

MORRIS NORMAN, Plant City, Fla.— I began workwith the Plant City church of Christ the first Sunday in April, hav-ing moved from Nashville, Tennessee where I workedwith the Rosebank congregation. The church here in PlantCity is having its vacation Bible school June 12-16 with night ses-sions 7:15-8:30. There will be two adult classes. I will teach a class on "The Christian Home" for young adultsand Ed Britt will teach the epistle of James to the older adults.

RUFUS R. CLIFFORD, Eastland church, Nashville, Tenn.

— Homer Hailey, Tampa, Florida preached in the spring meeting for the Eastland church, Nashville, Tenn. Crowds werelarge. More than 30 preachers attended. Two were baptized, two placed membership. There were 11 baptisms and 7restorations during my meeting with the church in Valley Station, Ky. in March. Harold F. Savely and the church there

are doing an outstanding work. From April 17th through 26th

I preached in Clintwood, Va. One was baptized. From May

7th through 14th I was with the Locust St. church, Mt.

Pleasant, Tenn. Five answered the invitation. Delton Porter

is the evangelist. Beginning June 18th I will be with the

Loraine Ave. church, Cleveland, Ohio in a meeting. Two

have been baptized and three restored at Eastland church

in the past three weeks.

HERBERT THORNTON, Baton Rouge, La.— Brother B.

J. Thomas of Haynesville, La. was with us in a meeting April30-May 5. We had good attendance at each service, andseveral non-members attended. We feel we had a good meeting even though there were no visible results. We had a recordnumber in attendance of 54 on the 30th of April. My addressafter the 1st of June will be: 9250 W. Inniswold Dr., Baton Rouge, La. I still need some support in my work here.

COMMENTS TO EDITORS

"I certainly enjoy reading Searching The Scriptures and the good it does defending the truth. I know that when Istudy with good brothers who write for Searching The Scriptures, I study in good company in the Lord."— L. N. Clifford, Nashville, Tenn.

"This is a fine paper. I deeply appreciate the good workyou are doing. I hope it will continue to grow and reach intoevery section of the country. Such soundness and fairness can do nothing but good— we need more of it."— Granville W. Tyler, Decatur, Ala.

". . . It's one of the best papers I have ever read."— Mrs.

J. B. Boswell, Bowling Green, Ky. "Searching The Scriptures is among the most enjoyable andprofitable papers I receive."— Ross Saunders, Lebanon, Ky.

"Today I received the March and April edition of Searching The Scriptures. After reading 'A Case Reviewed' in theMarch paper I thought— 'Boy, I've got to send in my renewal.'Then I read 'Worse Than Dunkirk' and thought— I'll do it right now!' So I am enclosing my $2.00. Searching The Scriptures is getting better, and better, and better!"— Wm, E. Wallace, Poteau, Okla.

"May the Lord richly bless you brethren for the fine work that you are doing. We enjoy receiving Searching The Scriptures very much."— Ray Brown, Newport, Ark.

"Enjoy and get a great deal of information from Searching The Scriptures''— Joe Young, Florence, Ala.

"I really enjoy Searching The Scriptures; it is dedicated to the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, but that is to be expected since two of the most dedicated men in thebrotherhood are publishing it. I know you will continue to doa wonderful work through its pages." D. W. H. Shelton, Tampa, Fla.

"I like the paper and feel that you are doing a good job. Keep up the good work."— Ward Hogland, Houston, Texas.

AUTHORITY OF A SINGLE CONGREGATION: A single congregation of the Lord in any community can administer and execute the work of the Lord in all its parts. This istrue of every congregation. When assembled it is a divinely-authorized body to act in the matters of the kingdom of God.There is no other divinely-authorized body on earth to act in matter of the kingdom of God. This body is under the oldcommission from the Lord: "Observe all things whatever Ihave commanded you." (Benjamin Franklin, Book Of Gems, page 243).

IT IS WRITTEN

D. W. H. Shelton, Tampa, Fla.

Just as long as the Bible lies closed we may look at it, thinkabout it and talk about it all our lives and we will never know one thing about the God of heaven, nor what He wants us to be and do.

It has been said truly that the Bible is not something to beworshipped; it means a great deal more than just that. A savage might bow down to a telescope and worship it, but anastronomer would know better, he would know that a telescope was not made to look at but to look through. Christians know the Bible like that, they know it must be lookedthrough, for with the Bible we find God and by it we learnwhat He was to and what He did for those who have goneon who were obedient to His commands. And we want Him to be the same to us that we may learn of His power, andprove that power for ourselves and in ourselves.

Since the Bible is the only instruction God has given to us,we must know the Bible and be led by it. To really andtruly know the Bible we must read it. The prophet Isaiah said in the long ago "seek ye out of the book of the Lord andread" (Isaiah 34:16).

All Bible students know that the Jews, and especially theirleaders, hounded Jesus throughout His personal ministry endeavoring to defeat Him in His teaching and to entrap Himin His speech. Jesus asked those Jews over and over again—Have ye not read? (Matt. 12:3, Mark 2:25, Luke 6:3).

We know that Jesus read much and often. We read in Luke

4:16 "And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue onthe sabbath day, and stood up to read." Paul wrote to Timothy: "Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine" (I Tim. 4:13).

In Tim. 2:1,2 he said "Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same committhou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." These verses declare that every Christian is commanded tolearn the gospel well enough to teach others, and teach themwell enough that they in turn may go out and teach others.In this way and only in this way is the church built up andkept built up.

Paul said in Rom. 15.4: "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we throughpatience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." "Forwe are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: forwhat a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it" (Rom. 8:24, 25). Hope is the anchor to the soul, but faithcoupled with patience, is the chain which sustains that anchor.

In I Cor. 10:1-10, Paul is talking about the Jews, their disobedience to God, and what befell them because of that disobedience, and in verse eleven he said, "Now all these thingshappened unto them for ensamples: and they are written forour admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come."

In John 20:30,31, we learn that "many other signs trulydid Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believingye might have life through his name."

In Rev. 1:3, we find the statement: "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand." But we must not add to nor take from the thingswhich are written in this book (Rev. 22:18,19).

BOOKS FOR EVERY CHRISTIAN

PHILLIPS PUBLICATIONS

P. O. Box 17244 Tampa, Florida

BOOKS FOR SALE

Scriptural Elders & Deacons (Phillips) . . .$ 4.00 Book-Miller Debate (Instrumental Music) __ __ 2.50 Identity Of The Church (Cook-Miller Debate) 2.00 More Than Conquerors (Hendriksen on Revelation) 3.50 Peloubet's Bible Dictionary ______ ---4.00 What Is Wrong With Modem Marriage? (Phillips) .75 What Is The Church Of Christ? (Phillips) . .. .25 Sermons By Pickup (Harry Pickup, Sr.) . 3.00 Johnson's New Testament Notes (2 vols.) 6.00 Attitudes & Consequences (Homer Hailey) 2.75 Let's Go Fishing For Men (Homer Hailey) 2.50 Restoration Readings (O. J. Swinney) . _____ 2.00

FRANKLIN ROAD LECTURE SERIES

Delivered in Nashville, Term., October, 1959

Vol. I Give Us A King (Harris J. Dark) $ .20 Vol. II Contending For The Faith and The

Organization of The Church

(Charles M. Campbell) .20 Vol. Ill Speaking As The OraclesOf God (Irven Lee) . .20 Vol. IV The All-Sufficiency Of The Bible

(E. L. Flannery) _____________ .20 Vol. V Divisions, Who Is Responsible?(James P. Miller) .20 Vol. VI According To The Pattern(Stanley J. Lovett) _______ . .20 Vol. VII Church Cooperation (Cecil B. Douthitt) . ____ .20 Vol. VIII The Glorious Church And Its Purpose(Curtis Porter) .. . . .20 Vol. IX The Care Of The Needy (HerschelPatton) . .20 Vol. X The Individual Christian's Responsibility (Bennie Lee Fudge) .... .20 Vol. XI When Should One Change?(James A. Allen) . .20

Only a few copies of the bound volume of Southeastern News Letter are left. This volume contains every issue of Southeastern News Letter— March, 1958 to December, 1959— which is a news record of churches, elders and preachers generally in the Southeast. Theprice is $1.00. We will send one copy free to all whosend us three (3) subscriptions to SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES. If you just want a copy of the News Letter send us your name and $1.00 now. There are not many left.