THE NATURE OF THE GOSPEL

What is there in the gospel that makes it so

powerful? Why will it turn the hardened sinner

from the error of his way into the paths of God?

Not only will it turn him from sin, but from the

desire of sinful things. It can succeed when all

other things would fail. It can move men when

threats, force, and coercion would be powerless.

Why does it have more power than the sword? I

want to suggest here that every element of power

in the universe that deals with men is found in

the Gospel. The righteous use of power, as far as

I know, all power, has both a right and wrong

usage. Of course it is understood without question

that the only use God ever makes of anything is

a righteous use. Let our denominational friends

answer the challenge that the Gospel is God's

power because of its nature. They are loud in their

disrespect for the ability of the Gospel to convert

without aid from the Holy Spirit in an independent

sense. Here are some of the things that make thegospel so powerful.THE LOVE OF GOD IS IN THE GOSPEL.

Wher e is the man who will deny that there is

power in love? Kings have left their thrones, wars

have been fought, and the great of earth have

bowed at the throne of love. Space forbids us to

develop so grand a theme. Look at the mother who

would die for her child. Look at the soldier

standing watch on the far flung islands of the

sea. Watch the man in the strength of youth

compass the earth and come back for the girl he

left behind. Power in love; why there is enough

power in love, as one great soldier and monarch

stated it in the long ago, "to make the kingdoms of

earth oscillate on the globe." Why will the gospel

move men? Listen, it is the greatest love story

ever told, the story of Him who died for us on

the rugged tree of Calvary. Dying for men not yet

born. Giving himself freely and willingly for the

broken and sin-scarred race of man. How grand

Isaiah has told the story. Listen to Isaiah 53:4-8, Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wound-en for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace wasupon him; and with his stripes we are healed.All we like sheep have gone astray: we haveturned every one to his own way: and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He wasoppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he openednot his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers

is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was

taken from prison and from judgment: and who

shall declare his generation? for he was cut off

out of the land of the living: for the

transgression of my people was he stricken." I am not surprised when men are moved by a

story like this. I marvel that men do not fall down

before the Galilean every time it is told in its

pur ity and simplicity. Surely if man loved God

in some small part as God loves him, it could be

the power of salvation to him. If the devotion to

Christ and his love will not move men to obey his

commands then there is not a power in the

univer se that could cause them to want to do

so. Jesus put it on this simple, yet impregnable

basis when he said in John 14:15, "if ye love me

keep my commandments."

YET THERE IS POWER IN FEAR. It would not be fair to imply that love is the onlyforce found in the Gospel story. The fear of God and of his condemnation if found in the preaching of the full gospel of Christ. Hebrews 10:24-27, And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is: but exhorting oneanother: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

For if we sin willfully after that we havereceived the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

Wherever the gospel is preached the fear of hell must be preached as well. How can we preach salvation without telling the need for our salvation? And how can we tell the need for our salvation without telling that we are lost and without hope? And how can we preach that men are lost and without hope without telling of helland the fear of God? Hear Paul in 2 Thess. 1:7

10. And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God,and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to beadmired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.

There is power in fear. Hitler tried to rule theworld with this dread weapon. The forces of op

pression since time immemorial have used its

power. How that black monarch that rules the

regions below uses it today. Fear of lost

popularity with the rabble crowd caused Pilate to

deliver up the Christ. Fear of the shallow sentiment

of the world works with the powerful force against

the church of God. Yes, there is power in fear,

and its righteous use found in the Gospel of

Christ. THE GOSPEL A SWORD The writer of the Hebrew letter gives this great statement about the power of the Gospel. Heb.

4:12, "For the word of God is quick, and power, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart," The word "quick" means living, or alive, hence, we are preaching a living word, or living message. Not a message that is decayed with the passage of time but a message of power for our time and for time to come. A message breathed out by the Son ofGod and given by revelation to the apostles. Amessage made alive by the spirit of the living Godfor only the spirit of the living God could makethe word a living gospel. A story of glad tidings that needs no revision, but one adapted for ourfathers, for us, and for our sons. The beautiful illustration of a two-edged sword carries us back to the days of the sword in the combat of ancientwars. Able to cut deeply into the physical body,the word of God is able to cut into the heart. It is "a discerner of the thoughts and intents of theheart." On the day of Pentecost, when the great apostle preached with all the power of the Gospel, the men who had crucified the Chr ist were "cut to their hearts and cried out." Paul writes in the Ephesian letter to "take the sword of the spirit which is the word of God." During the time I worked with the church of Philadelphia I visited the University of Pennsylvania museum manytimes. On one occasion I asked the curator to show me a two-edged sword such as the one used in thedays of Paul. The best swords were made in Damascus and were of the finest workmanship. They sing through the air like a bird and are so sharp and thin that when yielded with power can sever "joint and marrow." How glorious it is to meditate on the use of such a weapon. What agreat privilege it is to be entrusted with its use in the most glorious cause in which man can find himself. T hink of that great army who have fought with this sword under the bloodstained banner loved so well. Consider the honor of being named with great who loved the truth andlived and died for the word of God. T hose who preached this Gospel in its power without fear orcompromise and gave to the world in clear tones the conditions of pardon that must be believed

and obeyed.

HIS OWN WORK

"But let ever y man prove his own work, and

then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and

not in another" (Gal. 6:4). Wuest translates this

verse as follows in Galatians In The Greek New

Testament: "But his own work let each one put

to the test and thus approve, and then with respect

to himself alone will he have a ground for

glorying, and not with respect to the other one

(with whom he had compared himself). For each

shall bear his own private burden." He comments

upon this verse: "Again, when each man's self-

examination reveals infirmities of his own, even

though they may not be the same as those of his

neighbors, he will not claim moral and spiritual

superiority to others. Furthermore, each saint

should bear his own burden in the sense that he

must recognize his personal responsibilities towards

God and man. He is responsible for the kind of life

he lives."

The present trend is more and more to "let George do it" in religious affairs. The average

member of the church today is too indifferent to

take the time and trouble to investigate the

spiritual needs of himself and those of his

immediate family for whom he is responsible. The

one who takes the time to read this is taking a step

further than nine of his brethren in Christ, because

only about one in ten Christians will take the time

and put forth the effort to read something

pertaining to the gospel of Christ and the

church. Why is this true? Why do professed

followers of Christ refuse to read of things

pertaining to the kingdom of God and the name of

Jesus Christ? There are some reasons much too

obvious to deny.

Perhaps the foremost reason why brethren will

not read religious material is that they do not want

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to THINK. It is just a matter of being too lazy

to exert the metal effort to think for themselves.

It is a case of letting someone else do the

thinking and we will just accept the conclusions.

It is a requirement of each one of us to "work out

our own salvation" and it is not accomplished by

allowing another to do our study for us. How can

one "think on these things" (Phil. 4:8) if he does

not read and study the word of God for himself?

How do you know you have the truth unless you

read and weigh all the evidence touching a given

subject?

Another reason for not reading to prove our own faith and work is prejudice. We, of all people,have developed a "prejudice" unequalled in manyrespects by most denominationalists today. This prejudice does not concern the same matters of religious endeavor, but where it exists, it is about as hard to deal with as any we have met. Inincreasing number professed Christians "refuse" to read or investigate anything that conflicts with their "present views" and "loyal stand." Our criticism of the Communist and Catholic methods is

that they refuse, or are refused, the opportunity

to "hear both sides" of any issue. Catholics are

taught to receive and "read" only authorized

material. Now we have members of the church

who have been taught to read only the authorized

material published by authorized publishing houses.

Prejudice, whether self imposed or implanted by

another, is the one factor that causes you to reject

evidence, and, consequently, keeps you from

knowing what truth really is. If you accept only

what another has told you is truth, you have no

more assurance of truth than the Communist who

has been told there is no God. A third reason why people refuse to read insearch for religious truth is just plain indifference.

It takes time and effort to read and think, and

the lack of interest in the subject matter does not

encourage putting forth the effort. It is much

easier to take the position that it makes no real

difference what a person believes, just so long as

he is honest and sincere. But is one honest with

himself who will not investigate "both sides" of an

issue? Is one really sincere who refuses to read

an article or a book that does not come from a

duly authorized source? How can one know whether

he has the truth or not if he refuses evidence?

We must prove our own work. We must search

the word of God daily to be sure we are not being

mislead by false teachers who come in the name

of the Lord. It is not enough to claim to follow

along with "great and good men," neither is it

sufficient proof of being r ight to just say "I have

always believed it." Only the truth will make us

free (John 8:32). The truth is the word of God.

(John 17:17.)

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can r est assur ed that having taught them, their

blood will be on their own heads, as is taught in

E zekiel 33. Pr ay they will hear what is tr ue.

Keep up the good work, fight a good fight, and

in the end receive a crown laid up for all the

faithful to the end." — W. O. Woods, Harrison,

Ark.

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COUNTING THE BLOOD UNHOLY

In answer to the question, "Is it possible for a

child of God to fall from grace?" let us continue

our study by examining six verses out of Hebrews

10. This is some of the strongest teaching to be

found in the New T estament. It is a

condemnation of those who had been sanctified

and then turned on the Lord. Heb. 10:26-29. For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thoughtworthy, who hath trodden under foot the Sonof God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spir it ofgrace? For we know him that hath said,Vengeance belong-eth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, T he Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.Bible students through the years have debated

the "day" found in the 25th verse. If the "day"

referred to is the First Day of the week or the

Lord's Day, then these Hebrew Christians had lost

respect for the WORSHIP of God. If the "day"

is the destruction of Jerusalem, as most of the

scholars believe, then they had lost all respect for

God's WORD. In Matthew 25, our Lord went into

great detail warning them of the fall of the city of

David. As a third possibility, if it is the Judgment

Day, then they had lost all respect for God's

WRATH. The writer warns of this in verse 31 when

he states, "it is a fearful thing to fall into the

hands of the living God." L et us notice, as we

did last month in the study we did on II Peter 2,

the steps they took in this apostasy.

1. THEY HAD RECEIVED THE KNOWLEDGE

OF THE TRUTH.

Vs. 26: "For if we sin willfully after that we

have received the knowledge of the truth, there

remaineth no more sacrifice for sins." The wilful

sin referred to here is the failure to assemble

and the loss of the blessings that accompany such

worship. This cannot be a sin of ignorance for

they had the knowledge of the truth. It is

stubborn sin, a refusal to do what they knew

they should and must do to be saved.

2. THEY WERE GUILTY OF WILFUL SIN.

Vs. 26: "For if we sin willfully after that we

have received the knowledge of the truth, there

remaineth no more sacrifice for sins." The wilful sin referred to here is the failure to

assemble and the loss of the ble ings that

accompany such worship. This cannot be a sin of

ignorance for they had the knowledge of th

truth. It is stubborn sin, a refusal to do what they

knew should and must do to be saved.

3. THEY TROD UNDER FOOT THE SON OF

GOD.

Vs. 29: "Of how much sorer punishment suppose

ye, shall be thought worthy, who hath trodden

under foot the Son of God."

The figure here is as strong as it is possible for

the writer to make it. The reference is to the

custom of the conquerors of the time to ride over

the bodies of those conquered to show their

contempt for them. This was as barbaric a

practice as it is possible to imagine, and ye

this is the extent to which those who at one time

had loved the Lord had fallen.

4. THEY COUNTED THE BLOOD UNHOLY.

Vs. 29: " .. . and hath counted the blood of the

covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an un

holy thing ... "The Jews above all the people among the ancients were taught both by the law and their own traditions to count many things as unholy or common. A dog was thus regarded in Israel andmany brethren have had a lot to say about the"price of a dog." The meaning here is clear. At one time those Christians counted the blood of Christ pure enough to sanctify them, and now theywer e counting it no better than the blood of a dog.This shows how far one can fall from the sanctified state in the body of Christ.

5. THEY DID DESPITE TO THE SPIRIT OF

GRACE.

Vs. 29: "... and hath done despite to the Spirit

of grace."

In the records of the ancients we have the stories

of those who were so filled with hate that the

would spit in the face of men who tried to show

them favor. It is hard to know the full meaning

of the expression found here, but this will do for

an illustration: To do despite to the Spirit of grace

is to spit in the face of the ver y Savior who seeks

to save us.

6. I WILL RECOMPENSE.

Vs. 30: "For we know him that hath said,

Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will

recompense, saith the Lord. And again, T he

Lord shall judge his people."This is directed to the children of God and not to the world, and shows beyond any shadow of doubthat those who were once sanctified by the blooof Christ are to be the objects of the wrath of God if he finds them in this condition. It is little wonder that the men who a generation agdebated the impossibility of apostasy now havno longer a longing for the fray. These passages ar e too clear and too powerful.

WHERE IS YORK COLLEGE GOING?

Donald P. A men, Aurora, Illinois

For some time many brethren have been interested in the future course of York College, and particularly after the movement got underway to put the institution on the map in a big wayHaving attended there myself during the first two year's of the school's existence under the oversight of individual members of the church, I too was interested in its future action. To me now, there is little further cause to wonder —

the course has been set.

As York College began, Bro. Roy H. Lanier, Sr.

served as the backbone of the school, and is one of

the few men who had the courage and strength

to stand up to the pressures of the Gospel

Advocate, state his convictions and sever his ties

with such an organ which refuses to print

anything contrary to the pet views of the editor.

As long-as Bro. Lanier was with York College

there was little likelihood of the school accepting

church contributions or getting on the big

institutional bandwagon. Lanier did not remain

there long though, and after the third year of th

school was relieved.

Following Harvey Childress and Gene Hancock(both liberals — the latter more in line with the Gospel Advocate), Dale Larson a umed the obligations of President. Dale is a close friend of mine, so what follows is not said to degrade him, but rather, as was done by Bro. Miller inthe editorial of the May issue, to cause some of our liber al br ethren to give a little mor e thought as to where their band wagon is going totake them.

Last summer I returned to Nebraska for a short

visit with my folks. Dur ing that visit, I too

advantage of some time to go up and pay a short

visit to York College, and also Dale Larson. Since

the Gospel Advocate has long had control of the

state, I was curious how much influence Lanier

and other s had had. Amongst other things, Dale

and I also talked about some of the problems

before the brotherhood, acknowledging each other's

convictions as to the "anti" and "digressive" trends.

Dale made his point clear that he did not support

the conservative views of many sincere brethren,

and would use his full influence to prevent any

such men from preaching in Nebraska (and I know

of at least one he did prevent — even though that

preacher's son was at that time a student at York).

However, since Bro. Miller was calling attentionto danger signs, the r eal danger was yet to berevealed. Not only has York College exerted fullinfluence to regulate who may or may not preach for the churches in Nebr aska, and not only has the president of the school barred any conservative publications from being sent gratis to Bible majors in that school, but a distinct trend is already ithe wind. During the course of our conversation,

Dale mentioned that although York was not

presently accepting church contributions

(although some allege otherwise), he had no

objections to such — provided they could be

directed exclusively to the Bible department, and

expressed the viewpoint someday that might be

possible. When I pressed him, asking him if he'd

accept an institution set up exclusively to teach

the Bible (like York College — a private

institution) and then be church supported, he

r eplied if that was all it taught he would have no

objections. When I pressed him still further as to

the difference between that and the Missionary

Society as it was or iginally set up, he had no

answer. With all due respect to friends still at York Col

lege, the directions of York have been set — and it is not a pleasant road ahead. Many unlearned there are going to be swallowing more than theyknew and many from there are going to continuethe trend. Brethren, the road ahead for liberalism will continue to spread — there is no stopping place. York's path has been set — a path regretted bythose who waited and hoped they would try to stem some of the digression. Yes, indeed, churches — and individuals — would do well to hesitate before jumping into some of those large-scale drives.

KOINONIA, "FELLOWSHIP," No. 2

Koinonia in the LXX

It is especially noteworthy that koinonia occurs only once in the canonical LXX (Lev. 6:2). The term occurs only twice in the Apocrypha (Wisdom 8:18; III Macc. 4:6). In one of the rival Greek versions of the Old Testament koinonia occurs in Hosea 7:4.

In Wisdom of Solomon 8:18 the author is considering the virtue of wisdom: "And in her friendship is good delight, and in the labours of her hands is wealth that faileth not, and in assiduous communing with her is understanding, and great renown in having fellowship (koinonia) with her words."

Koinonia in the sense of the marriage unionoccurs in III Mace. 4:6: "And the young womenwho had but lately entered the marriage chamber f or the society (koinonian) of wedded life, withlamentations instead of joy, and with their perfumed locks covered with dust, were carried awayunveiled."

T he occurrence of koinonia in Lev. 6:2 is very unusual. Here the text says this: "If a soul sin,and commit a trespass against the Lord, and lieunto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship (lit., "concerning fellowship," koinonias), or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour . . . ." In this passage koinonia is from a Hebrew term that literally means "in dealing," or "in something that is placed in the hand"; that is, a deposit.One version translates it, "in pawn." (The PulpitCommentary)

T hough koinonia occurs in the Old Testament only once, the Hebrew root chabar, which is sometimes translated by cognates of the word koinonia, occurs several times. Its primary meaning is "bind," "join together." The reason for the representation of this Hebrew root by cognates of koinonia is obvious.

It is especially to be noted that in the OldTestament neither the Hebrew chabar nor the Greek koinonia are used to express the idea of communion with God on the part of men. Indeed, we find the idea of communion with God in the Old Testament (communion in the Passover, etc.), but this

is not expressed by koinonia. Cranfield thinks this is because the Biblical writers were so conscious of the inequality between God and man; hence,they would express the relationship between Godand men with the words "servant," "covenant," and not with the more intimate word koinonia. (Cranfield, C. E. B., "Fellowship, Communion," in A Theological Wordbook of the Bible, ed. Alan Richardson. New York; Th e Macmillan Co., 1957), pp. 81-83.)

BROCK-WALKER DEBATE

II. E. Phillips

Paul Brock of the Lakeshore church in Jacksonville, Florida met D. Ellis Walker in adebate at the Lakeshore building, August 20-25. T he proposition was the same throughout the six nights: "T he Lakeshore congregation, meeting at2121 Blanding Blvd., Jacksonville, Florida, is scriptural in practice and teaching (doctrine) and is loyal to Christ." Brother Brock affirmed this proposition and Brother Walker denied it.

In the first affirmative speech brother Brockpointed out that for a thing to be scriptural it must be proved by the Scriptures. He introduced a chart showing the Bible definition of the word "church", and then presented another chart showing the work of the church and established that the Lakeshore church was doing both at home and away exactlywhat the Scriptures authorize a church to do. Hechallenged brother Walker to show that these thingswere not true or that the Lakeshore church was not teaching and practicing them. Brother Brock established his affirmative in the very first speech and it was never broken through the last speech of the debate.

Br other Walker began his negative speech bysaying that all he knew about the L akeshore church is what was published in its bulletin. He thenbegan to show that the bulletin of the L akeshor e church was "violating the autonomy" of other churches by sending it among members of other churches. Since Paul Brock was writing about theteaching and practice of other churches in the bulletin, and the bulletin was paid for by the Lake-shore church, consequently, the L akeshore church must be responsible for what was published in thebulletin. Walker leveled but two charges againstthe Lakeshore church throughout the debate: 1) The church was r esponsible for what Paul Br ock wr ote in the bulletin about other churches and their activities, and was therefore guilty with him of "violating local autonomy," and 2) The Lakeshore church was not doing "general benevolence" amongoutsiders as well as Christians.

As was expected, the debate included almost allthe various "issues" of the present, particularly brother Walker's tracts on Every Good Work and Fellowship, which he sought to affirm in his negative speeches. After the first night Walker got into the affirmative and stayed there. Heentirely ignored the affirmative arguments make by Brock and virtually ignored all the charts Brock intr oduced. Brother Brock was well prepared and had about fifty charts on various arguments. Brother Walker had some charts prepared for affirmative

arguments and used them after the first night. He

sought to establish a general fellowship upon the

expression: "Walking in the light," and he tried

to establish a general benevolent program by th

churches upon the expression: "the love of God."

Two very telling blows to Walker's arguments were made by Brock. The first was a chart which listed on one side the responsibilities of the church as Evangelism, Benevolence, and Edification, whichar e to the end of eter nal salvation; and on thother side he listed Entertainment, with several practices such as soft-ball, ping-pong, parties, suppers; and Secularism, with various social,political and business affairs listed; and Institutionalism, with human systems of all kinds through which churches work. All the things listed under the social gospel pertained to this world. Brock firmly stated that he and the Lakeshore church stood opposed to every element of thesocial gospel and modernism, and challengeWalker time after time to come before the audience and either affirm or deny that he acceptedall or a part of those things listed under the social gospel. Walker denied that he was a modernist, buthe did not deny all those things listed under that side of the chart. It was pointed out by brother Brock that some of the churches in Jacksonville practiced some of them, and he would have tocondemn them if he condemned these practices. Brother Walker obviously felt the force of this point which was made over and over again bybrother Brock.

The second blow was the fact that very few from the liberal churches in Jacksonville attended, anonly a very few from University Avenue in Gainesville where Walker preaches came. Brock stated several times that Walker could not get theendorsement of the churches in Jacksonville who stood with him on some of the i ues, and urged him to show proof that he had their endorsement. He further charged that Walker would not affirm a position on either side and called upon him to do so again and again.

Brother George Darling of the Springfield church in Jacksonville moderated for Brother Walker. Brother Charles A Holt of Wichita Fall, Texas moderated for brother Brock. Brother Holt is well informed and experienced in debates on these i ues,and was of great assistance to brother Brock. PaulBrock proved himself an able disputant in defense of the faith. He was well prepared and presented his material in a fine and forceful way. The debate was conducted in an orderly manner and large crowds were in attendance each night. Wbelieve this discussion will do much and lastinggood not only in the city of Jacksonville, but also in all northeast Florida and southern Georgia.

SALVATION — BAPTISM No. 7

Thomas O. O'Neal, Jasper, Ala.

Of all the subjects taught in the Word of God in language clear and plain is the subject ofbaptism. Since being taught in such language,one would natur ally think that all people knethe tr uth on the subject and pr acticed it. But this is not the case.

Baptism is a subject often discussed. In the past

ther e have been many r eligious debates on the

who, what, how, and why of baptism. With these

many discu ions, people in general are still in

ignorance of the truth on the subject. Just a few

months ago I engaged a man in a publi

discussion on this question. Brother James P.

Miller, one of the editors of Searching The

Scriptures, has had many such discu ions. These

discu ions proved that men are either ignorant

of the subject or are not willing to take wha

the word of God says on the subject. In man

instances the later is the case.

In this article I want to let the Word of God

speak and the reader to know the truth should be

open minded and receive the truth from the Book

of the Lord. Many, many passages of Scripture

could be used in our study, but I will notice only a few on each point.

Who should be baptized? Jesus said, "He that

believeth and is baptized shall be saved." Mark

16:15-16. Believers are to be baptized. Peter told

believers to "repent and be baptized." Acts 2:38.

T hose who have r epented should be baptized

Philip told the eunuch that befor e he could be

baptized he must believe. The eunuch confessed

his faith when he said, "I believe that Jesus Christ

is the Son of God." Acts 8:37. Thus, one who has

confessed Christ should be baptized. These

prerequisites are things that infants can not do

therefore, infants are not Bible subjects for

baptism.

What is baptism? Again let the Bible speak for itself. "Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glor y of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Rom. 6:3. T hen note Col. 2:12, "Bur ied with him inbaptism, wherein also ye are risen with him throughthe faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." T hus: one lear ns that baptismis a bur ial. Not only does the Bible teach baptism to be a burial, but all will agree including world scholars that this was the way baptism was accomplished in New Testament times. The Bible no place records an incident of pouring orsprinkling water upon a person and calling ibaptism. T his was not approved until 1311 at acouncil of the Roman Catholic Church in Northern Italy held at Ravenna! Thus, the Bible teachebaptism to be a burial in water. Rom. 6:3; Col. 2:12; Acts 10:47; 8:38-39.

Why should one be baptized? Like we have done

before, let us turn to the Divine Record for our

answer. "He that believeth and is baptized shall

be saved." Mk. 16:16. "The like figure whereun

to even baptism doth also now save us." I Pet.

3:21. "Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy

sins, calling on the name of the Lord." Acts 22:16,

"Repent and be baptized ever y one of you in th

name of Jesus Chr ist for the r emission of sins."

Acts 2:38. The above passages point out on

should be baptized for the remi ion of sins,

salvation, and the washing away of sins.

Is there any power in the water? Upon teachingthat one must be baptized in order to be saved, some ask, "Do you believe there is any power inthe water?" Of course the answer is, "No." The water is just plain water, thus, no power in the

water.

But what about the blood of Christ, does it save?T he blood of Chr ist saves. T he Bible teaches we are saved by the blood of Christ. Rom. 5:9; I Pet. 1:18-19; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; Mt. 26:28; Heb.9:22. But someone will ask, "If the blood saves, why be baptized?" To which we would answer that since the blood saves, one must contact theblood of Christ. Jesus Christ shed his blood in his death. Jno. 19:32-34. In order to benefit from the blood, one must contact the blood of Chr ist. Since His blood was shed in His death, one must get into the death of Christ where the blood of Christ was shed . This is done according to Rom. 6:3-4 bybeing baptized into His death. T hus, those who have not been saved can come in contact with the blood of Christ which saves by being buried with

their Lord in baptism.Have you, dear reader, been baptized into thedeath of Chr ist that you might contact his blood

and be washed from your sins? It not, do not put

it off another day. If you believe that Christ is

the Son of God, are willing to repent of your sins

and confess the name of Christ, call the nearest

gospel preacher and ask him to baptize you. He

will be glad to help you obey the command of God.

Then you will be free from the past sins and will

be in Christ, a child of God, and can call upon

God as your heavenly Father.

BOOK OF RUT H

In the Song of Redemption, the book of Ruth seems to sing of Redemption. It is the Redemption of those who now ar e linked to Christ that were not by Jewish blood. It is the br inging to Christ the Gentiles, who through thelineage of the Jews were not related. It is the r edemption of the Gentiles.

The beautiful love story of the book of Ruth is

unsurpassed in all the libraries of men. Will you

view the godly woman, Naomi, as she leaves her

native land, as the helpmeet of her husband and

finds herself in a land that had cruel trials and

memories? She loses her husband, her sons marry

and finally they both die. Here she is left with her

two daughters in law. One is a true friend and one

stays behind. She comes to the Land of Moab and

plucks the fairest rose, but does so with pricked

and bleeding hands. Beautiful Ruth, the fair est

rose in Moab, is gathered with a broken heart and

bleeding hands. Our Savior, came to this land of

sorrows and with bleeding hands and a broken

heart plucked the fairest gift for man, the ressur

rection and eternal life. It might be well for us to compare the vow of Ruth to the vow one makes as he becomes a child

of God.

1. I will not leave thee — We surely made this vow as a part of the bride of Christ and a Child

of God. Christ assures us he will never leave us

and sometimes we are assured of this only when

we have to lose friends and many other things

we prize. However, no one ever gave up anything

good, for himself, in following Chr ist.

2. I will lodge where thou lodgest — Surely we

wish to lodge where our Redeemer lodges and he

has gone to prepare a place for us in the House

of God. We need to make certain that one day we

will dwell with him.

3. Thy people shall be my people — I need and you need the companionship of the people of God and we will have fellowship with those who walk in the light as he is in the light. I need not worry about fellowship. I need to worry about serving Christ as he desires me to serve and fellowship will

be a sure result.

4. Thy God my God — Surely there is only one

true God though there be gods many. When we

know His will, the revealed Word, and follow him

He is our God, and He is the same One that Christ

ser ved as He came to do the Will of His Father .

5. Where thou diest I will die — We cannot die

apart from Christ and for those who die in the

Lord, there is rest from their labors and blessed

in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.

L ive with Him, Die in Him and be with Him in

all eternity.

6. Only Death will part us — Here Ruth could not see the hope you have as a child of God for death does not part us from Christ. We may be left to walk the lonely road here without our faithful companion but we shall not be separated in eternity. One of the brightest hopes the Christian entertains is the reunion after this life is over. Paul had such confidence in death, was r eady to

be offered and surely he had a crown of life. It

will be better after while. Ruth sings of the re

demption gained at a terrible price. What harmony

this book has with the keynote Chr ist, in God's

song of Redemption.

"UNWARRANTED OPINIONS, THINGS LAWFUL THINGS COMMANDED" — A REVIEW (No. 3)

Under the heading GENERIC COMMANDS onpage nine of brother D, Ellis Walker's tract, UNWARRANTED OPINION, THINGS LAWFUL, THINGS COMMANDED, he affirms that Galatians 2:10 authorizes a general program ofbenevolence for the church. The verse says, "Only they would that we should remember the poor; thesame which I also was forward to do." We agree that "remember the poor," of itself, is gener ic so far as the object of benevolence is concerned. However, before brother Walker or anyone else can

determine the truth on the i ue under consideration, all that is revealed on the subject must be considered. Brother Walker immediateljumps to the conclusion that the "poor" of Galatians 2:10 includes both aliens and saints. Then, in an effort to avoid the force of further revelation on the matter, he affirms that a generic command cannot be made specific by the examples of obedience under it. (p.10) Of course, brother Walker begins with the a umption that the command under study is generic without considering the whole of God's revelation on thematter. Whether or not any command, which oitself appears to be generic, is generic, depends upon whether or not there is further revelation the particular point under study and the nature of that revelation. Even brother Walker recognizes this with reference to some things and is,therefore, inconsistent in the application of his own rule. In other words, he applies it only whenit favors his position. Consider the following

example.

Our Lord instituted the Lord's supper saying,"T his is my body which is given for you; this do in remembrance of me." (Lk. 22:19) This command, of itself, is generic as to time. The time to observe the Lord's supper is not specified in this command, nevertheless, time is authorized bynecessary inference. The command cannot be obeyedwithout observing it sometime. T hus the command to observe the Lord's supper as originally giveis generic as to time. If one were to ignore further revelation on this matter he would conclude the time element to be generic and, therefore, thLord's supper could be observed anytime. This is exactly what brother Walker does with Galatians2:10. Yet, on page seven of his tract brother Walker affirms that the time for observing thLord's supper is too specifically set forth for itto be eaten on any day save the first day of thweek. He then cites as proof the following scriptures: Acts 2:42; Heb. 10:25; I Cor. 16:1-2;I Cor. 11:17-34; Acts 20:6-12. Now, the onlyreference among those cited that has anything aall to do with when the Lord's supper is to be eaten is Acts 20:6-12, and it is an example of obedienceunder the command of Lk. 22:19. Thus brother Walker contradicts himself! He refuses to allow others to do with reference to his hobby what hhimself does with reference to the Lord's supper. Consistency, where art thou?

If brother Walker should affirm that the other

scriptures afford any proof (by necessary

inference or otherwise) as to when the Lord's

supper is to be obser ved, let him make some

argument based upon them and I will expose his

error. Other men have tr ied and failed. I am

confident he can do no better. If he is abreast

of the times on these matters, he should know

of their failur es.

Besides this the context of Galatians 2:10 shows that the statement "remember the poor" refers to what all of them alr eady under stood the will ofGod to be from former teaching or revelation. What they understood from the use of the term "poor" is not clear from this passage alone. If we had a record of this former revelation when originally made we might be able to determine something more definite. As it is, of itself, it is

generic. But that is not all — we have further

revelation on the matter at i ue. Paul's statement "the same which I also was forward to do" is very revealingand most significant. However, the assumptionthat Paul did the ver y thing which Walker assumed he was told to do in the first place does not followfrom this statement. (See tract, page 13) Althat any soul has to do to determine just who the"poor" are of Galatians 2:10 is simply to finout what Paul was "forward to do" in the matter. Paul says it is the "same" as that which James,Cephas, and John told him and Barnabas to do. Surely, brother Walker knows what Paul was"forward to do" in the matter of church benevolence. It is a matter of plain revelation(Rom. 15:25; I Cor. 16:1-3; 2 Cor. 8:1-4;9:1,13; I Tim. 5:16) The whole of God's revelation on what Paul was "forward to do" in the matter of church benevolence shows that it was limited to saints. Since this is the "same" as that which Paul and Barnabas were reminded to do by James,Cephas, and John, the "poor" of Galatians 2:10 are clearly identified for us. Unbiased minds and opehearts will accept the whole of God's revelation on a

matter — not just a part of it.

In a further effort to establish his arbitrary rule

relative to generic commands and examples of

obedience under them, he presents a number of

illustrations. These we now consider in the order

of their appearance in his tract, (pp 10,11,12)

His examples under the generic command "go"in the matter of preaching the gospel all vary onfrom the other. This var iation evidences the element of choice. Since it was a matter of choice then, it is a matter of choice now. Therefore, the matter of how to go is not specified but generic. The further revelation by way oexamples on how to go neither clar ifies nor adds anything to the command "go." After consideringthe whole of God's revelation on the matter it remains in the generic. Now, in the matter of church benevolence, let brother Walker show a var iation in the examples of obedience under Galatians

2:10 on the point at issue and we will allow it to

r emain in the gener ic. Remember, we have

alr eady shown that Galatians 2:10, of itself, is

not conclusive. The further revelation clarifies

and adds to the command in such a way as to

make it specific.

Under the generic command "teach" he shows that we have examples of the whole church beintaught (Acts 14:27; I Cor. 4:17 and I Cor. 14:23),but denies that we have examples of groups or classes being taught, like those in most churches on Sunday morning. In so doing he shows that he is not qualified to meet in debate those whooppose the Bible class arrangement. Indeed, hwould be a poor specimen in debate with such. Brother Walker, you may not know it, but it is a fact that the examples of obedience under the command to "teach" do vary. We even have aexample of groups being taught by different teacher s simultaneously in the same building(Acts 5:25) Further revelation on this matter neither clarifies nor adds anything to the command

"teach." It, therefore, remains in the generic.

Furthermore, my position relative to the

examples of obedience under the command

"teach" is not parallel to those who oppose the Bible

class arrangement — but brother Walker's is!

Both of them say that we only have examples of the whole

church being taught. Brother Walker and his Anti

Bible Class group are exactly alike in this matter.

Next, brother Walker tells us that under the generic command to "visit" the fatherless we have no New Testament example. He affirms withemphasis that the command to "visit" is gener ic as to how the visiting is to be done. He thenturns on those who try to make the command"visit" specific by selecting one way of visiting to the exclusion of others and brands all such as digressive. Now, brother Walker either does not know whatthe i ue is on this matter or else he misrepresents honest brethren. If he does not know what the issue is, he is without excuse in view of all thathas been said and wr itten on the subject, and hhas no business going into print on these matters. Certainly he ought not to put himself forward as a great teacher on "current i ues," much less adebater. If he knows what the i ue is, then hdeliberately misrepresents both honest brethren andthe issue. Brother Walker, the issue is not and never has been how to do the visiting. T he issue is who is to do the visiting? T he individual, thchurch, or some other organization? Thus, brother Walker courageously ( ?) whips the daylights out of a straw man! If you are so brave, brother Walker, why not tackle the real issue? After yodecide who is to do the visiting, it will be timenough to determine the how under the generic command "visit." On the latter you will find littleor no controversy

The next and final article will deal with his

subject matter on "fellowship" and legal

requirements.

DEFENDING THE WRONG PROPOSITION

In the August 23 i ue of the Gospel AdvocatePaul Simon of Milton, Florida reported the

following in News and Notes: "I defended the

r ight for an orphan home to exist against Elwood

Phillips at Tarpon Springs for three nights in

July ... "

True to form among the digressive preachers of this generation brother Simon indicated that heeither did not know what the issue was, or else he deliberately mis-stated it. Not one time in our discu ion did the question of the "right to exist" concerning orphan homes come up. He did nomake one argument designed to show that thehad the "right to exist." The real i ue was whether the church could contribute to any humaninstitution in doing its work. He tried to find the

benevolent homes in James 1:27; he tr ied to

make orphan homes divine in their nature; h

tried to get church support of these human boards

under Necessar y I nfer ence, but not one singl

time did he try to defend their "right to exist"

because no one questioned that. A publishing

company has the "right to exist" and to publish

Bibles, but that is a far cry from demanding

contributions from churches in doing so. I am persuaded brother Simon can see this.

Now since brother Simon thought he was de

fending the "right for an orphan home to exist"

in that discussion in July, I wonder if he would

"defend the right for an orphan home" to collect

contributions from churches in doing their benevo

lent work? We shall see. — H.E.P.

ANSWERING G. K. WALLACE

Connie W. Adams, Orlando, Florida

The Gospel Advocate of July 19, 1962 carries an article by G. K. Wallace entitled "Florida Christian College and Confused Connie." It is a typical tirade against Florida Christian College, Charles Holt and me. The occasion for the article was an editorial in the Newbern Admonisher, the bulletin I edited while working with the church in Newbern,Tennessee, in which I questioned the continual use of a church bulletin as a medium for advertising thcollege. Particular reference was made to the Humboldt Observer, edited by J. E. Williams. For years its pages have been filled with announcements and promotions of various affairs at Freed-Hardeman College. It is not a matter of an occasionalannouncement which might have been of some interest to some members of the church, but thcontinual use of it as a medium for advertisingthe college.

Brother Wallace said that Florida Christian College is a sacred cow to the "antis", that whilthey criticize other schools, they can see no wronwith FCC. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Criticisms of the school have been made in recent months in some of the papers by some Brother Wallace would call "antis". He then went back to 1952 to a statement sent from the college business office to the Riverside Park church in Jacksonville, Florida. The letter was a bill. It ismy understanding that you do not send out a bill for a donation. The letter itself indicates that it was a bill for services rendered. Note that Brother Wallace had to go back ten years to find something to use in this matter, and then does not find what he needs to dispute the statement thatFlorida Christian neither solicits nor receives

contributions from churches. He then informs his

readers that FCC runs a hospital (dispensary), hotel

(dormitory) , cafeteria, orange grove, tomato patch,

and saw mill. Well, G. K., so what? It is not the

church. It is not supported by the church. Now, if

FCC decides to do like others and starts trying

to get its hands into the church treasuries, then I

for one will criticize it. We are taught to "have no

fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness,

but r ather reprove them". T hat is what I did with reference to Freed-Hardeman College

He brought up the matter of Charles Holt announcing about the Living Link program in theContender at Franklin, Tennessee in 1956, anabout brethren announcing the various appearances of the school chorus in bulletins and from the pulpits. Charles Holt is able to answer forhimself. Why didn't Brother Wallace quotesomething from my bulletin like that? He canmake of it what he likes, I do not advertise the college either from the pulpit or in the bulletin.But even if I did, he missed the point of my

criticism of the Humboldt Observer. Week after

week it is filled with the affairs of Freed-Hardeman College, and has been for year s.

He said I gave considerable advertising space

to Freed-Hardeman College in the Newbern

Admonisher and wants to know why it is right

to

(Please Turn to Page 12)

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

H. E. BATES PASSES

Curtis E. Flatt

H. E. Bates of Jasper, Alabama suffered a heart attack

and died suddenly July 24, 1962. Brother Bates was baptized

in the summer of 1948. He made

rapid growth in the Lord and was

soon teaching and taking an active

part in the wor k of the Lord. For

sever al year s he has been an elder of

the MacArthur Heights church near

Jasper, He was known far and wide

among Christians in this section for

his love of the truth and for his

opposition to the innovations in the

church today. He is survived by his

wife and two childr en. His son is a

song leader and a member of the

Stevens Avenue church in Huntsville.

His daughter is married to Tom

O'Neal, a faithful gospel preacher

whose name is familiar to the

readers of this paper. Howard See

and this w rit er conducted his

H. E. BATES funeral in the building of the MacArthur

Heights church of Christ.

BAXTER EVANS TO LACYS SPRINGS, ALABAMA

A new church recently began in Lacys Springs, Alabama,

near Huntsville, as the result of pressure from liberal

brethren. Four or five families began meeting in the

home of one family in or der that they could walk in the old

paths. Br other Baxter E vans, who has been pr eaching for

the Belmont Heights church in Tampa, Florida, was asked

to come and preach for them. After visiting with them and

seeing the possibilities for growth in this ar ea, br other

Evans was persuaded by them to move to Lacys Springs

and labor with this new congregation. The brethren at

Belmont Heights released brother Evans to undertake this work, and he will begin about the first of October.

Br other E vans is walking by faith. He does not have full support yet in this work, but he believes the Lord will

make provisions. The brethren in Lacys Springs have

bought an acr e of gr ound and will do their own building.

All they ar e asking is some help in pr oviding a pr eacher

for them. Brother Evans is a sound gospel preacher. He

may be contacted by writing him at Route 1, Lacys Springs,

Alabama after October 1. Lacys Springs is about 15 miles

from Arab, Huntsville and Decatur.

Connie W. Adams, Orlando, Florida — The meeting in the

north end of Walker County, Alabama was conducted

under a gr ove of oak tr ees in a community wher e ther e

is no congregation. Quite a number of the community people

attended and showed inter est. At McArthur Heights in

Jasper, 2 were baptized, 5 identified and 1 restored. The

Church there is growing and pervaded by a spirit of

optimism. In the face of opposition from Gus Nichols and his

powerful forces in the county, Tom O'Neal has done

outstanding work. People in that county are beginning to

get their eyes open and study for themselves. People attended

from nearly every congregation in the county, including

several from 6th Ave. where Nichols preaches. We have had

a good summer at Pine Hills. 6 have been baptized, 5

identified and 1 restored. Hugh Davis of Lake Wales will

be with us in a meeting in October and I will be with the

church there in November in an exchange of meetings. Bobby F. Owen of Tampa will be the speaker in a gospel

meeting at Tarpon Springs, Florida October 1-10. Readers

in the T ampa ar ea ar e invited to attend this meeting . . .

E ugene Britnell was in Palmetto, Fla. in a meeting August

20-29. Walter N. Henderson will begin work with the church

in Clermont, Florida on September 1. He was formerly with

the chur ch in Meridian, Miss.

J. Frank Ingram, Wyandotte, Mich. — I have recently

closed a meeting in Blue Ash, Cincinnati, Ohio. Seven were

baptized and three restored. Excellent interest was shown

and it was encouraging to me. Since then I have moved to

Wyandotte, Michigan and began my wor k July 1.

H. L. Davis, Yor k, Ala. — We, the saints that meet her e

at Yor k, have just closed a fine meeting with Walter N.

Hender son doing the pr eaching. One was r estor ed. T his is

the only sound chur ch in the county. My wor k will be over

here in September. I would like to hear from small

congregations that would like a preacher who loves to do

personal work and is not afraid of work. I am not interested in

a middle-of-the-road attitude church. I want to go where

sound doctrine can be taught.

E. L. FLANNERY AT GAINESVILLE

E. L. Flannery, Gainesville, Fla. — I began working with

the Northeast church of Christ, Gainesville, Florida, on July

1. The chur ch has pur chased a lot on N.E. 16th Avenue at

15th Street, and hopes to build later . Pr esently, we r ent a

small church house at 416 E. University Avenue which seats

175, and has classrooms, rest-rooms, baptistery. It is

easy to find as it is beside the Chamber of Commer ce

building. It is across the street from the Gainesville Library

building. Services are at 9:00 a.m., Bible classes; 10:00 a.m.

'wor ship and 7:00 p.m. wor ship on Sundays. We meet at

7:30 p.m. on. Wednesdays. Any visitor or University of

Florida student may contact me by phoning 372-8996. (Area

code 305). We ar e looking forwar d to a constructive,

pleasant wor k her e, and appr eciate the fellowship in this

work extended me by the Par Avenue church, Orlando; the

Bradenton church; and the Disston Avenue congregation in

St. Peter sbur g. Br other Kenneth Scarborough, who has been

preaching at Northeast while enrolled at the University, has

done a good work here and is appreciated for the ground

wor k accomplished. We hated to leave the wonderful Downtown church in

Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, but was glad Herschel Patton had

been secured to be their next preacher. The two years we

were there saw 29 baptized (All but one of these the last

nine months of our stay, and after internal strife was

settled). There were 59 additions in all. Downtown has a fine

eldership, and is a good, conservative church of over 300

member s, doing a gr eat evangelistic wor k. We had 92 present here Sunday. If any reader knows of

any persons I should contact in this area please write me

about them.

A. H. Payne, Jackson, Miss. — Just concluded our

meeting; added six. In four months the number has doubled.

We now have 38 members and a number of prospects for

restoration and baptism. We are moving in the right

direction. Reavis Petty of Moreland City, North Carolina

was in a meeting July 16-26 at Mt. Hebron in Dickson

County, where four were baptized and one restored. He will

be in a meeting October 21-28 at Newport, North Carolina . .

. Bobby Thompson of North Miami, Florida was in a meeting

August 12-19 at Morehead City, North Carolina. Reavis Petty

is the preacher for this new church. Herbert Thornton, Baton Rouge, La. — We have just

closed a ver y successful vacation Bible school and gospel

meeting. Br other Dave Fraser did the pr eaching in this

meeting and helped to teach in the school. This was the first

VBS that the Per kins Road congr egation has ever conduct(Please Turn to Page 12)

Answering G. K. Wallace

(Continued fr om Page 10)

"cuss" a school in the bulletin, but wrong to "bless"

it. For the same reason it is right to reprove

denominational error in the bulletin but wrong to

approve or endorse it. When colleges solicit and

receive funds from churches, they have led the

churches into doing that which is unauthorized and

thus sinful. It is r ight to reprove such.

Brother Wallace brought up again about FCCrenting a place to the Episcopalians. T hat matterhas been thoroughly and ably answer ed by Jim Cope. And when the Gospel Advocate Companystops selling Methodist Disciplines and Baptist Manuals, all for a profit, then some of us maybe a little more inclined to take seriously what they say along this line.

Brother Wallace has been upset with me ever since the trial over the property of the church at Spring Creek, Tennessee, when he, H. A. Dixonand W. A. Bradfield used their influence to defend the election of elder s by major ity vote and to getthe faithful brethren put out of their building. I reported what they said in the Newbern Admonisher and have access to the entire court record of their testimonies. It makes interesting reading ifyou have a strong stomach. I received several letters from him while at Newbern. It was evident that he and others at the school felt the pressure. They could not just elevate their noses in dignified silence and ignore what we were saying.They had to strike back. T hus Brother Wallace writes a two page tirade in the Gospel Advocate, apaper which has been known for defaming men and institutions which crossed them, without allowingthem one word of defense in their columns, anarticle in which I am cr iticized for cr iticizing. I s it that Connie is confused, G. K., or is it that you and your companions are red hot because the yoke of Freed-Hardeman College over the churches of west Tennessee has been exposed, and your unsoundness brought to light from your ridiculous testimony inthe Spring Creek trial, that has prompted this tirade? What is the basis of your attack on Florida Christian College except that your detective work to uncover something that smelled bad, failed, andyou had to go back to 1952 and pervert something to build a case? The fact that the school in Tampa has resisted the efforts to line it up with theliberalism which characterizes other schools, is a source of constant unhappiness to the Gospel Advocate and her writers, one of whom is G. K.Wallace. And why at this late date take another swing at Charles Holt unless you are still smarting from what happened in the Flor ence debate? No, it is not that Connie is confused, it is just that G.K. is hot under the collar because the solicitations of funds from churches by Freed-Hardeman College has been brought to light, and their meddling behind the scenes in the affairs of churches has been exposed.

I urge brethren to observe from this the effect these small bulletins ar e having. T he high andmighty Gospel Advocate would not condescend todevote two full pages to something that appeared in a church bulletin unless the weight of it was being felt. Many have been led to see the truthrelative to current problems through reading andstudying these small pape r s. May their tribe

increase!

ed, and we ar e encour aged in that we had good inter est

without the usual "gimmicks" entertainment and

refreshments that go along with vacation Bible schools

today. Brother Fraser brought us some fine lessons from

the Wor d of God. He is to be commended for his stand for

truth. I know of no man of his age that has the ability to

preach the word of God in such a fearless and forceful way.

Any church would be blessed to have him in their midst for

a gospel meeting. Harris J. Dark of the Perry Heights church in Nashville,

Tenn. will be the speaker in a gospel meeting at the

Downtown church in Lawrenceburg, Tenn., S eptember 9

16. Her schel E. Patton now pr eaches for the Downtown

church.

H. E. Phillips will be in a gospel meeting with the Westvue

church in Murfreesboro, Tenn., September 23-30. Dave

Bradford is the preacher with this congregation. James P. Miller will do the pr eaching in a meeting with

the 12th Street church in Bowling Green, Kentucky October

14-21. He will close the Bowling Green meeting on the

morning of the 21st and fly to L exington, Kentucky to start

a meeting with the brethren .here that night. All the

r eader s of the paper ar e invited to hear him.Earl Fly of Orlando, Florida was in a gospel meeting with

the Glen Park church in Gary, Indiana September 3-9.

Harvey J. Williams is the preacher at Gary.

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