THE SOCIAL GOSPEL

(This sermon was recently delivered by brother Dark at the Perry Heights church at Donelson, Tenn.— Editor.)

You've pr obably hear d much talk of the social gospel. What is it? Is it another gospel in the light of Galatians 1:8-9? If so, we know what the HolySpirit says about it or those who preach it:

"But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than thatwhich we have preached unto you, let him beaccursed. As we said before, so say I now again. If any man preach any other gospel unto youthan that ye have r eceived, let him be accursed."

What gospel did Paul preach? He tells us in First Corinthians 15:1-5. He who preaches a gospel other than this is accur sed.

"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you thegospel which I preached unto you, which alsoye have received and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye havebelieved in vain. For I deliver ed unto you fir st of all that which I also r eceived, how that Christ died for our sins according to thescriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to thescriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve." (First Corinthians 15:1-5.)

This is the gospel to which Paul referred in Romans 1:16, when he said:

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, andalso to the Greek."

He made reference to the same thing when hesaid to the Corinthians:

"For I determined not to know anything amongyou, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." (First Corinthians 2:2.)

T his is the gospel of the gr eat commission, concerning which Jesus said to the apostles:

"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believethnot shall be damned." (Mark 16:15-16.)

This is the gospel upon which eternal lifedepends, the acceptance, obeying, and following of which will determine whether we spend eternity intorment or in the glories of heaven.

MEANING OF THE SOCIAL GOSPEL

What is the social gospel that we hear about? Instead of giving you a formal definition, I shall attempt to present the matter by a series ofcontrasts, contrasting the social gospel with thatwhich has just been mentioned in the quotations or r eadings given.

The two are different in purpose. The purpose of the social gospel is social impr ovement—improvement of social conditions upon this earth; whereas the purpose of the gospel of Christ is the salvation of the souls of men. Therefore, the social gospel concerns itself with disease, with poverty, with delinquency, with gover nment, with international affairs, with race relations, economics, politics, and secular education. T he gospel of Jesus Christ concerns itself primarily with those things concerning the souls of men— their spiritual welfare and their eternal salvation.

The two are also different in the methods which they employ. T he social gospel tr eats the symptoms,while the gospel of Christ deals with the disease.The social gospel undertakes to convert people to a better way of life; the gospel of Christ converts people unto Jesus Christ. The social gospelundertakes to make Christians by social reforms— to make Christians by improving theconditions of society upon this earth. The gospel of Jesus Christ makes society better by producing Christians.

The truth about the matter is that the gospel of Jesus Christ does have an effect upon such conditions as poverty, crime, and disease. But these conditions ar e impr oved by converting people to Jesus Christ— getting them to follow his way of life. Improvement in social conditions follows as a natural and promised consequence of seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

To give you a specific example which I hope will make this point very vivid— there was much talk,especially just a few years ago, about the social evil of venereal disease. Much instruction was advocated along that line. Public school teacher s wer e ur ged to teach their students how to avoid venereal disease. Wher eas the Bible, the gospel of Jesus Christ, solves the whole problem in just two words when it says, "Flee fornication." So you see the difference in the approach or method of dealing with an evil like that from the standpoint of thesocial gospel and from the standpoint of thegospel of Jesus Christ.

Furthermore, the two are different in their motivation. The social gospel is motivated by thdesire for a better life on this earth. The motivation in the gospel of Christ is the desire for an eternal home with God in heaven, a desire to avoid thehorrors of hell, and our love and gratitude to God for what he did in order that we might have eternal happine . "We love him because he first loved us," and gave his only begotten Son to die that wmight be saved.

These two gospels are also different in thestandard of authority which they acknowledge. Fothe social gospeler, the standard of authority is human wisdom; but for the proclaimer of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the standard of authority is the wisdom of Almighty God revealed in the Bible. In this connection, let me read some statements in theBible.

"Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of agood conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie noagainst the truth. T his wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilishFor where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intr eated,full of mer cy and good fruits, withoutpartiality, and without hypocrisy." (James 3:1317.) "Where is the wise ? where is the scribe ?where is the disputer of this world? hath notGod made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by thefoolishness of preaching to save them that believe. . . . Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men." (First Corinthians 1:2021, 25.)

There is a vivid contrast between that wisdom from above and that wisdom which is of the earth. Proclaimers of the social gospel undertake to solve their problems on the basis of human wisdom. Withthose who follow the gospel of Jesus Christ, there is always an appeal unto the word of God as our source of information concerning what is right anwhat is good

These two gospels are also contrasted in where they put the emphasis. It's not always a matter ofchoosing one to the exclusion of the other, butsometimes it becomes a matter of emphasis— a choice of putting the emphasis upon our welfare in this world and the emphasis upon our eternal welfare.

The social gospel is a so-called gospel which looks to this world for its benefits, for its motivation, forits standards, and its wisdom.

Therefore, it is restricted to this world for its reward. Remember Jesus said that when you giveyour alms to be seen of men, you have your reward when you are seen of men. When you pray to bheard of men, and are heard of men, no other reward need be expected. When one's life is conducted withworldly benefits in view, no eternal reward need beanticipated. (Matthew 6:1-18.)

Continued Next Issue

TRUTH MAGAZINE

Our apologies to TRUTH MAGAZINE and its new editor brother Cecil Willis for being so late in noticing publicly the change in the management othe paper. For six years the publication was in the hands of Bryan Vinson who did a creditable job as its editor. A paper such as Truth Magazine isworthy of the support of all of the sound brethren in the brotherhood. It is gathered and produced atgreat cost to the dedicated people who publish iand far too many times lacks the few hundred subscribers that it needs to make it self supporting.How well both brother Phillips and I know howhard it is to dig down on a pr eacher 's salar y anmake up a deficit so the printer can be paid on time. I know nothing of the financial strength of thmagazine but I do know the men who write for itand its contents. I also know brother Willis and the men on the staff of the paper. They are worthy of our confidence. The subscription price is $2.50 in this country, $2.75 in Canada and $3.00 overseas. Do youand your family a favor and send your subscription today. Send it to TRUTH MAGAZINE,Box 7245, Akron, Ohio.

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THE APOSTLES BEGIN THEIR WORK

D. W. H. Shelton, Tampa, Florida

There are five fundamental facts taught in thbook of Acts which we should know in order to understand the work of the Apostles in the earlychurch.

1— T hat Jesus of Nazar eth is the Messiah of whom the prophets had spoken and for whom the Jews had been looking for several generations.

2— The coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost to guide the Apostles into all truth, and bring to their remembrance all things that Jesus had spoken whilehe was with them on the earth. (John 14:26.

3— That the whole Jewish economy had beefulfilled and was superseded by the law of the Spirit on Pentecost. (Acts 2.

4— T hat one comes into the family of God, is made a member of the church, a soldier in God's army, through a process known as conversion, iwhich the heart, life, and state are changed. One iborn again, born of the water and the Spirit, born anew, born from above. (Jno. 3:3-5; Acts 2:36-41;8:36-39; Rom. 6:3-9; Gal. 3:26, 27.

5— That there are no social distinctions in Christ,but that all of the promises and blessings of Christ and the gospel are for all people, regardless of race, creed, color, or social standing; and that the bloodof Jesus made possible the salvation of every onwho would meet its conditions. (Acts 10:34, 3511:18; Gal. 3:26-29; I Jno. 1:5-9; and II Jno. 1-6.

Jesus had told his disciples that this work was to have its beginning in Jerusalem. (Luke 24:47 andActs 1:8.) There were three purposes for that: 1—Jerusalem was the place where the prophets had said he would set up his kingdom the church; 2—Jerusalem was the place where Jesus had beencondemned; 3— Naturally Jerusalem was the placfor him to first be vindicated.

Jerusalem was at that time the best prepared place on earth for the church of Christ to do its first work; more preparation had been made there for a religious background than any where else.

Jerusalem was then, and had been for centuries,the center of religious activities and the most pious people to be found on earth met there to worshipGod. The eunuch baptized by Philip (Acts 8:38),had driven a thousand miles in a char iot in order to get to Jerusalem to worship God. Then, tooJerusalem was the Jewish headquarters, and sincethey had seen more of Jesus than any one else, po ibly the Samaritans were the next best acquainted with him, but the Gentiles knew theleast about him of all people

Therefore, it was the part of Divine wisdom tobegin with the Jews in Jerusalem and Judea, thence to the Samaritans, and finally to the "uttermost parts of the earth" with the message of Jesus offering salvation to all who would come to theterms he saw best to give.

So we have the original eleven apostles with their newly selected brother, Matthias, who was divinely selected to take the place of Judas who had gone tohis own place as a result of having betrayed Jesus.

They were tarrying as Jesus had commanded and where he had commanded (Acts 2:1-13). Herewe have the beginning of the greatest, thegrandest, the most important work that the world has ever known; the most surprising, the most amazing, the most mysterious of anything humanityhad ever experienced; brought some of the most surprising comments and explanations imaginable, gave the best opportunity (when the clouds were cleared away), for pure Gospel preaching that has ever been, and brought about the greatest immediate results of which man has a record. Three thousand souls were baptized and added tothe church in one day, under the preaching of onerecorded sermon.

This record has never been equalled, althoughthose same preachers held many other meetings, andmany good men have held many meetings under almost every condition po ible to suppose. Here God's arrangements and plans were being carried out perfectly, and when that is done it alwayturns, out better than anything else can regardless of who does it and how, why, when or where.

We may think something that we have thoughout is the best way to do a certain work we wish to do, a work that God wants done but has given specific plans for doing. But happy will be the hour in any man's life when he comes to the safe, sane conclusion that any and ever y man's plan is unworthy of being tried (even as an experiment),if it conflicts with the Lord's plan; and that noman, it matters not how wise he may be, willever be able to make the least po ible improvement upon anything that Jehovah has done.

The best way to realize that the Lord's plans will work is to just work them as commanded, if we do not get the results we expect and think should come,just remember that defeat, disappointment, and even failure (as we term it) may be the very thing Goknows we need above all our needs. Many times we can look over our past lives and see that the defeating of our plans was necessary for the success and saving of our souls.

Our plans may be more convenient and easier carried out than are the Lord's plans, but it is not (should not be at least) a matter that is easier ormost convenient to me, but what is best for me here and hereafter. And if one will allow this to have fair consideration, he will discard human thought,reasons and desires, and accept Divine advice,regardless of how he feels, what the people say, or what the world does. (I believe part of the

statements above are by H. Leo Boles in G.A.

However I have given the above in order to saythis—

Many people believe that the apostles began their work under the Great Commi ion on the day oPentecost. In Matt. 19:28, Jesus said to his apostles

— "Ye who have followed me, in the regeneratiowhen the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judgingthe twelve tribes of Israel."

The regeneration began on Pentecost, Jesus wasthen sitting on the throne of his glor y. Notice—Judas was dead; there were twelve thrones and onlyeleven apostles;; there had to be another apostle selected before Pentecost to take the place of Judas and to fill that vacant throne.

Matthew records the great commission thus—(Matt. 28:18-20.) Jesus came and said unto them—"All authority hath been given unto me in heaveand on earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the name of thFather and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever Ihave commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."

'In Mark 16:15, 16 Jesus said— "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be savedbut he that disbelieveth shall be condemned."

In Luke 24:46-48 Jesus said— "Thus it is written,that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day;; and that repentance andremission of sins should be preached in his nameunto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. Yeare witnesses of these things."

The limited commi ion was to the Jews only, butwhen Jesus gave the gr eat commission it superseded the limited commission, therefore,although the apostles were still under the Law ofMoses, they were also under the great commission.

In Acts 1:15-26 we learn that there were about an hundred and twenty, including the elevenapostles, who were obedient under the baptism ofJohn or Christ, they were set in the church and were the charter members of the church, they did not needto be baptized on Pentecost. All that came infrom then on had to be baptized in the name oChrist, and were added to the church by the Lord.

Peter stood up and said "Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which thHoly Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concer ning Judas, which was guide to them thatook Jesus. For he was numbered with us, and haobtained part of this ministry." (vs. 16, 17-KJV). In vs. 20 Peter quotes (Ps. 69:25 & 109:8) which were fulfilled that day. (Vs. 21, 22) Peter said "wherefore of these men which have companiewith us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism ofJohn, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection." This had to be done before Pentecost,for Jesus had said there would be twelve apostles on Pentecost. (Matt. 19:28.

They selected two men, Joseph and Matthias, andthey prayed, and said, "Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen." "And they gave forth their lots;and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles."

So the first work of the apostles under the great commission was the selecting of Matthias to take the place of Judas. To my mind this was the last andclosing act of the Law of Moses for the next day.Well the very next verse in the Bible is the beginning of the new law or covenant, the Law of Christ, here the gospel was first preached in its completene .

In a recent i ue of the "old reliable", we havcalled to our attention a little editorial designeto destroy Florida Christian College. In it the editor suggests that the name of the school should be Ichabod, the name given by Phinehas to her child when she lear ned of the victor y of thPhilistines over Israel. The Ark of God has been taken into a strange land and was among a pagapeople and the glory had departed from Israel. Such writing disregards the former highstandard of the paper, the law of love, thintelligence of the readers and the setting of the scriptures. A study of 1 Samuel chapters four through six will demonstrate this in a few moments. Israel was saying exactly what thliberal brethren today are saying: It is not necessary to be guided too closely by the word of God. T hey took the Ark, for example, andcarried it before them into battle without God's permi ion. For the glory to return, the nation had to return to God and to his word. It seems that our fellow editor could see that the glorydeparted when they left divine authority anbecame a law unto themselves. T he glor ydeparted from the digressives when they started the missionar y society and introduced the organ. The glory departed from our premillennial brethren when they began to teach the earthly reign oChrist, and in the same way the glory departed from our liberal brethren when they bound thesupport of human institutions to the treasury of the Lord's church.

It is easy to see that it does not take the name of Christ to give a school glory; if it does some among us have never possessed such glory. In the same way it does not take the name of Christ to give a paper glory; if it does the editor had better change the name. There are thousands ofbrethren who sincerely believe that to use the

name of our Lord without his permission andattach it to schools and papers of human origin is to then and there forfeit the glory. At anyventure it is apparent that some brethren haveno more regard for the Lord's name than theydo for the Lord's money. They are willing to use either without a passage of scripture to justify their cause.

NEW NAME FOR THE SCHOOL

I am sure that an official announcement will be in all of the publications soon carrying the newname of the college. It was announced at the closing session of the 1963 lectures. James R. Cope announced that the new name will be FLORIDA COLLEGE. This is a happy solution to the entire problem. Of all of the names on earth that should be used only as the scriptures use them it is the name of our Lord. Even the casual student of the Bible is well aware that the name Christian was never given to anything or anybody but an individual child of God. (Acts

11:26. Acts 26:28 and 1 Peter 4:16). We haveopposed the name Christian Church, and rightly so, for almost a century. If the name Christian can not be attached to the church, which isdivine, how could it be attached to anything that is not divine ? It is interesting to note that this name for the school, FLORIDA COLLEGE, was amongthe first names suggested almost twenty years ago. There were then many brethren who favored a safe and scriptural course in all matters. The changein the name will not mean any change in theprinciples and practices of the school. It will simply mean that all connected with the collegerecognize its human origin and its separation from the church brought by the blood of Christ.

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THE RECENT LECTURESHIP

The annual lectureship of the school closedFebruary 21 with one of the largest audiences inthe history of the institution. Brethren camefrom all over the nation and from lands beyond. A fine spirit of fellowship prevailed and confidence in the future of the school was expressed by hundreds. Brother C. Ed Owings was given a plaque for his many years of service to the college. Brother Owings was on the original board and had served for many years either as chairman or vice chairman. Several of the original members of the board still serve.

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ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Florida (Christian) College now has a strong Alumni Association which is a great blessing tothe school. On the last night of the lectures they presented two scholarships in the amount of $200.00 each. T hey gave each member of the faculty a present and presented the school with aopaque overhead projector. The officers for the last two year s, Colin Williamson, Har old Dowdyand Bob Bennett will be long remember ed by theschool.

NEW CONGREGATIONS

I can not help but marvel at the rapid rate inwhich new congregations of the Lord's people are being established. Almost ever y day notice is sent of another beginning. All of this shows that theroots of scriptural teaching were deeper than first believed. As time progr esses more and more brethren are beginning to see the disastrous course which too many congregations are taking. I doubt if there is a congregation of any size inthe land that does not have a number of brethren who are either alarmed or becoming alarmed over present departures from the word of God. The first wave of pressure politics is now over and brethren are realizing that the truth in regard toinstitutionalism and all other matters can be pointed out, and that effectively. No man on earth that loves the church wants to see it divide, butat the same time no true child of God wants to see it carried into another modern denomination. Every where in cities of any size there is a congregation of God's people committed to theold paths or there will be in the near future. Goodmen overseas are standing for the truth, and will stand. I Marvel.

A REPLY TO "DISTINCTION WITHOUT DIFFERENCE"Thomas G. Butler, Lakeland, Fla.

In an article written by brother Charles Houser which appeared in the Gospel Advocate of January 17, 1963, the writer took the position that there is no differ ence in the act of an individual member of the church and the church itself. His position is that when an individual member engages in thework of benevolence, bears good fruit, gives Godglory, preaches the gospel or moves a little finger the church is acting. It is most difficult for me tothink Charles Houser has come thus far from the truth, but he has so expressed himself. Let us see some consequences of his position.

If every good thing the individual member is doing, the church is doing, then every evil thing the individual is doing the church is doing. Some timeago ther e appear ed in a T ampa paper a notice of a civil suit against a member of the Manhattan congregation. According to brother Houser's reasoning this was also a suit against the church and the church could pay the damages assessed by the court. It would be also true that whatever crime committed by a member the church would becommitting it. And if the member should be imprisoned the church would be in jail.

If the church can do what the individual can do,the church can operate businesses, engage in political activities, contribute to private enterprises, promote r ecr eational pr ograms, give financial support to colleges, etc. Just suppose five members would contribute to Freed-Hardeman College.Would this be the church contributing? Brother Houser stated to me on January 22 that he did notbelieve the church could contribute to colleges. Now he must admit that an individual can act independently of the church or the church of which he is a member can contribute to a college. He will have to choose one of these positions.

Brother Houser uses John 15:1-5 in an attempt to pr ove this point, "No, and neither can a member of the church do no good work in the area of benevolence and/or evangelism without its being true that the church did that good work through its member." According to this conclusion when a member contributes to the Red Cross, the Cancer Society, the orphanage home, a charity hospital, areligious paper, a college or any charitable organization the" church is contributing. If this reasoning is true then the church can send directly and the only prohibition against the church contributing to anything would be only the prohibition against the individual. John 15.1-5 is misapplied in this article. Christ, not the church, isthe vine.

Brother Houser's conclusion on Ephesians 3:21 isthis, "Therefore, whatsoever we do to the glory ofGod as members of the church, we do it through the church." T he passage r eads, "Unto him be glory inthe church by Christ Jesus throughout all agesworld without end." Notice the preposition is in notthrough. As members each is charged to take care of his own widows for so I Timothy 5:16 states, "If any man or woman that believeth have widowslet him relieve them and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widowsindeed." Here is a work commanded for an individual member to do that the chur ch is not to do.

T hese passages, Acts 8:3 and Galatians 1:13, were used to show or try to show there is a distinction but no difference between the act of an individual and the act of the church. We must recognize the vast difference in arresting a man as a representative of a body of people and arresting the same man for another cause. If this were not true, any member arrested for speeding would be apersecution against the church.

On brother Houser's conclusions instrumental music, the support of colleges, recreational activities, contributions to charitable organizations, private religious papers and the operation ofbusiness are justified by those who have departed from the faith. But the premises in the article bybrother Houser are not true, his logic is faulty andhis conclusions are in error.

Here is a profound example of an Old Testament character in patience.

As the Devil appears in the congregation of therighteous, the L ord reminds him that Job is a righteous and upright man and none like him in theearth. The Devil gives as an excuse for Job's righteous life namely, God has blessed him withgreat wealth. T he L or d allows the Devil to takeaway the wealth of Job even to the seven sons andthree daughters. At this point Job falls before the Lord and says, "Naked came I into the world andnaked go I away, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord." In all this Job sinned not nor charged God foolishly.As the Devil makes his presence in the congregation of the righteous, again he is again reminded of the righteous Job. However, at this point, the Devilstates that Job is only faithful because of the goodhealth he enjoys. God permitted the Devil to afflict Job with sores, boils and blaines. In his (Job's) distress his three friends pay him a visit. They are so astonished that they sit there for seven dayswithout speaking— Note, there were no women in that crowd. After the seven days of silence Eliphaz, Bidlad and Zopher, the three friends, all accuse of Job as receiving the just reward of his actions. Hewithstands all of their charges of misconduct and patiently states he has not so sinned. At this point a young know-it-all comes on the scene and repeats about what the three friends have charged Job withdoing. Job lets the young man, Elihu, know, (inElihu's mind) that if he should die all knowledgewould perish from off the earth. The climax to thedespair to which one may be driven is seen whenJob's wife appears and says, "why don't you just curse God and die?" When one's wife gives up and nolonger can be regarded as a source of help, menoften lose steadfastness. But not Job. He says, "You talk like the foolish women; though he slayme yet will I trust Him." What patience— L et God do what he will, still I will hold to Him. Oh, howmuch patience husbands need to show to the wives of today and how much patience we need in the lives of the wives to the husbands. How much patience is needed for parents with children andwith the children to the parents. T he devils in helland demons on earth cannot break a marriage where the patience of Job is a reality. But in all of thebook of Job, so rich in this virtue of patience, is not found patience in perfection. We must go to the life of Christ for perfection in this principle of righteousness as well as others. See Christ as he is insulted, rejected, condemned injust-ly, died in ourplace, alienated from his Father and dies like the sinner (without and away from God) that you and I may not have to die that way. Yet, in all this hekeeps perfectly the will of the Father, became a complete sacrifice for us, a mediator, redeemer, saviour, intercessor and the sphere of all our hope. Inthe life of Job we see patience to a great degree, but in the life of Christ we see perfection of patience and steadfastness. How do you measure up brother, sister ?

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QUESTION: Is it a sin for us to eat blood sausage? (Acts 15:20)— C.M.D.

ANSWER: The eating of blood is uniformlyforbidden throughout the Scriptures. In no age of the world has God permitted it. Early in the book of Genesis we read: "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But the flesh with the life thereof, shall ye not eat" (Gen. 9:3, 4). The phrase "flesh with the life thereof" identifies any animalthat was killed without shedding its blood. T his same pr ohibition was made in the law of Mosestogether with details as to why: "And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. T heref or e I said unto the childr en of Isr ael, Nosoul of you shall eat blood, neither shall anystranger that sojourneth among you eat blood. Andwhatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, whichhunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. For it is the life of all flesh; theblood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eatheth it shall be cut off." (Lev. 17-10-14). Concerning the Gospel dispensation we read the decision of the Jerusalem conference (an inspired decision) : "For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That yeabstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, yeshall do well. Fare ye well." (Acts 15:28, 29 Cf. vs. 19-21)

Some have thought that the decision in theJerusalem conference on this matter was made on the basis of expediency since it was directed primarily to Gentiles; that a failure of the Gentiles to keep it would antagonize the Jews who had long since kept it because of their knowledge of and relation to the law, and that this is the significance of verse twenty one: "For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagoguesevery sabbath day." However, this position assumes the point to be proved. The prohibition is no where identified as an expediency, though the pollutions of idols or meats offered to idols has. (I Cor. 8) It is a fact that the eating of blood was forbidden in former ages. It was also forbidden in this age. (Acts 15:20) The decision was directed primarily to the Gentile converts because, as the context shows, they were the ones primarily under consideration. Furthermore, verse twenty one shows that both Jews and proselytes were already well acquainted withthe prohibition since they were hearing the law of Moses read every Sabbath in the synagogues. In the absence of any evidence identifying it as amatter of expediency, it must stand as revealed— an inspired decision for this age.

When all this is considered together with the fact that the same reason for giving the prohibition inthe beginning, and which prevailed under the law, still exist as much as ever, we are forced to theconclusion that the prohibition itself is binding now as much as ever— and for the same reason. T hat reason is "the life of the flesh is in the blood." (Lev. 17:11) While for years this was unknown and unaccepted by those in the realm of science, now theexperience, observations, and conclusions of themost accurate anatomists confirm it.

Furthermore, blood has always occupied a prominent place in the economy of God. It was given to make "an atonement for the soul" under the law. (Lev. 17:11) It is the blood of Christ— His very life — that atones for the sins of the world. (Rom. 5:8-11) T he death penalty itself was ordained of God for him that "sheddeth man's blood." (Gen. 9:6) It is no wonder that God has forbidden the eating of it throughout all ages.

FROM REVEREND TO MISTERConnie W. Adams, Orlando, Florida

It is seldom that we read anything in a Baptist paper which we think worthy of commendation.However, in the December 6, 1962 issue of the Florida Baptist Witness an editorial appeared under the heading "We Salute This Presbytery". Here is the article in full.

'T would have been a delight to see a group ofBaptists do it, but this time the Presbyterians set the good example. A Religious NewsService release out of New Mexico reports that the United Presbyterian Church's Rio Grande Presbytery adopted a resolution at its meeting in Ghost Ranch asserting that the title "Rever end" should be reserved only for Godand not used by ministers.

According to the resolution, presbytery ministers in the future should be addressed as "Mr.," instead of "the Rev.," and referred to as "teaching elder," a Scottish custom.

Our hats are off to the members of this presbytery for the position they have taken,and we could wish that their convictions about discarding the use of "Reverend" as a title for ministers would spread to all other free church groups. There is certainly nothing scriptural about its use by ministers, and when we calmlyconsider the origin of the practice in surroundings which purposed to elevate the"clergy" above the laity, we should see how its implica

tions are against the "priesthood of all believers" which evangelical Christians know is scriptural and is so vital to the richest Christian fellowship and the most fruitfulChr istian witne .

A good case can be made for calling a minister of the Gospel "Elder" or "Bishop" or "Pastor" or "Preacher" or "Brother" or "Doctor" (if heactually has the degree) or just plain "Mister",but little or no case at all for the use of "Reverend" as a proper title. Without really stopping to think the matter through, whave allowed the practice of one more of Rome's arrogancies to be generally used among us, andwith unrealized implications whose tendencies are to weaken rather than strengthen our distinctive New Testament witne .

We are glad to see at least some of the Presbyterians and some of the Baptist recognize atruth that gospel preachers have been teaching for many years, and which was first taught by Jesus when he forbad the use of flattering titles for men in Matthew 23. For years sectarians have hooted at what we have said about their elevated titles.

We do not endorse everything said in the editorial. There is the typical denominational jargon scattered throughout it, such as, "evangelical Christians" and "Christian witness". Furthermore, while they are seeking to abandon the misuse of titles for men, theyneed to study the way in which the New Testament uses the terms elder, bishop and pastor. These terms all apply to the same office and do not in any sense denote the work of an evangelist or preacher. No man can fill this place unless he possesses the qualities given in 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1 and I Peter

5. And what purpose is served by calling a ma"Doctor" in religious circles unless it is to elevatehim above others? Would this not be an "implication against 'the priesthood of all believers' " ? Some of our brethren have become quite handy inthe use of "Doctor" as a title for some preachers. The ridiculous thing is that some of these "Doctors" among us received their honorary degrees from schools which are not even authorized to give a four year degree. We agree with the Baptist editor that such practices are evidence of "the arrogancies of Rome" which have been accepted. Brethren praysometimes that preachers may "hide themselves behind the cro ." The Christ, and the gospel oChrist need to be exalted, not the men who proclaim them. Some preachers have been flattered and pampered so much that they have actually begun tobelieve some of the high sounding things being said about them. We would all do well to remember that one "who made himself of no reputation" and took the form of a servant, who humbled himself to wash his disciples' feed and said that his mission was toserve and not to be served. Let us not forget thatPeter said "stand up! I myself also am a man", andthat Paul described himself as a bond-servant of the Lord.

Once, after teaching along this line, a good ladyasked "Well, what am I to call you when I introduce you to my friends?" We informed her that "preacher" would do very nicely and that yocouldn't improve on just plain "Mister". She agreed that this would be in order but added, "It just doesn't seem adequate". Whether we like to admit it or not, there exists a "clergy-laity" distinction in the minds of many church members. Such a distinction could nothave developed without a failure to teach adequatelyalong these lines, and without certain abuses through the years, first reluctantly allowed, thengenerally accepted, and now defended in some quarters. How long has it been since you have heard a le on condemning the use of exalting titles by preachers? It would be amusing to see some of thebrethren who have been smitten with "Doctor-itis" attempt to teach such a le on. T hey might evehave to step on the toes of some of their Masonic elders or deacons who answer to the title "Worshipful Master". Indeed, there is a need for more teaching on the "priesthood of all believers". We commend the Presbyterians for coming from "Reverend" to "Mister", and the Baptist paper herein our state for using its influence to promote the same thing among the Baptists.

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) called upon men tseek knowledge by observation, experiment andinductive reasoning, and to free themselves from both Scholasticism and Aristotelean philosophy. Heurged that the variations in nature be studied andtheir causes determined. Furthermore, he claimethat artificial selection among these variations could be used to cause species to change and that transitional forms exist in nature. He suggested that examples of this were the flying fishes, intermediate between fishes and birds, and bats between birds and quadrupeds.

Bacon proposed methods by which the nature of the universe could be determined, but Descartes (1596-1650) was the pioneer among the systemic philosophers who speculated on the nature of thesystem itself. He postulated that the universe could be explained on physical principles alone. Since lifewas a part of the system, the evolution of life was more or less indirectly included in his theory

When Leibnitz (1646-1716) set forth his doctrine of continuity applied to life, it was another revival of the Aristotelean chain of beings. He stated that his doctrine of continuity led to the idea thaintermediate species should exist, but he shiedaway from the thought of species intermediate between man and the apes, saying that if theexisted, it must be in another world.

The most influential biologist of the eighteenthcentury was Buffon (1707-1788). Although he diconsiderable writing on changes and events whichgave comfort to evolutionists, and still does, it is not clear that he ever developed a wholehearted belief in this theory. From his writings we see that he argued for and believed in the immutability ofspecies. He felt that within the species changecould occur but he argued against large-scale evolution. Today many evolutionists point withpride to

the writings of Buffon as proof of their position; yet the man who wrote these things believed in theimmutability of the species which would make theposition of the modern evolutionist an impo ible one.

Brother A. W. Dicus has recently published anexcellent book of sermon outlines. Two or three of these outlines are worth the price of the whole book.We highly recommend this book of Sermon Outlines.

It consists of three parts. Part one is a collection of sixty-five outlines, extensively developed, most frequently used by brother Discus in years past. Part two consists of fifty-seven topical outlines not as fully developed as part one. These are excellent for short talks or less experienced speakers. Part three is a series of le ons for smaller children. Each le on consists of four questions with scripture reference that contain the answer to each question. This series covers the basic information relative to the church and Christian living

This book is bound in beautiful cloth binding andis also available in paper binding. The cloth boundbook is pr iced at $2.75 and the paper bound book is $1.75. Order today from: Phillips Publications,

P. 0. Box 17244, Tampa 12, Fla.

KOINONIA, "FELLOWSHIP," — NO. 7

"PARTNERSHIP WITH CHRIST"

Paul speaks of the koinonia of the Son, I Cor. 1:9. This construction is an objective genitive that denotes "partnership with the Son"; that is,Christians may share with Christ all His spiritual benefits. Cf. Eph. 1:13

This partnership Christians may have with Christ is found especially through the elements of theLord's Supper. Paul calls the bread of the Supper the "partnership" of the body of Christ. He calls the cup of the Supper the "partnership" of the blood oChrist. Perhaps most commentators view this partnership as "partaking of the body and blood ofChrist." However, "partnership" (koinonia) is not really the basic idea of "partaking." It appears to the writer that it is more correct to look upon thkoinonia of I Cor. 10:16 as a "partnership" of thebody and blood of Christ.

But what is signified by this "partnership" of thebody and blood? It is a partnership which is by means of the bread and body, which in turn signify the true blood and body of Christ; hence, it was the body and blood of Christ that made po ible our "partnership" with Him. The Lord's Supper is,therefore, metaphorically, one of the means of enjoying partnership with Christ. For this reason Paul speaks of the "partnership" of the bread andthe "partnership" of the cup

Furthermore, Christians may become "partners" with Christ in sufferings, Phil. 3:10. That is to say,both Christ and Christians share jointly sufferingand persecution in furthering a common life.

"PARTNERSHIP WITH GOD"

The last group of passages employing the noukoinonia contains those usages that denote our partnership with God. These usages occur in I Jno. 1:3, 6, 7. The noun koinonia occurs twice in verse 3; once in verse 6, and once in verse 7.

In what sense are we "partners" with God? This partnership is that which exists between a father and his son. They both share all the provisions of the father. We note, however, that this partnershipwith God is conditioned upon walking "in the light";that is, "in the Truth" (in word and in deed weconform ourselves to the Truth). Cf. I Jno. 1:7.

AN EXPOSITORY DICTIONARYOF NEW TESTAMENT WORDS

W. E. Vine

This book is a valuable work to the Bible student. It is a standard work based upon a firm textual and grammatical foundation with renderings of the words and phrases of the New Testament from both Authorized and American Revised Versions, and against the background of the original Greek. It is a dictionar y, a concor dance, and a commentary in one volume. Price— $11.95

WORD PICTURES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

A. T. Robertson

A six volume set of scholarly work made clear even to the r eader who knows little or no Greek. It is a ver se by ver se study of the New T estament with wor d pictur es that show al l shades of meanings to the various wor ds used.E ver y pr eacher and teacher should possess a set of these books. Sold only in sets.

Price— $22.50

THE TRUTH ABOUT SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISM

Here at last is the long-awaited definitive volume on SDA. Gr eeted byDr. Wilbur M. Smith, Dr. Andrew Blackwood, Dr. Lloyd Kalland, Dr. W. A. Criswell, Dr. E. Schuylers English, Dr. Merrill C. Tenney, Dr. Ver-non Grounds, Dr. Bob Pierce and other evangelicalleader s for its thor oughne , objectivitand fairness. Price--$3.50

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

HERE AND THERE IN 63Jas. P. Miller

The first meeting of the new year found me atPalm River in the outskirts of Tampa. Buddy Meyeris the faithful preacher and the church is a good one. T his is one of about 25 sound congr egations in andaround Tampa. The house was about filled every night and inter est in the meeting was high. I closed the meeting on Saturday night, February 2nd, andstarted with the Lake Wire congregation in L akeland, Florida, February 3rd. Thomas G. Butler has been preaching for the Lake Wire church longer than I have been at Seminole. Brother Butler is sound in the faith and has steered a sure course in Lakeland. Byron Conley, veteran preacher of Florida, will hold our spring meeting March 24through 31. The Seminole location is Rome Avenueand Wis-hart Boulevard. If the Lord wills I will be with the brethren at Antioch on Tampa's east side beginning March 31st. Young Charles Murray is the preacher and the building is located just off 301going east out of T ampa. North Miami in Miami, Florida, where Bobby Thompson is doing such agood work is on the schedule for April 7th through 14th. All who ar e in Miami at that time ar e invited to meet with this splendid congr egation. I will be in Owensbor o, Kentucky in May and in Dickson,T ennessee in June as the L or d wills. Watch SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES for the time and place.

***

The MacDill congregation in Tampa with Colon Williamson as the preacher have baptized several inthe last few weeks ... . Three from one family .... The Downtown church in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, has purchased property next to the building in aneffort to solve the parking problem. This is also true of the Lake Wir e Congr egation in Lakeland wher e Thomas G. Butler labors. Older congregations indowntown ar eas ar e making pr ogr ess ever ywher e along this line ... . Barney Keith to be with the church in Fultondale, Alabama, in a meeting March3-10. Bill Lambert began his fourth year there in January. They aid in the support of several preach ers among whom are Gene Robinson in West Hollywood, Florida, and Ben Shropshire in Honolulu, Hawaii ___ H. E. Phillips, editor of SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES, pr eached in a meeting at Cullman,Alabama, where Richard Weaver works March 3-8 .... James Jones, planning to go to Norway topreach the gospel, was the speaker in Orlandochurches last month ... . Walter Henderson preacher at Clermont, Florida, reports 71 present afew weeks ago. Clermont is one of the most beautiful little cities in the state of Florida. Brethren interested in moving to the state should consider it .... The church in St. Cloud, Florida, recently had a different speaker every night in a meeting. Junior Glass is the preacher. . . . Robert Welch is now working in Springfield, Missouri, with thechurch that meets at Cherokee and Weller. Bob made this

move from Nacogdoches, T exas ... . James P. Needam pr eached in a meeting at Blytheville,Arkansas, in February. Progress is being made onthe building for the congregation where he preaches in L ouisville now meeting at 4615 T aylor Boulevar d ... . Grover Stevens worked with the Park Boulevard church in Louisville in a meeting there inFebruary ... . Frank Jamerson, who did a fine work in Richmond, Vir ginia, to take the wor k at WendallAvenue in Louisville where Steven formerly labored ... . One baptized and two r estor ed at Belmont Heights in T ampa wher e J. T. Smith preaches the last Lord's Day in January ... . Albert Kipp and Clyde Barnes new elders at West Bradenton, Florida. Oaks Gowen is the preacher there . . . The same is true of other congregations over the land as brethren regroup and go forward ... . Bill Reeves in Miami busy translating material and writing material in Spanish for the work with Latin people .... T he Westvue congr egation in Murfreesbor o, T ennessee, wher e Dave Bradford wor ks helping support Leo Rogol in Cherrytree, Pennsylvania, Donald Kline in Huntington, Pennsylvania, Howard McCut-cheston in T iffin, Ohio, Windell Wiser at Big Stone Gap, Vir ginia, and W. C. Hinton in Nishinomiya, Japan ... . Lloyd Nash a color ed preacher supported by Leonard Tyler and the brethren at 1212 Pine Bluff, Arkansas, in a meeting with the colored church in that city. Tyler's bulletin constantly tells of progress being made inthe wor k in that section. Two baptized on the 17th of January .... Marshall Patton of Orlando and Question and Answer editor of SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES in a good meeting with Harold Dowdy in Jacksonville, Florida, Marietta congregation. Fivebaptized in this effort ... . New elders at Seminole in Tampa are Stacy Norman and Edwin Owens. These men serve with Ed D. Sweet and I. A. Newman making the number f our elder s and 11 deacons. New deacons ar e Dr. Wayne Lafferty, Joe Stephenson and O. W. Matthews . . . Rufus Clifford at North Street in Tampa March 10th beginning . . .Cecil Douthitt is moving to High Springs, Florida, to wor k with the new congr egation ther e. His new address is P. 0. Box 1005, High Springs, Florida.

H. E. Phillips, T ampa, Fla.— My meeting with the4th Street church in Cullman, Alabama closedMarch 8. In spite of the flu epidemic in that section of Alabama and the sickness of a number of families the attendance was excellent throughout the meeting. The morning audience increased eachday from the first. This congregation is sound inthe faith and has had some of the best preaching possible through the years. Lindsey Allen labor ed with this congregation in 1942-46, Marshall E. Patton in 1946-52, E. L. Flannery in 1952-53, Robert Pressnell in 1954-58, Jack Holt in 1958-61, and Richard Weaver began wor k ther e in 1962. At present Richard Weaver is doing a fine work withthis good church. They have a daily radio program and distribute

widely a fine monthly paper called "Walking ByFaith."

Preachers attending the meeting from Cullman County were: Edward Bragwell of Hanceville, DoyleBullard of Simcoe, Kelton Whaley of Vinemont, J. E. Williams of Valley Grove, Arthur Thomas of Prospect, Paul Terry of N. W. Corinth, WayneChappell of Wheeler's Grove, Roland Persall of Chances Cross Road, and brother Weaver whopreaches at 4th Street in Cullman. Brother DoyleBullard did a fine job in directing the singing eachevening. Preachers who attended from out of thecounty were: Ralph Gregg of Athens, Ala., Sam Binkley of East Side in Athens, Granville Tyler of Somerville Road in Deca-tur, Ala., Tom G. O'Neal of McArthur Heights in Parrish, Ala., Lee Gunter of Stevens Ave. in Hunts-ville, Ala., Asa Plyler of Jasper, Ala., Don Fultz of Athens, Ala., Baxter Evans of Lacy Springs, Ala., Dennis Reed of BerneyPoint, Birmingham, Ala., Jack Frost of Englenook,Birmingham, Ala., Hollis Creel of East Albertsville,Ala., Everett Conn of Mt. Zion, Limestone, Ala., andJames E. Gunn of Garden-dale, Ala. These preachers are sound in the faith and preach the word withoutfear in this section of Alabama. It was a pleasure to be associated with brother Weaver and this goodchur ch in this meeting.

Earl Fly, Orlando, Fla.— Our work here goes well. Attendance, contributions and interest are all increasing and plans are made for greater works this year. We now help in supporting four other preachers and will probably increase this number this year. James R. Cope will be in a meeting at Holden Heights in Orlando April 1-7. Services willbe at 7:30 each evening

L. A. Mott, Jr., Gainesville, Ga.— T he work here is the best and most satisfying one I have had so far. Plenty of opportunities to teach are here. I will be disappointed if we do not see quite a bit of growthhere.

FLORIDA COLLEGE — FORMERLY FLORIDA

CHRISTIAN COLLEGE

James R. Cope

Under date of February 24 the Sunday TampaTribune carried the following story which we believewill be of widespread interest:

"Flor ida College is the new name of FloridaChristian College, President James R. Copeannounced during a progress report concluding theannual lecture series last week.

"At the same time, Cope told 700 in the audience at Hutchinson Memorial Auditorium that Paul Hutchinson, donor of the auditorium in 1957, has signified his intention to leave his entire estate to the junior college

"An E l Centro, Calif., busine man, Hutchinson prefaced his gift with the statement that 'I have more confidence in the college today than when I made the original gift and am delighted to see that others have been inspired to help also.'

"Cope announced two other bequests at the same time and declared that increased support by Tampa

area businessmen is 'an indication of local

confidence in the college.'

"He pointed to a gift of $10,000 for the surfacingof the large parking lot near the auditorium another resurfacing on the campus as one such bequest and to John T. Lewis' gift of a valuable set of periodicals to the school.

"Lewis is from Birmingham, Alabama

"Cope said college officials intended to change thename of the junior college for a number of years and that confirmation was received from Tallahassee recently.

NOT CHURCH SUPPORTED

"Commenting on the name change, Cope said the 'Chr istian' in the name 'leaves many people under the impression that the college is church supportedand church controlled, whereas neither of these conclusions is accurate.'

"Florida College was used frequently as the school's name during the formative years, hdeclared and letterheads originally carried thatname before the school opened

"The junior college president said the primary reason for including 'Christian' in the school nameprobably had been to emphasize character trainingand 'a study of the Bible as a required part of thecurriculum.

" 'I would like to make it clear that the droppingof the term 'Christian' from the name does not mean that we have in any sense altered our emphasis uponthe Bible as the basis for character building

" 'T his institution is not a theological seminar ybut a standard junior college with the Bible offered as required study of those who attend.' "

"Hutchinson described 'an investment in Florida College today as an investment in the America oftomorrow' and said the 'greatest joy of my life has been to see the great pleasure and appreciation ofthese young people.'

" 'I enjoy seeing the good that this money hadone. People should not wait until they die to putheir money to work for young people.'

"Florida College will embark on another 'first' later this year, Cope announced, with its first complete summer session on June 17.

"At that time, he said, the college will offer freshmen courses along with a college readiness program for students who wish to correct higschool deficiencies in order to obtain full collegeacceptance.

"The Florida College summer session will feature make-up courses for sophomores, Cope said."

CONCERNING WILLS AND DEEDS IN FAVOR OF FLORIDA COLLEGE James R. Cope

Under date of February 28, the Honorable Richard

W. Ervin, Attorney General of the State of Florida, wrote me as follows regarding the effect that thename change would have on wills and deeds:

"I believe that this change would not affect a will which provides a legacy to your college since I assume it could easily be established that althougthe

charter has been amended to change the name of the institution it is still the same institution.

"It may well be, however, that individuals whohave made a will leaving a bequest to the collegewill wish to make this correction regarding thepresent name of the institution in their wills.

"In the event that some of these benefactors will wish to know whether or not the change in namimplies a change in the general purpose of theinstitution, you might consider writing to them so that po ible misunderstanding will be avoided."

College officials will be glad to discuss details regarding wills and deeds with persons desiring tofavor Florida College by these means. The estates of donors of tangible and intangible propertythrough wills and deeds may enjoy definite tax savings while their donors live. Persons interested in this matter should address James R. Cope, Florida College, Temple Terrace, Florida.

if you can distinguish between it and the Christophers' or any other Sectarian program on TV.)Second, they are presenting their program in manplaces where the Lord's church has been firmlyplanted, and men and women in that city are proclaiming Jesus as the Christ every day. In many of these places, not only do these brethren teach from house to house and from the pulpit, bualso they teach by means of radio and TV. YetHighland continues to broadcast and Telecast their "church splitter" each week.

Pleas have been made to the elders of the Highland Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas, tdiscontinue the program because of its unscriptural design and also for the trouble it is causing in the Lord's church, but to no avail.

Brethren, may I suggest at least one possible reason for their not being willing to discontinue it? The Highland elders COULD NOT STOP IT IFTHEY WANTED TO. It (H.O.T.) is bigger than the

DR. J. M. ALLEN PASSES Alton E lliott Dr. J. M. Allen was born August 6, 1896, andpassed away February13, 1963. Services were held at the church building in Dade City, Fla. The body was buried inthe Lecanto Cemetery iLe-canto, Fla.Dr. Allen had been a Chr istian for over 50 years, having been baptized into Chr ist bthe late W. A. Cameron. Brother Allen spent hilife in devout service in the kingdom of God,helping and preaching for small and weak congregations in the general area of his home. The cause of his death was a heart attack.

TRY TO STOP IT

J. T. Smith, Tampa, Fla.

There is much disturbance today in the Lord's church over the radio and TV program "Herald ofTruth". When the Highland Church of Christ inAbilene, Texas, announced the beginning of this program, they alleged that it was to be presented each week for the purpose of preaching the gospelin places where there were no congregations of theLord's people

Today, however, there is a vast difference in the program from what it was when it first began. There are actually two noticeable differences today frowhat it was when it had its birth. First, theypreached the gospel when it began. (If you thinthey still do, watch their program on TV and see Highland church. In fact, the Highland church sustains the same relation to the H.O.T. that thousands of other congregations hold. Highlanmakes a contribution to it ever y month just likemany others do, and that contribution (according tothe financial report of the H.O.T.) is less than one per cent of the total contribution made to the H.O.T. Not only this, but the Herald of Truth has its OWNOFFICE FORCE, hires and maintains its OWNPREACHERS, has its OWN TREASURY and sends out its OWN FINANCIAL REPORT EACH YEAR. Therefore, if Highland should decide tostop being a "smoke screen" for this juniorMissionary Society, all it would have to do would be to find another congregation willing to "front" for it and donate it one per cent.

So, not only have they created a monster that cannot be stopped, they only provide about one per cent of its food and have to send one of their elders all over the country to beg other congregations for food (money) to feed the monster. Hence, to thelders at Highland in Abilene we extend the same words of caution that we would to the children at Halloween, "Look out, or the H.O.T. will get you."