The Voice of Truth International, Volume 19

8/8/2019 The Voice of Truth International, Volume 19

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- UR CHILDREN?Page 34

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SpotlightPage 48

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q ~ e s u same. . .U JESUS ~ p r a e u pur house to BLay with pu awhile

Would you be glad t# see Hlm and greet Him with a smila?

Dr when you haad the mmu~ns f His knock upon tha doarWould aim and wmtematiun p~trify w to tha mre?

Would yrm haw to hang0 pur club b d e p u et Hlm in?Or hide wma magazlnse, and put tha 3Ible wham thq'd bwn?

Would pa LW your m l d l y music and put sma hymn h k s nut?Could yon lei J m s walk right in, or w o l d you

m hbrmt?

7

And I wander. . If tha Savior spent a day ur two with youWould yau go right an hing ttrs thtngs you always do?Would p u go rQht an saying the things you always say?Would Ma for you continua aa it dDsa h.mn day to day?

Would yau taka Jnirne with you nverywhm you go?Or would YDI~ maybe change your p l w nr just a day or so?Would pu be glad to have Hlm day, f o r e m urt and unTOr would pu dqh with great rehef w h e, t last, wan gone?

It might be intaresting to know the th i rg~ hat p u wnuld doIf Jssus came in pamm to apmd s m im e wlth you

A u t h Unknown

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TRUTH

ANDUNDER

STANDINGJ. C. Choate

Editor-in-Chief

When Jesus stood beforePilate, He said, "M y kingdomis not of th is world: if m ykingdom were of this world,then would my servants $ght,

that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

"Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then?"Jesus answered, Thou sayest thatI am a king. To this end

was I born , and for this cause cameI into the world, that Ishould bear witness unto the truth.Every one that is of thetruth heareth m y voice.

"Pilate saith unto him, W hat is truth? And when he hadsaid this he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them,Ifi nd in him n o ault at all"(John 18:36-38).

Pilate asked the age old question, What is truth? Man has

forever been searching for the answer but it seems hard to comeby. Watch the evening T V news, read the daily newspaper, aswell as the weekly magazines, and you will discover that in thesecular world it is difficult to get the truth on anything.Spiritually, listen to the preachers of our day and read their

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writings, and you will find them to be contradictory on almostevery subject.

What is the truth then? How may we know what it is?First of all, we must go to the right source - o the Bible,

to the Scriptures, to the word sf God-

nd to that authorityalone. We read that God hath spoken (Hebrews 1:1,2) andthat all the scripture is inspired of God (2 Timothy 3:16,17).Finally, the Lord Himself says that we will be judged by Hisword (John 12:48). We therefore cannot add to it, subtract fromit, or substitute for it. (Revelation 22:18,19). We must leave it

alone, accepting it as it is. The Lord has told us in His wordwhat He wanted us to know, and we cannot improve on that.

Christ said, "A nd ye shall k no w the truth, and the t ruthshall make you free" (John 8:32). Again, He said, "SanctiJj,them through thy truth: thy word is truth" (John 17: 17). Thenthe Lord declared, "I a m the way, the truth, and the life: n o

m an com eth un to the Fathel; but by m e" (John 14:6).

But how ca n we know the truth? B y hearing it pro-claimed and by reading the Scriptures. Christ said, " G o yetherefore and teach all nations... " (Matthew 28: 19). " G o yeinto all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature"(Mark 16:15). Paul said, " S o then faith com eth by hearing, andhearing by the word of God" (Romans 10: 17). Again, he said,"Stud y to shew thyself approved unto G od , a workman thatneedeth not t o be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth"(2 Timothy 2: 15). Then he said, "Preach the word; be instantin season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suflering and doctrine " (2 Timothy 4:2).

Why is it so necessary to read and study the word of Godand to hear it faithfully proclaimed? So that we might knowGod's will and understand it. We need to know and understandwho our Creator is, who died for us, what the gospel is, the

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importance of the church, what the Lord requires in worship,and how to live the Christian life, what is involved in repen-tance, baptism, the saved being added to the church, the kind ofmusic God wants in worship, the role of the woman in thechurch, and on and on with many other important matters.

Read through the book of Acts and observe the role thatpreaching played. For example, read of Philip asking the manof Ethiopia if he understood what he was reading in Isaiah 53,and read of this man's response as he asked, "How can I exceptsome man should guide me?" Philip proceeded to teach him

and only then did he obey the Lord (Acts 8:26-39). Paul said tothe Ephesians, "Wherefore be ye not unwise but understandingwhat the will of the Lord is" (Ephesians 5:17).

How can one obey the Lord, be scripturally baptized,become a member of the Lord's church, and abide by the manyother truths, if he doesn't know and understand what the Lord

requires? One doesn't haphazardly obey God. Salvation is notgranted to one who doesn't know the truth well enough to com-ply with God's will. If it were, why would the Scripture eventalk about the need for hearing the word of the Lord, studyingthe scripture, being taught God's will? Salvation is not basedon ignorance but on teaching, understanding, faith, and

compliance with what the Lord requires.Once one comes to know God's will, understands it, and

obeys His teaching, God saves that person and adds him to Hisfamily, the church. It is only then that he is saved, is a child ofGod, and has the hope of eternal life.

But even after one has been saved from his past sins, he mustcontinue to read, study and learn how to worship, how to servethe Lord, and how to live the Christian life. One must practicetruth. P


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Byron Nichols

I never knew him at all. Inspite of the fact that thousands ofpeople had come to know himthrough the years, his name was stillunknown to me and to most otherfolks in the church. Yet he was aChristian who was more actively in-volved in serving the Lord than mostof us ever have been or ever will be.

The passing of C. W. Peacock over twenty years ago brought sadness tomany, many people. But you may ask, "Who in the world was C. W . Pea-

cock? Is this some kind of a joke? I've never even heard his name before."You might never have heard of this man, but let me assure you thatmultitudes of people have and are grateful for having met this dedicatedChristian.

Let me tell you a little bit about C. W. Peacock. A member of one ofthe congregations in Little Rock, Arkansas, he died at the age of 90. Nowget this - or 25 years this old soldier of the cross rode city buses to fourmajor hospitals in Little Rock, visiting 100 patients per week!

Now, let's do some arithmetic together. One hundred visits per weekfor 52 weeks equals 5,200 visits per year, and 5,200 visits per year over thespan of 25 years equals the utterly amazing figure of 130,000 hospital visits!Can you feature such a thing? In spite of the fact that I have known of thisman's accomplishment since shortly after his death, I still can hardly fathomthe reality of what he did.

Do you suppose that brother Peacock ever said to himself, "It's so rainyand cold today, I think I'll just not do any visiting today"? Or, might hehave said to himself, "I don't feel all that great today myself - omebodyought to be visiting me instead of me going out all over the city to see otherslike I do"? Just think about all of the sadness and heartache that he wit-


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nessed in those 130,000 hospital visits. Surely there were occasions whenhe became weary of being around so much sickness and misery. Undoubt-edly he struggled at times as he saw firsthand the problems of others andwas unable to keep them from becoming somewhat his own problems.

I'm confident that C. W . Peacock was just as human as the rest of us,resulting in his feeling unqualified, without much to offer to the Lord, unap-preciated, neglected, and overlooked by others. However, a desire to servethe Lord through serving others enabled him to overcome his times of disap-pointment and his feelings of inadequacy.

I truly believe that a great many Christians would become more activein their service in the church if they could only become convinced that theyare needed and have something of significance to offer. But many say tothemselves, "What can I do in the church? I don't have any real talent; I

can't preach; I could never serve as an elder. I'm just not a leader."Friends, most people are not leaders. Furthermore, that is good - erygood. There must always be many more good followers than good leaders.Good leaders are indeed of great importance, and are usually hard to find,bul the fact remains that faithful and supportive followers are the backboneof every organization and society.

We all have something to give, whether we recognize our talents orcapabilities or not. Most, if not all, of us have had the experience of surpris-

ing ourselves by accomplishing something that we didn't really think wecould do. We undertook the task with serious doubts about our ability to besuccessful, but with the attitude of at least giving our best effort, and some-how that which we thought within ourselves was impossible became possi-ble. This same thing has happened countless times in spiritual matters, too.Every day there are Christians around the world who are discovering thatthe Lord is true to His word, that He will indeed be with us in our efforts toserve Him.

Let there be no doubt whatsoever - he real strength of the church willnever lie in those few who are in leadership roles that put them in a positionof being well-known and recognized as prominent and prestigious. Whilethe church will never be successful in accomplishing the Lord's will in thisworld without godly leaders, the ultimate success of the church of Christ isdependent upon those soldiers in His army who are daily dedicating them-selves to doing whatever they can to glorify Him and cause His name andHis fame to be spread throughout the earth.

Do you suppose that Jesus will one day say, "C. W. Peacock, I wassick, and you visited Me"?

I wonder what He will say to me. . . and to you. B6


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G O D

"And God . . . ............................................................ho Is Jesus? 10

The Indwelling ........................... 3EVIDENCES

Sennacherib ................................. 6............he Days of Genesis One 18

Right Thinking .............................. 0TH E W O R D F G O D

...........he Need for a Revelation 23.......

reat Evangelistic Preaching 25......................y What Authority? 27The Wizard of Oz Syndrome ........ 28

DOCTRINE O LIVE BY

. . .hould Women Speak ? ......... 1Where Are Our Children? ............ 4

...............................ccountability 36...............he Holy Spirit's Use 38

S A LVAT I O N

You Can't Do It That Way ............ 2...................................onversion 44

Circumcised and Raised .............. 6

THE CHURCH

What Does the Church Need? ..... 49One-Man Pastor System .............. 1

CHURCH ROWTH

.....ow Is Your Zeal Holding Up? 54Obey the Lord .............................. 7Step Forward. Please .................. 8Tips for an Effective ................. 9

CHURCH ISTORY

Historical Traces of the ............ 62What Medieval Christians . . . . . . . . . 3

CHRISTIANITY N ACTION

Shepherdless Sheep .................... 5You Ought to be Teachers ........... 7

.................................or a Soul! 69......ow Effective Is the Method? 70

DAILY CHRISTIAN IVING

If You Had Been There ................ 72Builders for Eternity ..................... 74

.........................ou Are Valuable 76......................nderstanding Self 78

What Is the Source . . . ? ............. 0...............limbing Mount Chemo 81

THE CHRISTIAN OME

...................ill Death Do Us Part 84Daddy's Little Girl ......................... 5

............Implications for Parents 86................rogrammed to Do Evil 87

PROVERBS 7:22

..........................................umor 88CHARTS N D OUTL~NES

............here God Has Placed 91.........................he Call of Isaiah 92What Is Truth? ............................. 4

BIBLE C H A R A C T E R S

.....ing Saul ................................. 97..............he Furious Charioteer 100

..........oseph. Husband of Mary 102................arnabas - on of 104

POEMS AN D WRITIN GS

.....................................uietness 12.............................nd He Died 24

.........................he Word of God 26Gather the Children ...................... 5.................2 Rules for Raising 37

...............................ho Will Go? 40What Is a Square? ....................... 3

If They Knew ................................ 5Time Rushes On .......................... 7Single File .................................... 50The Office of a Bishop ................. 2


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THE VOICE OF TRUTHINTERNATIONAL

We're aiming for a goal of50,000 copies printed of eachissue of THE VOICE OF TRUTHINTERNATIONAL

y the year2000! We need your help inspreading the word about thevalue of this quarterly.

But more importantly, wewant to know that each personwho is receiving the magazine isreading and studying the materialconta ined in i t s pages . I t i simperative that Christians growin knowledge! JCC

Example .......................................53Privilege ...................................... .68Help Wanted ................................ 71

............................hat Is a Soul? 77We Should Be Climbing ............... 2How Do You Spell Love? ............. 6Are You Faithful? .........................3The Preciousness of Truth ...........95The Insect that Stings .................. 99The World Is a Better Place . . . .I03

FEATURES

How do you measure up? ............22Bible Word Power ........................29Verse Search ............................... 1

SpotLight.....................................48

Hebrews Puzzle ...........................1Walking by Faith ..........................3Quick Commentary ...................... 0Who Am I? ................................... 96Puzzle Answers ..............Back Page

.R O M H E H E ART F . .Japan ......................................... 106English, "Let's Start . . " ............ 10

8

You Tell OnYourself

You tell on yourself by thefriends you seek,

By the very manner inwhich you speak,

By the way you employyour leisure time,

By the use you make ofdollar and dime.

You tell on yourself by thethings you wear,

By the spirit in which yourburdens you bear,

By the kind of things atwhich you laugh,

By the records you play onthe phonograph.

You tell on yourself by theway you walk,

By the things of which youdelight to talk,

By the manner in whichyou bear defeat,

By so simple a thing ashow you eat.

By the books you choosefrom the well-filled shelf,

In these ways and more,you tell on yourself;

So there's really no use orparticle of sense

In an effort to keep up falsepretense.

- uthor Unknown .


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Peter Mostert

"I n the beginning," the Biblesays, "God created the heavens andthe earth." Since no one, exceptGod, was at the creation, Christiansbelieve this to be so by faith in whatthe Bible says . There are manypeople, however, who believe thatthe earth and everything in it cameabout by chance.

If life just happened , and we

live and die without purpose, exis-tence would be miserable. It is bothlogical and reassuring to believe inGod, and also in His Word! TheOxford Dictionary says that "God isa being worshiped as having powerover nature and control over humanaffairs." A Bible encyclopedia saysthat "God is intel l igent , eternal ,true, good, pure, just, merciful, mostfree and of infinite power and wis-dom." Believing in God makes awhole lot of sense.

A second cons idera t ion i s abelief that the Bible alone is God's

W o r d f o r p e o p l e t o d a y. M a n ybooks have been written by reli-gious people claiming that God hasgiven them a special message. The

Bible says, however, to "Contendearne stly for the faith which wa sonce for all delivered to the saints"(Jude 3 ) . Peter adds, "H is divinepower has granted to us everythingper ta in ing to l i fe and godl iness ,through the true knowledge of Himwho called us" (2 Peter 1:3). TOthis Paul says, "Co nt inue in thethings you have learned and become

c on vin ce d o f . . . all scripture isinspired of God and profirable forteaching, for rep roo f, for cor rec-tion, for training in righteousness;that every man may be adequate,equipped for every good work" (2Timothy 3:14-16).

There a r e many appea l s t oentice a person away from a beliefin God and the Bible. These attrac-t ions may look invit ing, but areactually "clouds without water."They make promises that cannot befilled. Only God, who is above allcreat ion, can give a promise and

keep it - is Word alone is faithfuland true. BPeter Mostert preaches for the churchin Yucaipa, California, U.S.A.


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His disciples in a boat on the Sea ofGalilee. They were caught in a terrible

storm, in danger of being capsized, and Jesus rebuked the wind and thewaves, and the storm stopped. Those men asked the question, "Who i sthis?" They had seen that "even the wind and the waves obey him!"(Mark4:41).

So, who is Jesus? Let us attempt to find an answer from the Bible aboutthis very important person.

Jesus Is The Son Of God

John begins his account of Jesus' life with an affirmation that Jesus isnone other than God Himself. He tells us in John 1 1, "In the beginning wasthe Word." This "Word" is Jesus (see verses 14 and 18), and He was notonly with God in the beginning, but also "the Word was God" (John 1:2).


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John also tells us that he wrotedown information about Jesus'miraculous signs so that those whoread his book " m a y b e li e ve t h a t

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of G od"(John 20:30,3 1). Indeed, the testi-mony of those miracles is over-whelming. John tells of Jesus rais-ing the dead, casting out demons,healing blind and lame people,walking on the water, and more.

Further testimony to the deityof Jesus comes from John theBaptist. He said of Jesus, "I haveseen and testify that this is the Sonof God" (John 1 34). He had seenthe Holy Spirit descend on Jesus inthe form of a dove at His baptism,and he had heard the voice fromheaven proclaim, "You are my Son"(Mark 1 9-11).

Finally, as we have seen fromMark 1 :9-11, God Himself testifiesto the deity of Jesus. Thus ,Scripture clearly shows us that Jesusis the Son of God.

Jesus Himself told His disciplesthat His purpose in coming to earthwas to be an atoning sacrifice. Hesaid, "F or even the Son of M an did

not come to be se we d, but to serve,and to give his life as a ransom formany" (Mark 10:45). When Jesusdied on the cross, He became a ran-som, using His own life to pay forours.

Jesus Is Our Judge

The fact that Jesus died for usalso brings a serious responsibilityto each of us. We no longer belongto ourselves, but to Christ (1Corinthians 6: 19-20). If we belongto Him, then we must be willing toobey Him - ot an unrealisticexpectation from one who died for

us and who will be our judge.We learn in 2 Corinthians 5: 10

that "we must all appear before thejudgment seat of Chr ist, tha t eachone may receive what is due him forthe things done while in the body,whether good or bad. " What we do

Jesus IS Our Ransom today will be recounted beforeJohn tells us something of the Jesus, our Righteous Judge.

scene he saw in heaven. "And they A standard has already beensang a new song: 'Yo u are worthy established by which we shall beto take the scrol l and to open i ts judged - he Word of God, theseals, because yoir were slain, and Bible.with your blood you purchased men "F or the word of God is livingfor G od from every tribe and lan - and powerfirl, and sharper than

g u a g e a n d p e o p l e a n d n a t i o n ' " any two-edged sword, piercing(Revelation 5:9). Jesus, by shed- even to the division of soul andding His blood on the cross, pur- spirit, and of joints and m arrow,chased men from sin. a n d i s a d i s c e r n e r o f t h e

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t h o u g h t s a n d i n t e n t s o f t h eheart. And there is no creaturehidde n front His s ight, but a llthings are naked and open to the

eyes of Him to whom we mustg i v e a c c o u n t " (Hebrews4:12,13).

The writer tells us two thingshere. First, the Word of God is aninstrument of judgment.Second, it is Jesus whowields the instrument; Heis the one "to whom wemust give account." Thispicture of Jesus as judgeis reinforced by John'sdescription in Revelation1 : 16, where he tells usthat Jesus has a sharp,double-edged swordcoming out of His mouth.It is the sword of judg-ment; it is the Word ofGod.

Obviously, the NewTestament has muchmore to say about Jesus

than just these threepoints. A person cannot,however, understandmore about Jesus if he isnot convinced of the truthof these three statements.Jesus is the Son of God.Jesus is the one who paidfor our sins. Jesus willbe our judge.

"Who is Jesus?" If

that is your question, an answer hasbeen given. Search the Bible foryourself and examine the truth itreveals about Jesus. Then answer

this question -"Do you k n o wJesus?" 8

Bobby Wheat has returned to theUnited States after having served as amissionary to Zimbabwe.

Q ~ i e t n e s sBe still and know that J am God,That J who made and gave thee lifeWill lead thy faltering steps aright,That J who see each sparrow's fallWill hear and heed thy e a r n e s t call.

J am God.

Be still and know that J am GodWhen aching burdens crush thy

heart,Then know J form thee for thy partAnd purpose in the Plan J hold.

G u s t in God.

Be still and know that J am GodWho made the atom's tiny spanfind set it moving in my plan,That J who g~ide he s t a r s aboveWill ghide and keep thee in jVlY love.

B e houstill,- o r a n


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God With Us:

Thomas R. Dohling

It is being taught in some quar- when "w hat i s mor ta l" has been

ters that the apostles only were swallowed up by life (2 Corinthianssealed with the Holy Spirit. If God 5:4ff) and God has guaranteed this"set His seal of ow nership" on and by " g i v i n g u s th e S p i r it a s a"pu t His Spirit" in the "hearts as a deposit" (2 Corinthians 55) . Thisdeposi t , guaranteeing what is to salvation is already in progress, setcome" (j.e., eternal life with God in motion by the sacrificial death offorever) (2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5) of our Lord Jesus and His glorious res-the apostles only, then the apostles urrection by the power of God!

only are owned by God and they The Bible teaches that it wasonly are guaranteed eternal life! Is not the apostles only who werethis what the Bible teaches (espe- markedlsealed with the Holy Spirit!cially the New Testament)? Let the Bible speak. "You also

While it is agreed that Jesus, were included in Christ when yousalvation, eternal life are the gifts of heard the word of truth, the gospelthe Holy Spirit, it is incorrect to say of your salvation. Having believed,that God deals differently with you were marked i n Him wi th aChristians of different ages. seal, the promised Holy Spirit, whoMoreover, the implication of Acts is a deposit guaranteeing ou r inher-2:38 is not that those who are bap- itance until the redemption of thosetized will receive a gift from the who are C od 's possession - o theHoly Spirit (i.e., salvation, etc.), but praise of His glory" (Ephesiansthat they will receive the Holy 1:13,14).Spirit as a gift from God as an The "you" here implies Ephe-earnest (i.e., a deposit), as the first sian Christians and, by extension,installment (Gk. arabon) guarantee- all Christians, who are God's pos-ing our future salvation (inheri- sessions. From these passages wetance) which will be consummated understand that the Holy Spirit is

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the gift given by God to those whobelieved and obeyed the Lord Jesus(cf. Acts 5:32).

The fact that the Bible is con-

sistent and self-supporting is alsoevident from the passages in Acts6:3-6. Here we find that the sevenmen chosen by the Jerusalemchurch for waiting on saints werealready full of the Spirit before theapostles laid their hands on them.In Acts 13:52 we find that the disci-ples were filled with the HolySpirit. Who are disciples? Everyfollower of Christ is His disciple.

The Holy Spirit is God's gift ofgrace to the Christian. Paul says tothc Ephesian Christians, " D o n otgrieve the Holy Spirit of God , withwhom you were sealed for the dayof redemption" (Ephesians 4:30).Th e "you" he re signifies th eEphesian Christians and not theapostles (cf. Jude 17-20).

We often quote Acts 2:38 butneglect verse 39. Let us see whatthese two verses together signify.

Verse 38, "Rep ent and be baptized,every one of you, in the name ofJesus Christ so that your sins maybe forgiven. And you will receivethe gift of the Holy Spirit" containstwo parts of a very preciouspromise. While we emphasize thefirst part, baptism for the forgive-ness of sins, we miserably neglectthe second, more vital part - hegift of the Holy Spirit.

The promise is applicable notonly to the first century Christiansbut to Christians today as well (andalways). Listen to Peter, " T h e

promise is for you a nd your chil-dren and for all w ho are far off; fora ll whom the Lord ou r God wi l lcall." For whom? "For all whomthe Lord our God will call."

Isn't it wonderful? Nay, amaz-ing! How often people try to limitGod and His wondrous ways! OurLord Jesus said in John 35 , "1 tellyou the truth, unless a man is bornof water and the Spirit, he cannotenter the kingdom of God." Isn'tPeter echoing the same thing inActs 2:38? He is saying, be born ofthe water and of the Sprit.

Paul says (through the inspira-tion of the Holy Spirit) in Titus3:5ff,6, "H e saved us through thewashing of rebirth (baptism) a n drenewal (made anew) by the HolySpirit, whom He (God) poured outon u s generous ly th roug h JesusChrist our Saviour. " He also says

in 1 Corinthians 12:3ff, " . . . N o onecan say, 'Jesus is Lord,' except bythe Holy Spirit. "

And how is the Spirit received?Paul in Galatians 3:2 said, "...Didyou receive the Spirit by observingthe law, or by believing what youheard?" (To us who have the writ-ten word of God He would say,"You received the Spirit by believ-ing what you read and heard.")


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Wonderful !What about "...the Holy Spirit,

whom Cod lzas given to tlzose whoobey Him" (Acts 5:32ff)? If that

was true for the first centuryChristians, isn't it true for us, thetwenty-first century Christians? Dowe dare to question God's ways?Does He deal differently with ustoday after we have obeyed Him?

It is conceded that the miracu-l o u s w o r k of the Holy Spiritthrough the apostles has ceased withthe writing down of God's revealedwill and the death of the eye wit-nesses (apostles), but He does giveus to drink of the same Spirit ( ICorinthians 12: 13), i.e., He gives usthe common gift of the Holy Spirit

(Titus 3:5-7). Who continues tostamp the revealed will (the newcovenant, the new testament) ofGod on our hearts (2 Corinthians3:3) until we all "become mature,attaining to the whole mensure ofthe fullness of Christ" (Ephesians

4:13ff) and "all are transformedinto His likeness with ever-increas-ing glory, w hich comes from theLord , who i s the Sp i r i t " (2

Corinthians 3: 18).To the extent that we eat of and

drink from God's word and to theextent that we allow Him to dwellin us, to that extent will He be ableto produce His fruit in us (Galatians5:22). The fruit of the Spirit will beevident in the lives of those who"live by the Spirit" , keeping " ins t e p with rhe Spirit" (Galatians5:25). The fruit will be diminishedin the lives of those who limit Himor deny His indwelling. The wordof God is "the sword of the Spirit"(Ephesians 6 :17). It is He who

makes the word living and active,not only in the life of the devoted,committed Christian, but also in thewhole world. QThomas R. Dohling is a Christian fromManipur State, East India, worship-ping and working with the Lord'schurch in New Delhi, India.


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7 2 2 B.C . , du r ing t he r e ign o fHezekiah . Th e biblical account isfound in 2 Kings 18 and 19, andcomplementary material is in Isaiah

36 and 37.Students of biblical archaeolo-gy are interested in this kind of cor-roborative m aterial. It should benoted that the Bible is the only oneof the world's many religions thatcan be verified historically by com-paring the records of the peoplesand nations who touched the livesof the people of the Bible.

The B ib l e t e l l s u s t ha tSennacherib succeeded his father,Sargon, on the throne of Assyria.Sargon's name is also in the sacredreco rd . F rom the accoun t i n 2

Kings we learn that Sennacheribmade great bas-reliefs (sculpture inwhich the figures project slightlyfrom the background) of limestonefor his palace in Nineveh. Theselarge s tone carvings are 1 I0 fee tlong, covering the palace walls anddepicting events of his conquest of

Judea. They are now in the BritishMuseum.

The re a r e t h r ee i n sc r ibedprisms, telling of Sennacherib's bat-tles in Judea, describing his victoryo v e r L a c h i s h a n d h i s s i e g e ofJerusalem. Th e Bible s tates thatGod did not permit Sennacherib totake Jerusalem or King Hezekiah.I s a i ah , t he p rophe t , s a id t ha tSennacherib "would not set foot in

Jerusalem. "

Sennacherib had recorded oneach of these prisms that he "shutup Hezekiah in his own city like a

bird in a cage." Notice that he didnot say that he captured Hezekiah orJerusalem. These three records byS e n n a c h e r i b a re i n t h e B r i ti s hMuseum in London, in the OrientalInstitute in Chicago, and in the StateMuseum in Berlin. They serve asremarkable confirmation of this his-torical event of 722 B.C.

The biblical account goes on torelate Sennacherib's murder by twoof his sons when he returned home.The Bible even names the two sonswho killed him, Adrammelech andSharezer. God's Word then names

another son, Esarhaddon, who foI-lowed him on the throne. In boththe biblical and secular accounts wefind the same places, names, andevents, and the same time frames.This is absolute confirmation.

We have to accept the spiritualtruths of the Bible on faith, but the

h i s to r ica l sec t ions o f the Bib lewhich have been found recorded onclay and stone tablets, stone build-ings, statues, and even papyrus, giveconfirmation no other religion canclaim. Indeed "the stones cryout-that the Bible is accurate." F)

Harvey Porter died suddenly in March,1998, after having served almost 40years as the preacher for theMontgomery Boulevard congregationin Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A.


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2. When a definite number precedes the Hebrew word for day,"Yom," in the Scriptures, a 24-hour solar day is always meant (seeGenesis 8:3 ; Numbers 13:25; Jonah 1 17).

3 . God H imself settles the question in Exodus20: 1 1 ,"F or in six daysthe Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is,and rested the seventh day."

4. These days had "evening and morning" just as our 24-hour daysdo. The literal translation of the Hebrew is: "and evening was, andday was, day one."

5 . Adam was created on the sixth day, lived in Eden on the seventhday and at least into the eighth day. If the day-age theory is cor-rect, then Adam lived in a portion of one long geological age,through the whole of another, and into a portion of a third. Howold would he have been?

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EVIDENCES

6. How is the miracle of Evebeing produced explained?

7 . How is the fact that every-thing was created full-grown ex-

plained?

In 1984, Dr. James Barr, a pro-fessor of Hebrew and Interpretationof Scripture at Oxford University,wrote a letter to David Watson, aBritish scholar. In this letter Barraddresses the above question. He

writes:"Probably, so far as I know,

there is no professor of Hebrewor Old Testament at any world-class university who does notbelieve that the writer ofGenesis 1-1 1 intended to conveyto the readers the idea that (a)creation took place in a series ofsix days which were the same asthe days of 24 hours we nowexperience, (b) the figures con-tained in the Genesis genealo-gies provided a simple additionof chronology from the begin-

ning of the world up to laterstages in the biblical story, ( c )Noah's flood was understood tobe worldwide and extinguishedall human and animal life exceptfor those in the ark.

Or, to put it negatively, theapologetic arguments whichsuppose the "days" of creationto be long eras of time, the fig-ures of years not to be chrono-

logical, and the flood to be amerely local Mesopotamianflood, are not taken seriously byany such professors, as far as I

know."Everything Was CreatedFull-Grown

Isn't it interesting that theseHebrew scholars, who would notview the Bible as inspired or author-itative, would say, purely on thebasis of their scholarly analysis of

what is said in the Scriptures, thatthe writer of Genesis one was cer-tainly intending to give an accountof what God did on seven 24-hoursolar days? These men cannot beaccused of imposing their views ofthe Bible on others, but merely stat-

ing, asscholars,

what they believethe text says.So, arguing from the standpoint

of what God says in the text, andfrom what Hebrew scholars sayabout what the text says, one comesup with the clear understanding thatthe days of Genesis one are 24-hour

periods. If men had not felt com-pelled to try to mesh the Bible intothe evolutionary hypothesis, therewould never have been imposedupon the Bible an interpretationcalled "theistic evolution".

It is always safer and wiser togo with what God says. Q

Max Patterson is the preacher for theHillcrest Church of Christ in Neosho,Missouri, U.S.A


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EVIDENCES

The modern world is constantlybombarding our minds withthought-twisting propaganda of alldescriptions. Political, economic,

and psychological "bombs" drop onus from every direction. One suchbomb is composed of the skepticismtoward Christian faith that dailyflows over the airways, and voicesitself through the printed page.

The many wonderful accom-plishments of the scientific cornrnu-nity have transformed science intoan idol to be worshiped by modernman. But like all idolatry, the idolis frail and hopelessly limited. In

which might explain how its growthoccurred.

Unlike much of the propagandabeing poured out upon us, Christian

faith stands firmly on facts from outof the past. Jesus lived! He is asmuch a part of world history as arethe Pharaohs of Egypt, theEmperors of Rome, and the philoso-phers of Greece. The church Jesusfounded exists. It had a datablebeginning that was based on certainevents that were known to havetranspired in Judea a few daysbefore the Jewish festival ofPentecost.

every accomplishment science mustutilize existing realities that werepresent when the first individualwondered why, what, or how. Werethere no airwaves, science could notharness them; were there no insects,science could not study them; andwere there no stars, science couldnot theorize about their origin.Without a grown universe no scien-tist could develop a hypothesis

The prophets of ancient Israelwho spoke and wrote about a com-ing kingdom were real people whowalked the earth, delivered theirmessages, and died. The apostles ofJesus who spread the good news ofthe Messiah were as real as anyother personality of the past. Theirwritten records of Jesus and theearly church are real literature,authenticated by hundreds of extant


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manuscripts. factors of human welfare.A moment's re flec tion will Christian faith as it is taught in

reveal that skepticism toward the the New Testament produces good.things of God has always existed. (One should not confuse the evils of

Why? The Bible's answer is that apostate Christianity with the teach-mankind is in rebellion against God. ing of the New Testament.) For

Part of sin's activity in men is itsperpetual effort to persuade themthat God is not needed, that He isexcess baggage being camed aboutby deceived and unenlightened indi-viduals who wish to hold on to what

a world come-of-age deems anti-quated relics from out of the past.

It is an accepted axiom that theultimate worth of a thing is deter-mined by what the thing produces.If good is produced, the thing isgood . If evi l, the thing is bad.Bigotry, slavery, and despotic gov-ernments usually produce evil.Therefore, they are generally con-sidered less than desirable as bene-

hundreds of years rational men havepraised the teaching of Jesus for itsbeneficial worth to mankind. Yes,Jesus makes demands, but they canbe likened to the mother who insiststhat her child eat healthy food. The

demands of such a mother are ablessing to the child, not a curse.So it is with the demands of Jesus.Every individual who follows Hiswords is only made better.

Christian faith corrects theimbalance brought into the world bysin. It does so because it is true, andit will never be proved false. Q

Hollis Miller is a gospel preacher liv-ing in Cadiz, Kentucky, U.S.A.


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s o w do you measure up?

\ &e of the same mind toward oneanother*

90 ot set your mind on high things,but associate with the humble.

90 ot be wise in your own opinion.

m a y no one evil for evil.

regard for good things in the

sight of all men.

Vf it is possible, as much as depends

on you, live peace&& with all men

(%mans 12: 16- 18).

III


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From the earliest times of human Many attempts have been madehistory, men have sought God. There to find God in various ways, all ofseems to be in humankind an innate which have failed. Some haveneed to look to a higher power and to turned to worshipping nature itself,know the Creator. but that is serving the creature

In this search for God, people rather than the creator (Romans

do not have to look far to see that 1:25). Others have carved, molded,God exists. Nature is a great or engraved images to worship, butteacher in this respect: "F or the these have no breath in them and areinvisible things of him from the ere - unable to see, hear, speak, walk, oration of the world are clearly seen, to do anything to help the worship-being understood by the things that pers. Others have tried philosophyare made, even his eternal power and meditation, but these have alsoand God head; so that they are with- failed because "it is not in man thato u t e x c u s e " ( R o m a n s 1 : 2 0 ) . God's w a l k e t h t o d i r e c t h i s s t e p s "creative power, benevolence, order; (Jeremiah 10:23) .and love of beauty are all painted onthe canvass of nature.

God Had Revealed HimselfAt various times in history God

Nature 1s Limited has revealed Himself throughHowever, there are many things inspired prophets and apostles by

about God which nature cannot miracles, dreams, visions, and signs.show us. For example, it does not These men of God spoke by thereveal God's plans for us, nor His inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2will for us. Nature does not tell us Peter 1:21) .what to do to be saved from our sins In the fullness of time, God sentor how to worship God. It does not His own Son, who is the ultimatereveal God's past dealings with our revelation of the invisible God.forefathers; neither does it tell about God ",vas manifest in the flesh, jus-

future things such as heaven, hell, or tified in the Spirit, seen of angels,the judgment day. To know these preached unto the Gentiles, believedthings about which nature is silent, on in the world, received up irztowe need a revelation from God. glory" (1 Timothy 3:16). In times

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gone by, God spoke to the fathersby the prophets, but now "hath inthese last days spoken unto us by hisSon" (Hebrews 1 : 1,2).

This revelation has beendeposited into permanent, writtenform in the Holy Scriptures. TheBible contains the history of God'sappearances and work in the world,His laws, His teachings, and the lifestory of His Son and Savior of the

world, Jesus Christ the Son of God.When we read, believe, and obeythese Scriptures, eternal life will beours. "But these ar e written, that ye

m i g h t b e l i e v e t h a t J e s u s i s t h eChris t , the Son of G o d ; and thatbelieving ye might have life throughHis name " (John 20:3 1). Q

John Thiesen is a former missionary toMalawi and is now the preacher for thechurch of Christ in Buffalo, MO, USA.

AND HE D I E D - - - -

Bruce BuckleyThe story is told of a man who had very little interest in things

religious and rarely attended any religious service. One day hisniece was so persuasive that he agreed to go with her to worship.

But she was very disappointed when the preacher read from Genesis5:8-20. The genealogies listed seemed to be such uninterestingverses to read at that time. She thought it could not have any goodinfluence with her uncle. Time after time the reading said, "and hedied."

Returning home, both were very quiet but the man was thinking.The sound of his own footsteps seemed to say, "and he died." Thatnight and the next day he thought of the words, "and he died." Hefinally took a Bible and read the entire fifth chapter of Genesis. It wassaid even of Methuselah "and he died."

This caused the man to think as he never thought before. InJohn 11 26 he read, "And whoever lives and believes in Me shallnever die. Do you believe this?"

Finally, he too died to sin and the world as he obeyed the gospel."And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in

wickedness." This means that the whole world needs to die to sinand the world, through birth into His family, the church."Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is

the Lor d (Jeremiah 17:7).24


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Great

Cecil May, Jr.

If we are to preach with evangelistic power andachieve evangelistic results, we must preach withconviction and faith founded on the following

Without Christ, no one can be saved. Jesus

said, "No one comes to the Father except by me"(John 14:6). "There is no other name under heav-en given among men whereby we must be saved"(Acts 4:12). 3. M. McCaleb wrote in his famoushymn, "Unless they hear, they cannot live; thegospel is for all." If the world is all right like it is,why tell them anything? If we do not passionatelybelieve that we know something the world does not

know, we will not fervently proclaim the One whocan save.

The Gospel is God's power to save. "The preaching of the cross is tothem that perish foolishness; bur to us who are saved it is the power of God"(1 Corinthians 1:18). "1 am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is thepower of God unto salvation" (Romans 1 : 16). God's love, demonstrated inthe sacrifice of His Son, is what will draw us to God (John 12:32-33) andcause us to love (1 John 4:19). The Gospel can make the drunk and thestoned sober and the carouser and profligate pure. It instructs the teacher oferror in the way of the Lord more perfectly. It turns the selfish materialistinto a joyful giver. The word of the Gospel, "the voice of the Son of God,"

2 5


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brings eternal life out of death, andjustification from condemnation(John 5:24-25).

Preach ing i s God ' s ch i e f

instrument for saving man. TheGospel is in earthen vessels (2Corinthians 4:s). Jesus command-ed, "G o . . p each the gospel; ...het h a t b e l i e v e s... sha l l be saved"(Mark 16:lS). "A fter that in thewisdom of G od the worldby wisdomknew not God , it pleased God by the

foolishness of preaching f o savethem that believe" (1 Corinthians1 2 1). The Bible does not here ele-vate one method of communicatingthe Gospel over another; it doesmake communicating the Gospelthe means to salvation. Preaching iscommunicating the Gospel.

Great things happen in theact of preaching. Peter's preachingpricked 3000 with conviction of sinand desire for salvation (Acts 2:37).

wil l empty church bu i ld ings ."Nattering nabobs of negativism,"to whom the Gospel consists entire-ly in unrelenting condemnation and

exposure of others, drive their hear-ers to look for positive light else-where. A diluted Gospel, soothingsyrup for itching ears, that neverreproves, rebukes, or teaches, mayattract some, but will save none.Preach "al l the counsel of G od"(Acts 20:27) with Christ always at

the center (1 Corinthians 2:2).Imbibe and live the Word of God.Love the people to whom youpreach. Weekly lay open theGospel to the people. Apply i tpointedly and lovingly to their prob-lems and needs. Tha t kind ofpreaching usually reaches people. Italways glorifies God. 0

Cecil May, Jr. is Dean of the BibleDept. at Faulkner University inMontgomery, Alabama, U.S.A.

Phillip's preachingbrought one man anunderstanding of thework of Christ andjoyous acceptance ofsalvation (Acts 8:27-39). Paul's preachingat Athens broughtmockery and procras-tination, but it alsobrought faith to some

(Acts 17:32-34).Trite repetit ion

of outworn traditions

THE WORD OF 430D

Feelings come and feelings go,And feelings are deceiving;My warrant is the Word of God;Naught else is worth believing.1'11 trust in God's unchanging WordTill soul and body sever;For though all things shall pass awayHis Word shall stand forever.

- Unknown


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What

A u t hJesus had just driven the moneychangers from the inner court of

Herod's Temple in Jerusalem. Approached by the Chief Priests, He wasasked, "B y what authority are you doing these things? " (Mark 1 1:28).

That really is a valid question. Authority makes life functional. Weface it at every turn in our lives.

Let's be honest. How can we know if anyone's moral or religiousauthority is valid if it originates only from the heart of fallible man? Whyshould someone else's idea be any more valid than mine? Necessitydemands an objective standard handed down to fallible man by an infallibleGod!

There is such a standard. The Bible states, "E ven so the thoughts ofGod n o one knows except the Spirit of God ...which things we (inspired men)

speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but those taught by theSpirit,... " (1 Corinthians 2:11,13.) This passage tells us that God's mindhas been made known to us through the inspired writers of the Bible. Hereare a few of the many other passages that teach this essential truth -Timothy 3: 15-1 7, Romans 10: 17, Ephesians 3 3 - 4 . Read them, because hereis the standard you must follow.

Jesus put it this way in John 12:48, "He who rejects Me, and does notreceive my sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will

judge him at the last day."Is your authority God's authority?

Rod Kyle preaches the Gospel in New Zealand.

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The Wizard of O z

SyndromeBill DillonIn the classic tale, The Wizard Bible warnings about false

of Oz, a young lady named Dorothy teachers are in abundance:was told to follow the yellow brick "Litt le children, let no manroad which would lead her to the deceive you" (1 John 3:7).great and mighty Wizard of Oz, "B eloved , be l ieve not eve rywho could send her home again. In s p i r i t , b u t t r y t h e s p i r i t sthe expectation of having all her whether they ar e of Go d"fears relieved and all her hopes real- (1 John 4: 1).ized, Dorothy traveled down the The church at Ephesus wasyellow brick road - ut at the last commended because they had- he Wizard was a fake, and the " t r i e d t h e m w h i c h s a y t h e y a r eyellow brick road was misleading. a p o s t l e s , a n d a r e n o t , a n d h a s t

Unfortunately, the world of found them liars" (Revelation 2:2).today is filled with souls who are Paul, the apostle, admonishedsearching for a God like the Wizard early believers to "prove all things;was supposed to be. They look for hold fast to that which is good" (1churches and religious groups who Thessalonians 5:21).will serve as their yellow brick road. It is good to be reminded thatIn the end, they suffer the multiple truth is to be held in importanceheartache of disillusionment, dis- above all things. Jesus said that

couragement, and deception. only the truth will set us free (JohnOn May 3, 1993, U.S. News & 8:32). It is also essential to place

World Report ran a story captioned our confidence in the strong cord of"The Final Days of Ranch Apoca- God's Word (John 17:17), and notlypse." It was the story of David in the teachings of men, which areKoresh and the fall of the Branch but whispy webs, blowing in theDavidian cult in Waco, Texas. winds of life. 8This, and other stories, remind usthat religious deception is as much apm o f o u r present day as it was in Bill Dition is editor of Gospel Gleaner

and preaches for the Lord's church inthe 1st century. Mountain Home, Arkansas, USA.

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I t Helps to Enrich Your

11B1BLEWORD POWERAre you sure you are understanding the richest mean-ing of the Bible? Test your comprehension of thefollowing words used in the context found inRomans 2 (KJV). After m aking your choices,turn the page for the correct answers.

1. judgest v. - Gk. kree no ') A: to correct B: to determine; to assume theoffice of a judge C: to endorse as acceptable D: to censor.

2. hardness n. - Gk. sklay rot' ace) A: an attitude of opposition; trying, exact-ing B: conviction C: certainty D: unwillingness.

3. impenitent adj. - Gk. am et an o' ay to s) A: weak B: awkward C: angrywithout a cause D: without change of mind.4. eternal adj. - Gk. ahee o' nee 0s ) A: of endless duration B: internal

C: secure within one's commitment D: a measurement of time.5 . indignation n. - Gk. thoo m os ') A: an undignified response B: quarrel-

someness C: fierceness, wrath D: impatience.6. tribulation n - Gk. thlip' sis) A: affliction, torment B: a contribution

C: a severe irritant D: persuasion against one's will.7 . anguish n . - Gk. sten okh o ree' ah ) A: anger with justification B: sorrow

C: distress of soul D: regret because of a loss.8 . justified pred. adj. - Gk. dik ah yo' o ) A: pardoned B : to deem to be right

or righteous, by God C: being treated justly D: welcomed home.9. conscience n. - Gk. soon i ' day sis) A: the brain B: a feeling of guilt

C: that faculty by which we apprehend the will of God D: condemnation.10 . accusing v. - Gk. kat ay gor eh' o ) A: cursing B: singling out C: appoint-

ing D: to speak against.11 . gospel n - Gk. yoo ang ghel id' zo) A: lecture B: the good news

C: salvation D: a message sent in haste.12 . instructor n. - Gk. pahee d yoo tace') A: explanation of a procedure

B: one who teaches C: a judge D: a university professor.13. abhorrest v - Gk. bdel 00s' so) A: to detest, to turn oneself away from

B: to oppose mildly C: to reject D: to accept with reluctance.14. breaking v. - Gk par ab ' as is) A: transgression or g oing against

B: ignoring C: to shatter a utensil D: the ending of a thing.15 . blasphemed v. - Gk. blas fay meh' o ) A: rejected B: questioned

C: to speak evil of D: to sanction the use of.

16. transgress v.-

Gk. par ab at ' ac e) A: trespass B: to repudiateC: to refuse to accept D: to overstep the limit.17. letter n. - Gk. gram'mah) A: written commandments B: a greeting

C: the al ~h ab etD: binding decisions of lawyers.


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1. judgest v. - (Gk. kree no') B: todetermine; to assume the office of ajudge; to separate, select, choose, topronounce judgment.

2. hardness n. - (Gk. sklay rot' ace)A: an attitude of opposition; trying,exacting.

3. impenitent adj. - (Gk. am et an o'ay tos) D:without change of mind;unrepentant; the Scriptu res oftenwarn of the dire consequences thatwill befall those who have impeni-tent hearts.

4. eternal adj. - Gk. ahee o' nee 0s)A: of endless duration; used in66places in the New Testament.

5 . i nd igna t ion n . - (Gk. tho0 mos')C: fierceness; wrath; sore displea-sure.

6. t r ibulat ion n - (Gk. thlip' sis) A:affliction, torment; to suffer ill, tobe maltreated.

7. anguish n . - (Gk. sten okh o ree'ah) C: distress of soul; as thoughwedged into a very narrow place sothat extrem e dis t ress ar ises fromthat straitened condition.

8. justified pred. adj. - Gk. dik ah yo'o ) B: to deem to be right or right-eous, by G od; the condition of a sin-ner who has been cleansed and for-given by God, as a result of his pen-itent obedience to God's will.

9. conscience n. - Gk. soon i ' day sis)C : that faculty by which we appre-hend the will of God; the conscious-ness of right and wrong, good and

evil, which is intended to governour lives.10. accusing v. - Gk. kat ay gor eh' o )

D: t o s p e a k a g a i n s t ; t o w i t n e s sagainst, as the conscience points theinternal finger of guilt against thetransgressor.

11. gospel n - Gk. yoo ang ghel id' zo )B: the good news, particularly hav-ing reference to the good news ofthe salvation made possible throughJesus Christ.

12. i n s t r u c t o r n . - (Gk. pahee dyoorace ') B : one who teaches, informs;o n e w h o i m p a r t s k n o w l e d g e o rskills.

13. abhorrest v - Gk. bdel 00s' so ) A:to detest, despise, to turn oneselfaway from.

14. breakin g v. - Gk par ab' as is) A:transgression or going against, asthe violation of a law.

15. blasphemed v. - Gk. blas fay meh'o ) C: to speak evil of; to rail at orrevile; to slanderously report; to

defame.16. transgress v. - Gk. par ab at ' ace)

D : t o o v e r s t e p t h e l i m i t ; t o g ob e y o n d G o d ' s l a w s o t h a t o n ebecomes a sinner.

17. le t ter n. - (Gk. gram'mah) A: thewritten commandments of the wordof God, as on the tables of stone, incontrast to the work of the HolySpirit maintaining life in the heart ofthe peni tent Chris t ian; fol lowingonly "the letter of the Law" couldnot bring life.

Vocabulary Scale

..............................-10 correct Good...............1-13 correct Bible Student...............4-17 correct Bible Scholar


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SHOULD

WOMENSPEAKIN THEASSEMBLYOF THECHURCH?

Sunny David

As the apostle Paul discussedthe order in the meetings of thechurch at Corinth in 1 Corinthians14, he first mentioned those whospoke in tongues, or different lan-guages, instructing that they shouldkeep silent if there was no inter-preter (verse 28). Then he men-tioned the prophets and said thatthey should speak by turns, the firstspeaker keeping silent if there wasanother one who also wanted tospeak (verse 30). His reasoningwas: Let all things be done for edi-fication; let there be no confusion;and, let all things be done decentlyand in order (verses 26,33,40).

In view of these instructions, hesaid specifically, "Let your womenkeep silent in the churches, for they

are not permitted to speak; but theyare to be submissive, as the law alsosays. And i f they want to learnsomething, let them ask their ownhusbands at home; for it is shamefulf o r w o m e n t o s p e ak i n c h u r c h[assembly] " (verses 34 and 35).

When Paul wrote to Timothy,he told him, "Le t a woman learn insilence with all submission. And Ido not permit a woman to teach orto have authority over a man, bur tobe in silence" ( I Timothy 2:11,12).In the next two verses, he also givesthe reason why women should notspeak, teach, lead, or exert authorityover men in meetings of the church.

"For," he said, "Adam was formedfirst, then Eve; and Adam was notdece ived , but the woman, bei izg


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deceived, fell into transgression." body. What does it do to my body?But what about women being It protects my body; loves my body,

appointed as elders (or bishops or looks after the welfare of my entirepastors) and evangelists in churches body. This is the meaning of 'head'.

today? Are they going to keep It exercises the control or authoritysilent? Are they going to sit in the over the body, supervising andassembly in submission? Evidently directing.those who are making such appoint- Speaking about His head,ments and those who are accepting Christ made the point when He said:such positions are doing so in direct "Therefore my Father Loves me,contravention and violation of because I lay down my life that IGod's written will. ntay take it again " (John 10: 17). It

We need to remember that God was the will of God that Christis our creator. He made both man should lay down His life for sinners;and woman. He knows them better which He did, showing His submis-than they themselves know about sion to His head, God. Then Hetheir own personalities or abilities. said, "I am doing this because MyNot only has God made humans, but Father loves me."He also has revealed His will for We observe from God's willthem, how they should live with one that He placed man over woman.another. Those who honor God in Man is the head, the leader of thetheir lives and accept Him as their household. From Ephesians 5:22-Heavenly Father will surely abide 25 and 1 Peter 3:l-7 we learn thatby His will in everything. wives should be submissive to their

Instructed by the Holy Spirit of own husbands; and husbands are toGod, Paul, in I Corinthians 11:3, love their wives as Christ loved thewrote; "But I want you to know that church and gave Himself for her.

the head of every man is Christ, the Again, while the woman ishead of woman is man and the head called to be submissive and obedi-of Christ is God." Is there anything ent to her own husband, at the samewrong with this stated order of time the husband is commanded toauthority? If God is the head of treat his wife with honor and under-Christ, does this mean that God is standing, realizing that she is agoing to mistreat Him or use Him as weaker vessel. When God said inHis slave? His Book that woman is a weaker

Where is my head, I mean the vessel, He didn't mean by that thatphysical head of my physical body? she is an inferior person, or that sheWell, it has been placed on my is of less importance than man.

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God loves all humans equally, both and women should l ive in the i rman and woman; and Christ diedfor all. In heaven, Christ said theyall will be like angels of God, that

is, they will not be as husband andwife, marrying and being given inmarriage (Matthew22:30).

But God is the creator. He cre-ated them both, male and female.He knows , t he re fo re , who i sstronger and who is weak. He cre-a ted them in tha t fashion. M anneeds woman and woman needsman; and God has created them dif-ferently. In comparison to man, awoman is usually more affectionateand tender; she could be easily shat-tered, broken, melted, and conned.Even the devil knew this fact, and

so he approached Eve in the gardenand was successful in deceiving her.

So w hether it is the home o r thechurch, God has specified how men

respec t ive sph e re s . A t hom e ,woman is the homemaker, and manis the head. He is responsible for

looking after the w elfare of the wifeand children, protecting them andguiding them in the fear of the Lord.

And, in the church, men oughtto take the leadership; to lead wor-ship services, preach and exhort,lead prayers, singing, and serve theLord's Supper. But let women keepsilent in the assembly of the church,for they are not perm itted to speak.

Of course, this does not meanthat women cannot sing in the pub-l i c assembly o r t ake par t in thein formal Bib le s tudy, under theleadership of a m an. 0

Sunny David lives in New Delhi, India,and is a radio evangelist for much ofIndia.


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Are

RogerE.

In the con-text of death, Ithe destiny ofch i l d r en whodie always arises.What we believe tobe the destiny of chil-dren who diE is basedupon our theo logy Dillconcern ing s in andthe spi r i tua l na ture of chi ldren . is not arroganceSome believe the concept that chil-dren are born with sin, or that theyhave a sinful nature. But this is notthe picture we understand whenstudying some statements of Jesusconcerning the nature of children.

The na tu r e o f ch i l d r en wasreferred to b y Jesus in Matthew18:3 when He stated, "Assuredly, Isay to you, unless you are converted

and become as little children, youwill by no means enter the kingdomof heaven. " The nature of children

and pride,-whichwas characteristic of those in thecontext of Matthew 18 who wereseeking greatness. T he nature ofchildren is humility. In conversion,one must become as this nature inorder to enter the kingdom. Whywould Jesus refer to this pure natureif children actually have an impurenature, one that is totally depraved

or stained with original sin at birth?The nature of children is again

exp l a ined by J e sus i n Ma t thew


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19:14 - Let the l i t t le chi ldrencome to Me, and do not forbid them,for of such is the kingdom of heav-en." Jesus also said, "W hoe ver

does not receive t lze kingdom ofGod as a l i t t l e ch i ld will by n omeans enter it " (Mark 10: 15).

Those who have submitted tothe k ingdom re ign o f J e sus a r ewalking in the light. And since theyare walking in the light, "the bloodof Jesus Christ" keeps on cleansingthem of all sin (1 John 1:7). Thek ingdom i s of a s i n l e s s na tu r ebecause of the cleansing blood ofJesus. Through the cleansing bloodof Jesus we are able to be presentedper fec t be fore God (Coloss ians1:28). Such i t i s wi th chi ldren .

They are sinless because they havenot reached the age to be able tomake a negative moral response toGod's law.

Children, therefore, are pure.They are safe when they die, simplybecause they have not knowingly orwillingly walked in transgression of

the law of G od . At the t ime ofphysical death, accordance to theassurance of the Scriptures, the spir-its and souls of children are safewith God. They are not lost to hell,but are in the care of God, who willsecure them for eternal glory. 8

Roger E. Dickson is the director ofInternational School of BiblicalStudies in Cape Town, South Africa.

Gather the Children

Some would gather moneyAlong the path of life;Some would gather rosesAnd rest from worldly strife,But I would gather rosesFrom among the thorns of sin;I would seek a golden curl

And a freckled, toothless grin.For money cannot enterInto that land of endless day,And roses that are gatheredSoon will wilt along the wayBut, oh, the laughing childrenAs I cross the Sunset Sea,As the gates swing wide to Heaven,I can take them in with me!

- uthor Unknown


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Th e que stion has often arisen gain favor with God and a hope ofabout the age of accountability for heaven, while they avoid that whichch ildre n. S om e have agreed that is bad to escape hell. But is this realtwe lve years should be accep ted accountability or i t just following

because this was the age of Jesu s certain rules?when He first answered his parents, As the ch ild

about m y F a t h e r '

t age in recognizes that in this life not all

mine one's level of maturity or his is rewarded; but this is not the deter-ab ili t y to c o m p re h e n d . M an y mining factor in his behavior.tw elve-y ear-o ld school boy s will While he does not discount thetell you that their main interests are promise of heaven or the horriblesports, recess, summer vacation, and though ts of hell, he is governed ingirls, not necessarily in that order. his every day life by what he know s

At a very early age one learns to be rig ht or w ro ng . Th e dailythat some actions are rewarded and reward for doing right isin the rightothers result in punishm ent. The itself, while the punishment for doingchild's determination concerning an wrong iswithin the knowledge of hav-act is often prompted by his experi- ing done wrong. He no longer lingerse n c e of w h e th e r th a t a c ti o n is on the possibility of the results of hisacce p ta b le o r no t. He do es tha t actions. He contemplates the right orwhich is good because of the ensuing wrong ahead of time.rewards and he avoids that which is This is real and mature account-bad because of the fear of punish- ab ility. From this day forward hement. He may or may not agree that need not live in fear; but through lovethe act itself was good or bad. of the truth and righteousness he goes

I think many today build a rela- about his daily activities with a deter-tionship with God on the same prin- mined att itude to do that which isciple. They do that which is good to right and avoid that which is wrong.


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The HolySpirit's U se of

the WordinCm version

Gary C. Hampton

A lumberjack cuts down atree. An axe is the instrument

used by the lumberjack to cutdown the tree. Similarly, it might

truthfully be said that the Holy Spiritconverts a man from sin. The Bible is

the instrument He uses to convert.Born of the Word

CJesus told Nicodemus, "Most assuredly,

I say to you, unless one is born again, he can-not see the kingdom of God. . . Most assured-

ly , I say to you, unless one is born of water andthe Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which

is born ofj lesh is jlesh, and that which is born of the Spirit isspirit" (John 3:l-8).

The Holy Spirit inspired Peter, Paul, and James to tell us by what meansthat birth occurs. Peter said Christians are born of the incorruptible seed,which is the Word of God (1 Peter 1:23). The Corinthians were begotten"through the gospel, " according to 1 Corinthians 4: 15. James wrote, "OfHis own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be akind of firsffruits of His creatures " (James 1 : 18). Clearly, the Holy Spirituses the inspired Word as an instrument to change the hearts of men.

Given Life Through The WordPrior to becoming a Christian, one was dead in his sins. "And you He

made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2 :1). The


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only way out of tha t s ta te i s bybeing made a l ive again by God,which is a work of the Holy Spirit.Paul said, "the letter kills, but the

Spir i t g ives l i fe" ( 2 Corinth ians3:6).

The Comforter uses the Wordas an instrument to m ake one alive."T his is m y conlfort in my c$fliction,For Your word has given me life. . .I will n ever forget Your precepts,F o r b y t hem You have g iven m elife" (Psalm 1 19:50,93). The Lordsaid, "I t is the Spirit who gives life;the flesh profits nothing. The wordstlzat I speak to you are spirit, andthey are life" (John 6:63).

Hearts Cut With The Sword

Paul instructed Christians to puton the armor of God. "And take thehelmet of salvation, and the swordof the Spirit, which is the word ofGod" (Ephesians 6:17). The W ordof God is described as "living andpowerfu l , and sharper than an ytwo-edged sword, piercing even to

the division of soul and spirit, andof joints and marrow , and isa dis-cerner of the thoughts and intents ofthe heart" (Hebrews 4: 12).

Peter used that very sword onthe day of Pentecost. He quotedfrom Joel 2:28-32; Psalm 16:8-11;and 110: 1. He used those verses tos h o w t h a t G o d h a d p la n n e d f o rJesus to d ie and had ra ised Himf r o m t h e d e a d . T h e n , h e s a i d ,

" T h e r e f o r e l e t a l l t h e h o u s e o fIsrael know assuredly that Cod hasmade this Jesus, whom you cruci-fied, both Lord and Christ." His

hearers were cut to their hearts withthe truth and asked what they mustdo to be saved. Instead of tellingthem to wait for a direct operationof the Spirit, he told them what theymust do. Those that gladly obeyedthat truth were baptized and addedto their number (Acts 2:41,42).

The Conversion Of TheSamaritans

After the death of Stephen, thechurch at Jerusalem began to be great-ly persecuted. "They were all scat-tered throughorit the regions of Judeaand Samaria, except rhe apostles."

Those who were scattered preachedeverywhere they went.

Ph i l i p wen t t o Samar i a and"preached Chris t to them." T hepeople heard what he said and notedthe miracles he worked which con-f irmed that he was a spokesmanfrom God. "B ut when they believedPhi l ip a s he preached the th ingsconcerning the kingdom of God andthe name of Jesus Christ, both menand women were baptized"(Acts811-12).

The Spirit's Role In Lydia'sConversion

If ever there was a case callingfor d i rec t opera t ion of the HolySpirit on the heart of a sinner, Lydia


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would seem to be that case. Shelived far from the nearest preacher.She was devout, as is evidenced byher regularly going to the riverside

on the Sabbath day for prayer. Yet, 1the Holy Spirit remained consistentby choosing to send men to bear themessage.

In a vision, Paul learned of theneed for Macedonia to hear theGospel. Paul concluded the "Lord

h a d c a l l e d " them to preach theGospel to the people of Macedonia.While in Philippi, they went to theprayer-gathering by the river. Ly-dia's heart was opened by the Lordthrough the preaching of Paul.Notice, Luke says she gave heed to"the things spoken b y Paul ." She

was baptized as a result of hearing thewords of the Spirit (Acts 16:6-15).

Conclusion

One must be born of water andSpirit to enter the kingdom of God.That birth is a result of one's obey-ing the words of the Spirit, which

are the seed of the kingdom.Spiritual life is also found in God'sWord. The Holy Spirit has neverrevealed Himself directly to a sinnerto tell him what to do to be saved.Instead, He has always used men,like Peter, Philip, and Paul, to pro-claim His Word. 9

Gary C. Hampton is the preacher for!he Central Avenue Church of Christa Valdosta, Georgia, USA.

Who Will Go?There is someone out there

waitin$Who has never heard of

Christ.There is someone out there

Who must face eternal loss.

Can I sit in easy comfortAnd ifinore the plaintive cry?Can I live for selfand safetyWhen the world's about to die?Can I spurn the blood of

Calvary

And seek the easy way,When Be died for me andsaved me

Chan$in$ all my ni*t to day?No! I have $ot to face the taskOf the work yet to be done.Yes! I have $ot to take my

crossUntil the victory i s won.

So hold on,Oh child of sorrowFor the Word isdrawin$ ni$hTYou shall hear the $ospel storyAnd no lon$er shallyou die!

-Anonymous


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1. What did Pilatand the soldiers do t

2. "Then they said, ' ,!' And they Him with their

3. Why did Pilate bring Jesus out, in such a pitiablestate, to show Him to the people? (V. 4)

4. The Jews said, "We have a , nd accordingto our law , because ----- ." (V.74)5. Jesus said that Pilate would have no power over Him at all,

" (V. 11)6. What title did Pilate write and put on the cross? (V. 19)7. What did the soldiers do with Jesus' robe? (V. 23,24)8. What had the prophet said in Psalm 22:16? (V. 24)9. From the cross, what did Jesus say to His mother about John? to

John about His mother? (V. 2627)10. Why did Jesus say, "I thirst?" (V. 28)11. After saying, "It is finished!" what did Jesus do? (V. 30)12. Why did the soldiers break the legs of those who had been cruci-

fied? (V. 31)13. Because Jesus was already dead, what did the soldiers do to Him?

(V. 33,34)14. This fulfilled the Scripture, "

" (V. 36)15. Zechariah 12:lO was also fulfilled by the piercing of His side. What

did it say? (V . 37)16. Name two prominent Jewish leaders who took responsibility for

Jesus' burial (V. 38,39)17. What was used in the preparation of the burial of Jesus' body and

where was He buried? (V. 39-42)[See inside of back cover for answers.]


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T. Pierce Brown

In Exodus 8:25, we find, "And does not let go easily. He will makePharaoh called for Moses and for whatever compromises he has toAaron and said , G o ye, sacrifice to make as long as he can cunninglyyour God in the land. " Many in keep you in his service. He is evenbondage would have decided at that willing to let you be baptized, attend

point to try to make a compromise church services when you feel thewith Pharaoh if he would just lessen urge, and give a little of what youtheir burdens a little. However, think you own, as long as you d oGod does not want to simply lessen not make a full com mitm ent to letyour burden and leave you in slav- Christ be the Lord of your lifp.ery. He wants you to be free. In It is really depressing to realizeorder to be free, you have to "come that there are multiplied millionsout from among them and be sep a- who are willing to make a sacrificerate, and touch no unclean thing" to God in the land, so to speak, but(2 Corinthians 6: 17). are unwilling to leave the land of

Satan, with all of his devices, bondage and march under God's4 2


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orders all the way. If you do notsubmit and act on the belief thatChrist has all authority in heavenand on ear th , you have ac tual ly

compromised on Pharaoh's terms.If, on the other hand, you sin-cerely act on the fact that Christ hasall authority, then you will attemptto let all you do in word or deed bedone by His authority. That meansyou will not demand of anyone thatwhich God did not demand, nor will

you attempt to release anyone fromthe obligations He has given. Youwill not only "ob ey from the heartthe form of doctr ine del ivered toyou" (Romans6:17) but youwill worshipGod in spiritand in truth,doing only whatHe authorized.Then, "as muchas you haveo p p o r t u n i t y ,you will seek to

do good untoal l men, espe-cially to thoseof the house-hold of fai th "

( G a l a t i a n s6:lO). Thisincludes teach-

ing the lost theway of salva-tion, and urging

the saved to continuein the faith, turn-ing neither to the right hand nor to theleft.

You cannot properly sacrifice

to God in the land. Come out! Youcan do this by repenting of yoursins, confessing your faith in Christ,and being baptized for the remissionof your sins. This is how the Bibledescribes being called out of dark-ness into His marvelous light. Wehave com e out of the world and

have been bap t i zed i n to Chr i s t(Galatians 3:27). QT. Pierce Brown lives and preaches inCookeville, Tennessee, USA.


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Dan R. Owen

While people of ten embraceminor, surface changes, they usuallyresist fundamental change. Con-vers ion i s r ad ica l , fundamenta lchange. It is a pervasive change inan individual brought about by thehand of God.

We may think it is impossiblefor some people to change . Wemay even feel that we could neverreally change. Bu t things which areimpossible for men are well withinthe range of God 's ability. God can

change anyone. Witness the case ofSaul of Tarsus.Saul of Tarsus was one of the

most confident, self-assured personsone could ever meet. He was confi-dent in his superior education, hisrecognized status in Israel's hierar-chy, and in his reputation of zeal in

keeping the law. Saul was passion-a t e a n d d e l i b e r a t e , a n d h e w a sa c t i v e l y c o m m i t t e d t o w h a t h ebelieved. He was so sureof himselfthat the appearance of the risen Lordon the Damascus road hit him like aton of bricks. Like a bolt from theblue he was confronted by a truth hehad dedicated his life to denying.Jesus of Nazareth was alive, the

r isen, l iving Ch ris t . Eve rythingSaul had been doing was wrong, ter-ribly wrong.

For three days following thisl i fe -shaking exper ience , Saul ofTarsus was any th ing bu t se l fassured. H e was blind , helpless,weak, and afraid. He fasted andprayed for direction, knowing howmisdirected he had been. Real con-version takes place when the help-less call out to God for help and theweak cry out for strength.

Ananias was reluctant to go toSau l . He was com pe l l ed to go ,however, and when he arrived atthat house on Straight Street , hefound not an arrogant persecutor,but a helpless, humble, open, seekerof God's will. Ananias shared theGospel with Saul and challenged

him, "Wtzy d o you wai t? Get u pand be bap t i zed and wash awayyour s ins , cal l ing on his name!"(Acts 22: 1 6).

When Saul obeyed, he was nolonger trusting in himself, but call-ing on the name of the Lord Jesus.He began to preach what he hadonce persecuted. He allowed Jesusto change his thinking, his behavior,


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his commitments, his associations, and his mission in life. Saul of Tarsuswas converted. It took a traumatic experience to bring him to his knees, butGod changed him completely.

What about you? What kind of experience will it take in your life to

show you how blind, helpless, ignorant, and sinful you are and how muchyou need the grace of Jesus Christ? Will you have the courage to star! trust-ing God and stop believing only in yourself? Remember, God can causeconversion or radical change in anyone. Will you let God change you? Q

Dan R . Owen works with the Broadway congregation in Baducah, Kentucky,USA.


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CircumciAnd R a i ~

Owen D. Olbricht

The apostle Paul uses two descriptiveterms, "circumcised" and "raised, " to expresswhat takes place when one is baptized(Colossians 2: 11-13). Both of these wouldhave been understood by the Colossians in thephysical sense and should have helped themunderstand the spiritual realities implied bythese terms.

Physical circumcision to them would

suggest a removal of flesh and in the spiritualsense the removal of their fleshly passions.Since this was done without hands, the impli-cation is that the operation taking place was on the inner person through theworking of God.

God did this when they were buried and risen with Jesus in baptism.Because of a heart response (Romans 6:17, 18) through their associationwith Jesus in His burial and resurrection in baptism, the spiritual resultshould be a new life. If they were involved with Jesus in this way, then theyreceived the forgiveness of all their trespasses. No longer were they deadin sin and controlled by fleshly passions. Now that they had been baptizedthey were: (1) "circumcised, " i.e. freed from the domination of the flesh; (2 )"made alive, " i.e. given new spiritual life; and (3) 'yo rgiven of all the irtrespasses, " all of which had taken place because of their response throughfaith in the working of God.

They had heard the gospel (Colossians 1:23) which revealed Jesus'death for sin and the power of God as manifested in His raising Jesus fromthe dead (I Corinthians 15:l-3). When they came to believe in God's workin raising Jesus, they trusted that the same power could also raise them to a


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new spiritual life if they were buriedand raised with Jesus. In their bap-tism they did not have faith in thewater, the preacher, their own act,

or their own goodness. They hadfaith that the sameworking of Godthat raised Jesus could also work intheir lives to give them new spiritu-al life.

Karl Braune correctly stated,"God is then character ized: w h ol l a th r a i sed lzim f rom the d ea d ,because the syllogism runs: As Godraised Christ, then can He also bringme to new life (comp. Ephesians1:19, 20). It is precisely throughfaith in such an 'operation of God,'tha t th i s i s exper ienced ."Com mentary of the Holy Scriptures,

Colossians, Vol. 111, new edition,Peter Lange, edit. translated by M.B. Riddle (Michigan: Zondervan)1969, p. 46.

Herbert W. Carson well wordedthe same idea, "The mighty workingof God as already demonstrated inthe resurrection of Christ is thus the

object of the believer's confidence.

The argument would then be as fol-lows: They had accepted the fact ofChrist's resurrection. This was thesignal demonstration of the power

of God, and in reliance upon thatpower they had known a spiritualresurrection in union with Christ."The Epistles of Paul to theColossians and Philemon, TyndaleNew Tes t amen t Commen ta r i e s(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans) 1979, p.66, 67.

The conclusion is impressive.God will work in the lives of thosewho are being baptized, who puttheir faith in His working as wasmade known by His raising Jesusfrom the dead. He will remove theirfleshly passions, make them spiritu-

ally alive, and forgive all their tres-passes. H e will do this fo r t hembecause of their response of baptismwith faith in His working, as wasdemonstrated in His raising Jesusfrom the dead. 2

Owen D. Olbricht is a gospel p reacherand writer, and he presently lives in

Sherwood, Arkansas, USA.

TIME RUSHES ONTime rushes on, unchecked, unaltered, carrying every material

object to its inevitable end. Rust, decay and death are its perpetualcompanions. We are all running out of time. The only thing that real-ly matters is: Are you prepared to meet God? Are the books ofyour life balanced? Are you ready to go? When time is swallowedup in eternity, where will you be? "Behold, now is the acceptedtime; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2).- rank Chesser


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mond, Oklahoman work, taking thef the cross into com-ere the church is weak

Brother Lyon began preachingas a teenager. He spent some years

church of Christ in Edmond, in mission work in Australia, butOklahoma had the vision and fore- after returning to the USA hesight to begin a television ministry, became the featured speaker for thefeaturing Mack Lyon in a series SEARCH series. Being very gentlecalled, "In Search of Lord's in speech and personality, brotherW ay". Lyon presents the Gospel clearly

Beginning with only one sta- and lovingly, without compromisetion, the telecast is now seen on sev- but also without harshness.enty-three stations throughout the The programs themselves areUSA. In addition, the Programs are very positive in impact, because of

being shown on Odyssey Channel, the love and sincerity evident inwhich reaches 30,000,000 homes in brother Lyon's presentat ion,the USA and Canada. The 7 3 because of the beauty of the congre-broadcast stations rePreSent congre- gational because of thegations at work evangelizing local contrast between these lessons andcommunities- In this way, the those so commonly produced bychurch in Edmond is providing a other religious groups, because ofpriceless tool to acquaint the masses the tapes and printed lessons offered

with the Lord's church and with the without charge, and also becausemessage of the Gospel. there are no appeals to the audience

Through the new affiliation for financial support. Only eternitywith Odyssey (over 30,0009000 will reveal the tremendous goodsubscribers), combined with the being done by this outstanding pro-Inspirational Network (11,000,000 gram and this church of vision.subscribers) and Family Net Addresses for further informa-(34,000,000 homes), SEARCH can tion are: Church of Christ, P.O. Boxpotentially reachmostofAmerica. 371, Edmond, OK, 73083;The new affiliation with Odyssey, In ternet :Searchtv@aol .com; WebInspirational, and Family Net is site: www.ionet.net/-searchtv. O


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appeal to many people. One thing remains clear to me. God will not toler-ate, from either side, the preaching of anything butHis word (Galatians 1:6-8). The pursuit of truth, above all else, should be the constant goal of allChristians.

What is the change that many are searching for? My observations tellme that the change desired is a "revolution." Webster's dictionary partiallydefines revolution as "the overthrow or renunciation of one government orruler and the substitution of another by the governed." Though we are notdiscussing governm ents, the parallel should be obvious. The dictionary fur-ther defines revolt as "a movement or expression of vigorous dissent," orsimply, in verb form, "to overthrow." I can't help but conclude that this

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The Voice of Truth International, Volume 19