Vol. 9   No. 8                                                             August   1998

In This Issue...

• Endorsement Of Error -- Virgil Hale   p.1
• The Truth: Concepts And Our Responsibility Toward It -- Roger Campbell   p.2
• Sad News About Another College -- Joe Hegyi   p.4
• Peace At Any Price? -- Paul Wilmoth   p.5
• The No Pattern Nonsense -- Marvin L. Weir   p.6
• Lectureship Report on the Home   p.7
• Mail Bag --   p.8

        When we give endorsement to error or to those who teach and uphold error, we are just as guilty in the sight of God as are those who are doing the teaching. This is made clear by the following passage of scripture: "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds" (2 John 9-11). Language could not be more plain. Paul wrote, "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them" (Rom. 16:17). Again he wrote, "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (Eph. 5:11). Our Lord warned, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (Matt. 7:15). In view of this last passage, what would you think of shepherds who invite wolves to come in among their flock to feed the sheep? The job of the shepherd is to protect the flock from all dangers, especially from wolves who would destroy them. Surely no shepherd would be so naive as to invite wolves in, but to the contrary, he will do all within his power to protect his sheep from the wolves. Rest assured that wolves are destructive to the health and welfare of sheep.
        With the above thoughts in mind, what about shepherds of the flock of our Lord, elders if you please, who invite false teachers (wolves in sheep's clothing) to come in among their flock to feed them? Such is happening all over America, and such has happened in Murray, Kentucky. A couple of years ago the University congregation in Murray invited Randy Harris in to preach for them, and the Glendale Road congregatoin where John Dale preaches turned out their services on Sunday night to go and have fellowship with them in this endeavor. If this is not bidding them God's speed, what would it take?
        Randy Harris is known to be a false teacher. He and Rubel Shelly wrote a book, The Second Incarnation, which is filled with error from the first to the last. I spoke out against this event when it occurred in Murray. Far too often, warnings fall on deaf ears -- but we must continue to warn none-the-less. We must continue to "mark those" who teach false doctrine, and we must mark those who encourage these false teachers in their endeavors. It gives me no joy to inform the brethren at Green Plain (where I preach) of such things, or those who read these words in Seek The Old Paths, but I feel an obligation to do so. Paul did not shun "...to declare...all the counsel of God" and he warned, "for I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock" (Acts 20:27, 29). Earlier Paul stated, "And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you..." (v.20). I am convinced that Paul said what was needed when it was needed, and so must we.
        Most of you who read these lines know of the effect that the Nashville Jubilee has had on the body of Christ in the past ten years. It was started for the purpose of either destroying the church of our Lord or else making it what some of the "Change Agents" want it to be. One of the promoters of Jubilee has been the Antioch congregation (in Nashville) where Walt Leaver was the preacher until he moved to another congregation in the Nashville area. Walt was not only a promoter of Jubilee, but one of its speakers. In recent months, Walt Leaver was with the Glendale Road congregation for a meeting. It is not as though the brethren there did not know who he was, because they had the information concerning him ahead of time.
        In 1990, Walt Leaver spoke one night in a revival at the Donelson Presbyterian Church. Rest assured that he was not there to teach them the truth. He preached on the crucifixion of Christ and described it in minute detail -- never one time telling them what one must do to be saved. I have talked with some who were present and they said that some women elders were present in the pulpit with him and when the instrument started playing and the people started singing, Walt sung right along with them. I am convinced that Glendale Road had him because of who he is and what he stands for.
        Just to give you an indication of where Walt Leaver stands, let me give you the following information. In an interview in 1994 with Tyler Young, he stated he was not clear enough on what the Bible teaches to say that one who taught that women could preach in the public assembly with men present would be a false teacher; that one who divorced for some reason other than fornication and remarried would not have to get out of that marriage to become a Christian; that he could not say that people in denominationalism are lost; that he could not back up with scripture to say that it would be a sin for someone to worship with instrumental music, and could not say that they would be lost for doing so; and when asked if someone had been sprinkled rather than being immersed for baptism, would they be lost, he said, "I'm not going to say I know he would be lost." This is just a sampling of what he believes. Yet, knowing these things, the Glendale Road eldership had him come and preach in a meeting for them.
        Also, a few months back, the University congregation in Murray had Joe Beam scheduled for a meeting with them. As far as I am concerned, there is not a more confirmed false teacher alive today than Joe Beam -- especially among those who claim to be members of the Lord's church. Joe would fit in with any denomination in the world, and especially among those who believe in the miraculous. I have three tapes of lessons he preached on the Holy Spirit at Jubilee 1996. I have never heard more error than he presented at that time. Not only did he speak of miracles that others had experienced, but he talked about the fact that he was given the ability to know when a person was lying when he was in a counseling session with a husband and wife. He definitely believes the Holy Spirit leads separate and apart from the word of God.
        These are some samplings of the kind of men that the aforementioned congregations are having in for their meetings. If this is not an endorsement of error, what would it take? Elders are going to have to answer one day for such actions, and so will members who back them in such endeavors.
        Brethren, it is time we wake up and speak out against such. We will be guilty if we don't. Let us pray that our wayward brethren will return to the truth before it is too late.
                4004 Murray Paris Rd.
                Hazel, KY 42049 .

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        The blood-bought church of our Lord has been splitting since the mid to late sixties. It has been between those who desire to follow the scriptures for all that we do and those who believe they can do those things which are unbiblical and continue to be God's children. No single group of people claiming to be a part of the church has been more successful in pushing the agenda of liberalism than the so-called "Christian Colleges."
        Six years ago (spring 1992), I was leaving Faulkner University and had two options: either attend Michigan Christian College (MCC) or the Memphis School of Preaching (MSOP). I wrote to MCC and asked if they could help me to know if they were "liberal" or not. I received a letter from then newly appointed MCC President Kenneth Johnson telling me that he was unaware of what a liberal was.
        I wrote back asking him or the head of the Bible department to answer some questions to clarify if MCC was "liberal" or not. He responded by saying that he would not answer those questions in writing. I thought that I had perhaps been vague in my questions and so I showed them to then head of the Bible department at Faulkner University, Wendell Winkler, and asked him if he thought I was being too vague in my questions. He told me that he would have set down and answered all of the questions the second he received them in the mail. He did not feel they were inappropriate or vague.
        Based on the final letter from brother Johnson, I made the decision to attend MSOP. I heard nothing from MCC for the two years I attended MSOP.
        When I arrived in Harrison, MI to work with Dan Strehle, the congregation received a letter from brother Kenneth Johnson dated July 1994. The letter asked the congregation in Harrison, MI to put an advertisement in the bulletin for MCC.
        Because of my past experience with brother Johnson I wrote to him to clarify things. I began by recounting what had occurred two years ago and then asked him: "If you expect us to run an advertisement for MCC in our bulletin we need to know where you stand ... are you friend or foe to the cause of Christ? In a day of Modernists, Legalists, Liberalism, and general unbelief you cannot expect someone merely to take you at your word that you are sound, especially when you refused to clarify the situation when given the opportunity. If MCC is a sound school I would be happy to run advertisements for it and to recommend it. As of yet, however, neither myself nor my co-laborer, Dan Strehle, know enough about your school to know if we can recommend it." In order to clarify the situation I requested for brother Johnson to have the head of each department in the school answer six questions "that we might have some common ground on which to continue." Those six questions were:
        1. Are you in favor of fellowship with denominational bodies?
        2. Would a person who was accountable for his actions and not baptized for the remission of sins be saved (based on what the scriptures say)?
        3. Is the use of mechanical instruments of music in the worship assembly a sin?
        4. Do works play a vital role in man's part in being saved or is man's part faith alone (not does faith cause works but are works necessary before the initial act of salvation takes place)?
        5. What constitutes worship?
        6. What role (if any) do women play in leading worship?
        That letter was dated 1 August 1994. While waiting for a response from brother Johnson we received notices from MCC of upcoming events. One (which took place that summer) was the vocal band Acapella coming in concert. Acapella is known for their fellowship with the Christian Church as well as for their advertisement in the interdenominational magazine Group in which they promote being available for denominational activities. They also have had many unbiblical and unChristian songs on recent albums. Second, at their upcoming lectureship MCC was going to have Herald of Truth which in recent years has taken itself out from under the oversight of an eldership; now being under a board of directors. This is nothing less than declaring themselves to be a missionary society.
        After waiting nearly two months and receiving no reply, I sent a second letter to brother Johnson dated 23 September 1994. It stated in part:

        "Brother Johnson, when you refuse to answer some defining questions and when MCC fellowships known false brethren that have been marked and withdrawn from, what choice do you leave me but to assume that MCC is a part of the digression? I do not want to sound threatening; this is not a threat. But I do not know what else I can do except not recommend MCC to the members here at the Harrison Church of Christ and to inform those I know throughout the state and the nation to be wary of MCC. I do not want to have to tell people that MCC is unsound ... However, with the information I have about what MCC has done and nothing from you so that I might know if MCC feels differently, I have no choice. I will wait until October 16 to hear from you, if I do not, I will have no other choice but to publicly recommend that people I know not attend MCC or be in association with MCC."

        "Dear Joe,
        If you cannot in good conscience recommend Michigan Christian College to the church at Harrison, please follow your conscience and refrain from recommendation.
        I appreciate your deep commitment and desire to serve in your ministry. Best wishes as you seek to teach and preach the Good News to your community. Ken Johnson."

        What can we conclude from this response from brother Johnson except that he does not believe that it is wrong to have false teachers at MCC or that he does not consider them false teachers? We cannot fellowship those who have been withdrawn from such as Acapella and Herald of Truth. We are to mark false brethren and avoid them (Rom. 16:17) in order to keep the church pure from those who would divide us and to win back those in error. That withholding of fellowship includes those at MCC that claim to be Christians.

Editor's note:
        This article was written some time ago but it's message is still fresh. I thought our readers would appreciate having this information about Michigan Christian College, whose name has now been changed to Rochester College.
        Brother O. B. Porterfield of the Seibles Road church of Christ in Montgomery, Alabama, said... "Why would the president of MCC, or any Christian for that matter, hesitate to answer the six simple questions posed by brother Hegyi? If one was holding to the old paths, it would take only a second to respond and affirm one's position with the Word. No Christian should be afraid to put what they believe into writing... unless there is something to hide.
        We are sorry to receive this message but commend brother Hegyi for standing firm." .

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        There are those among us today who advocate that we should do whatever it takes to maintain peace. They suggest that we should not deal with controversial issues, that we should maintain a positive approach and never be guilty of being negative. These same people often reject sound, solid, Gospel preachers, because someone has criticized them or falsely accused them of one thing or another. Such people as this would certainly not want either Christ or the apostle Paul to preach from their pulpits because they were constantly engaged in controversy. The life of Christ, as pictured by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, is a picture of a man who goes from one confrontation to another. His life was never free from controversy nor false accusations.
        Certainly all of us wish to be well thought of and well spoken of; but, at the same time, we must never sacrifice the soundness and strictness of God's glorious message. Jesus stated His purpose in Matt. 10:34-36: "Think not that I am come to bring peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household." Jesus was well aware that His message would divide families and friends.
        Remember also that Jesus had taught in the great Sermon on the Mount that happiness comes from being reproached and persecuted for His sake. "Blessed (happy) are they which are persecuted for righteousness; sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you" (Matt. 5:10-12). He also said, "Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the son of man's sake. Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy" (Luke 6:22-23). He also warns us about being of such a nature and disposition that all men speak well of us. "Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets" (Luke 6:26).
        Brethren, we are living in an age when soundness and strictness are not popular. We are living in an age when more and more are deserting the "Old Jerusalem Gospel" for after dinner speeches aimed at winning friends and influencing people. That kind of speech will win friends and influence people; but, it will not save a single soul. Paul said THE Gospel is God's power to save souls. So, brother, preach on! and don't worry about winning any popularity contest!
                P.O. Box 5000
                Cookeville, TN 38505 .

        Everyone is doing it! An ever-growing number simply scream, "Hop on the bandwagon," and multitudes do without ever asking where it is going. The destination does make a difference, and the judgment will affirm that truth matters. But can truth be known? The Bible says, "and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). If truth can be known there must be some type of standard, a pattern, a divine blueprint.
        The number is rapidly rising among those who profess to be faithful children of God who scoff at the idea of a pattern. But surely reasonable folks can see that one either follows his own feelings, emotions, conscience, and personal preferences or divine authority. Jesus Christ has all authority (Matt. 28:18) and thus the right to command that which He has created. Paul recognized this truth and stated, "Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is" (Eph. 5:17).
        "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope" (Rom. 15:4). If this verse of scripture be true, and it is (John 17:17), then why do so many today despise and detest the God-given pattern of old? Methinks I know why -- they bask in their scholarly (earthly) wisdom and have proclaimed themselves to be smarter than God! They know the building will not be filled (thus no need to build a more elaborate one) if things are done God's way.
        Did not Noah understand the spacious ark would be almost void of humans if he did not change his message? How dare Noah to insist on following a pattern that the world deemed it did not need. Specific instructions were given by God (Gen. 6:14ff) and Noah did all God commanded him to do (Gen. 6:22). What happened to all those who said, "Noah, if you don't do things our way you and your little bunch will just dry up and never amount to anything." And so...the majority of the world went "glug-a-lug."
        Nadab and Abihu offered "strange fire" not commanded by Jehovah (Lev. 10:1). Surely one will not argue that in absence of a pattern (thus they could not know) God struck them dead for trying to worship Him?
        Jereboam decided he was a very special person in the religious scheme of things during his day. He has many modern day counterparts who have graduated from his alma-mater and will also fail the only test that matters. Jereboam decided to alter God's divine pattern in four ways (1 Kings 12:25ff). 1) The object of worship would be changed from God to golden calves; 2) the place of worship was changed from Jerusalem to Dan and Bethel; 3) the time of the feast day from the 7th to the 8th month was changed; 4) and the priesthood changed from the tribe of Levi to the tribe of one's choice.
        Someone says, "That is Old Testament stuff -- I just cannot see the eternal principle involved." Well, he could see, if he had not already "learned" too much from Professors Will U. Change and N.O. Respect and rejected Romans 15:4! But neither does New Testament teaching appeal to those determined to "have it their way." The writer of Hebrews warns, "who serve that which is a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, even as Moses is warned of God when he is about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern that was showed thee in the mount" (8:5). The "pattern" of the tabernacle was a type of the "pattern" for the church of our Lord. The apostle Paul makes it clear there is a "rule" all are to live by (Phil. 3:16). Paul also admonishes young Timothy to "hold the pattern of sound words which thou hast heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim. 1:13). If there were no "divine pattern" the warning contained in Galatians 1:6-9 would indict the Holy Spirit of utter foolishness!
        No religious discussion will be resolved until the authority is recognized by which the matter can be settled! The question Jesus asked the Jews is one to ask those who have been educated beyond their intelligence and are basking in their own glory: "The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven or from men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why then did ye not believe him" (Matt. 21:25)?
        Why not believe and obey the Bible and submit to the divine pattern. There will be no more "glug-a-lugs" (Gen. 9:13-15), but there is a "sizzle" (Rev. 21:8) to avoid!
                5810 Liberty Grove Rd.
                Rowlett, TX 75088

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. The Lectureship on the HOME in July is now completed. Information about tapes, books, etc. is found below. To see a full schedule of the lessons

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