The Works Of The Flesh (II)
Malcolm L. Hill

In the last issue of the Living Oracles we wrote on the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21). We shall continue this study in this issue. We shall continue this study in a very simple fashion by numbering the works of the flesh. Our number in this issue will take up where the number left off in the previous issue of Living Oracles.

11. Strife–This work caries with it the idea of always being of a contentious spirit without cause. One of this spirit is always griping and grumbling and never wants to be agreeable. He wants to debate and disagree because he seems to get some pleasure out of it. Often the church has let this fellow go without facing him about this sin. Too long have we let these naggers retard the growth of the church of Christ. They live their lives in reverse most of the time.

12. Seditons–This word means to “excite, unsettle, to stir up trouble.” It has to do with causing division in the body of Christ over unscriptural things. One is not guilty of this sin who is following the Bible and standing for the truth. The man guilty of this sin is the one who teaches false doctrine and follows his own will and way and goes after others to excite them to rebellion against the Bible and the people who stand for it. This sin took place in the crucifixion of Christ by those who had bloody hands and putrefied hearts.

13. Heresies–“An opinion, and hence, an opinion, especially a self-willed opinion, which is substituted for submission to the power of truth, and leads to division and the formation of sects. Such erroneous opinions are frequently the outcome of personal preference or the prospect of advantage; such leads to ruin.” Heresy is uninspired which is often followed in religion and leads one to eternal destruction. Heresy in actuality leads all the denominations and is often their rule book and guide. Some in the church of Christ are guilty of this work of the flesh.

14. Envyings–The “feeling of displeasure produced by witnessing or hearing of the advantage or prosperity of others; this evil sense always attaches to this word.” I am convinced that envy is just about as powerful as love – it may be as powerful. I have known of envy that is willing to take the bread off of the table and starve in order to disrupt the object of that envy. Envy tears homes apart. Envy brings hate into the family circle and destroys the peace, tranquility, and love of the family. Envy crucified Jesus. Envy tells lies about others. It is a green-eyed monster.

15. Murders–Through our ability to know what is going on in the world we know that many murders take place every day. Murders take place when innocent people are killed. Christians cannot hate and if they do they are guilty of murder (I John 3:15). We cannot go to heaven with hate in our hearts for our fellow man no matter what they have done to us.

16. Drunkenness–To become intoxicated, to grow drunk. If it is a sin to be intoxicated, it is a sin to start on the way to be intoxicated. The first drink is a sin as well as the last drink. Banquetings is mentioned in I Peter 4:3 and this has to do with social drinking. The Greek word for banquetings or carousing is potos and means a drinking bout. It means a drinking party and it does not mean that those involved must become truly drunk. Those who drink strong drink are guilty of a work of the flesh and they shall not enter the kingdom of God.

17. Revellings–This has to do with those engaged in sensual activity. It has the smell of impurity throughout. It has to do with those who live in sinful lavishness like that of the Prodigal son in Luke 15. Those who are given to revelings are ever ready for something wicked and sinful to start and participate in.

18. And such like–Those things that are like the works of the flesh which are not mentioned specifically in Galatians 5:19-21. What is dancing like? What is taking dope like? What is gambling like? What is owning a liquor store like? What is petting like? What is mixed bathing like? What is the display of one’s half clothed body like?

We are told that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Do not expect to be saved if you are engaged in the works of the flesh. Always keep in mind that God is not mocked (Gal. 6:7). If we have ever been engaged in the works of the flesh, we can obtain forgiveness by repenting and asking God’s forgiveness. All of us should thank God for his mercy, grace, love, and forgiveness.

EDITORIAL

As President of Tennessee Bible College I have done my best to be true to the Bible and consistent in my work. It is sometimes very difficult to be consistent. To know what is right is one thing but to know when, why, where, and how is another. God does not expect 100% righteousness always. If this were the case, then none of us could be saved. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is none perfect, no not one (Rom. 3:10-11).

To say we all sin and come short of the glory of God should not become a cop-out for any of us. God has always expected man to do his best. God is not pleased with half-hearted service and half-hearted religion (Rev. 3:14-22). Just because one is not perfect does not mean that he should put blindfolds over his eyes and refuse to see the obvious. This was done in the days of Christ (Matt. 13:10-15) and it is still being done today.

I must say that there are some things that become obscure to me. I know the overall teaching of the Bible on various subjects, but when it comes down to the very minute things I must say I am in a haze and a fog at times. What then? Should I throw away everything and conclude that I cannot know anything for sure? God forbid! I do not have to know about everything to know some things. Those things that become obscure and hazy in most cases do not have to do with one’s salvation. I should not throw away water baptism for the remission of sins because I do not understand everything about the work of the Holy Spirit. I do not have to throw away Christian fellowship just because I cannot understand the minute things of Christian fellowship. I do not have to throw away repentance just because I do not understand all there is to know about God’s providence and how He answers the Christian’s prayer. We should study and follow the obvious and not let the other go overlooked. We should study in as detailed a manner as we possibly can all subjects and especially those that have to do with our salvation.

The liberal movement has been brought about to a large measure because those who have espoused liberalism have been caught in the quagmire of minute incidentals which do not have to do with our salvation. They have said that because we cannot understand every detail of all things, we cannot understand anything for sure in the Bible. This is nothing short of theological agnosticism. A sensible person is not going to throw the baby out with the bath water.

What shall we do then? Study hard and diligently. Follow all that we know is true and beyond any question. Study in as much detail as we can those things that are of greatest importance. I believe most people know better than they live. We should move on the obvious and walk slowly and carefully on that which is not so obvious. God will be pleased with this and it will get all who practice it to heaven. Is not this what we are all looking for?--Malcolm L. Hill

WHO IS AN EXTREMIST?
Malcolm L. Hill

Who is an extremist? We must first find out what an extremist is. Webster says: “To the greatest degree; very great; excessive.” This is his definition of extreme. He then gives the definition of extremist. “A person who goes to extremes or who holds extreme ideas” (Webster’s New World Dictionary, p. 252). But in order to know who an extremist is one must know what subject he is talking about and the truth on that subject. There must be a set standard or a fixed rule in a given field in order to know who is an extremist. And, after all, who decides who is an extremist? A man could be an extremist who sets in to judge the fellow he deems an extremist. He could be an extremist on extremism!
When it comes to religion how can we know an extremist? Is one an extremist when he studies his Bible day and night (Ps. 1:1-2)? Is one an extremist when he seeks the kingdom of God and His righteousness first (Matt. 6:33)? Is one an extremist when he believes in helping the widows and orphans (James 1:27)? Is one an extremist when he believes all the Bible to be the inspired Word of God (II Tim. 3:16-17)? Is one an extremist when he believes water baptism is necessary for salvation (Mark 16:16)? Is one an extremist when he believes the Lord’s Supper must be taken on the first day of the week in order to please our heavenly father (Acts 20:7)? Is one an extremist who believes that the only vocal music that God authorized in worship to Him is singing (Eph. 5:19)? Is one an extremist who believes that one must be a member of the Lord’s church in order to be saved (Acts 2:47)?

Is one an extremist who hates every false way (Ps. 119:104)? Is one an extremist who believes there is only one plan of salvation (Acts 16:17)? Is one an extremist who believes that all Christians should contend for the faith of the Gospel (Jude 3)? Is one an extremist who rejects the doctrine of Premillinalism which teaches that the kingdom has not yet come (Col. 1:13)? Is one an extremist who loves God above his family and all others on earth (Matt. 10:35-39)? Is one an extremist who loves the praise of God more that the praise of men (John 12:41-43)? Is one an extremist who had rather be with God than with a host of false teachers on any given lectureship or religious service (II Cor. 6:14-18)? Is one an extremist because he stands against a sectarian spirit and party rivalry in the church of Christ (Matt. 23:15)? Is one an extremist who stands up and rebukes those who are wrong even though they have a big name in the brotherhood (Gal. 2:1-14)? Is one an extremist because he deplores and so states that he deplores those who are so full of self and educated snobbishness that they want to be called Doctor, Master, Rabbi, Scholar, etc. as they cross the country with their lectures charging exorbitantnt fees for their services (I Tim. 6:10; Matt. 23:4-10)?

Is one an extremist because he fights for the purity of the Gospel of Christ (Gal. 2:5)? Is one an extremist because he refuses to fellowship those who are false teachers (II John 9-11)? Is one an extremist who tries to learn and doGod’s will as fully as he can (John 14:15, 21, 23-24)? If these things along with many others like them makes one an extremist, then I hope and pray to God that I am one!
I have seen and do testify from 48 years of preaching that when men cannot answer those who have the truth because they have error, they will turn to anything that seems to give them relief in their false practice and their false doctrine. This was done to the faithful prophets of old, to Jesus and His apostles, and it is still happening today. A love of the truth demands that when one is shown the error of his way he should give it up. We are hearing much moaning and groaning throughout the land by fence straddlers and false brethren whose song is, THEY ARE EXTREME! These same brethren are greatly opposed to name calling in public even though it is sometimes necessary. But they name call more than anyone else except it is to the back of their opposition and in private. Their trouble is they do not have the courage to speak out in a public way. Oh yes, they would like to but they are lacking in that which is necessary to do so. And by the way, the denominational world calls faithful churches of Christ extreme, and they have always done so but what does this prove? It proves they cannot defend error!

The Origin of the Bible
Kerry Duke

One of the clearest passages in the Bible con-cerning its origin is II Peter 1:20-21. Peter said that “no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” Peter here uses the word prophecy to refer to special revelation in a general sense, not merely prophecy in the sense of what is called predictive prophecy. The phrase “prophecy of Scripture” means prophecy which is Scripture (cf. “the reward of the inheritance” in Col. 3:24, “the sign of circumcision” in Rom. 4:11, etc.). The words “is of” are key terms. They are from ginetai, a form of ginomai, which means to be, to become, or to come into being. Here it means that Scripture did not come from private interpretation, or, one’s own interpretation or explanation. Scripture is not man’s interpretation of what the will of God is. The word “for” in verse 21 (gar) signals an explanation of what has been said in verse 20: “the prophecy came not . . . by the will of man.” Peter gave his own inspired interpretation of verse 20 in verse 21. The phrase “private interpretation” in verse 20 is explained in verse 21 as “the will of man.” Thus Peter is talking about the origin of Scripture, not its interpretation.

The origin of Scripture is not in the will of man but in inspiration, described as Bible writers speaking “as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” The word “moved” is from pheromai, from phero, to bear; thus, Bible writers were born along by the Holy Spirit. The writing did not originate in their mind. Jesus said the Holy Spirit would “guide” these men into all truth (John 16:13). Paul said, “The things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord” (I Cor. 14:37). These words define for us the meaning of Paul’s statement, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (II Tim. 3:16-17).

The plain meaning of II Peter 1:20, which is made exceedingly clear in verse 21, has been obscured by false ideas. A well known perversion of Peter’s words is the Roman Catholic abuse of this text. Note the following Catholic sources:




Besides being against the plain meaning of the text already set forth, the Catholic position on this passage is self-defeating. Catholics urge us to use our own minds to interpret this passage in the manner they do, yet they claim we cannot use our minds to know that we are correctly interpreting Scripture! They are guilty of the same inconsistency when they call on us to use our own private reasoning powers to consider their arguments for the Catholic religion!

Another misunderstanding of this text is seen in the comments of lexicographer Joseph Henry Thayer:


But one does not have to be inspired in order to understand the inspired text. Jesus said, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine. . .” (John 7:17). Paul plainly told the Ephesians, “When ye read, ye may understand” (Eph. 3:4; cf. Matt. 24:15).

Second Peter 1:20-21 is a powerful statement about the inspiration of Scripture. Once we remove the idea that it is a passage on biblical interpretation, its meaning becomes clear. Scripture is from God, not man. It was proven to be from God by the miracles performed to confirm its divine origin, and it continues to prove itself to be the Word of God by the divine characteristics it displays (fulfilled prophecies, scientific foreknowledge, extraordinary unity, etc.). The men who wrote the books of the Bible were miraculously guided by a divine superintendence known as inspiration. As a result, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed” (II Pet. 1:19).

Is The Bible God’s Inspired Book?
Ronald D. Gilbert

If the Bible is an inspired book surely it would claim to be from God. It would be accurate with no contradic-tions. Such a book would be all-sufficient in the realm for which it was intended. It would also deal with profound things such as origins, destiny, and purpose. It would also be a book that could be read and understood. The Bible meets all of the above and even more criteria, showing it is the inspired word of God. In this article I will attempt to show three areas of proof that the Bible is the inspired word of God.

First, consider the Bible and its unity. The Bible was written by about 40 men over a period of approximately 1,600 years. There is remarkable unity in the Bible. The Bible contains no contradictions. The reason for this is seen in II Peter 1:19-21: “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” Its simplicity as well as its unity is remarkable. There are about 200,000 words in the English language. Shakespeare used about 15,000 of them in his works; Milton about 13,000 of them. The entire English Bible only uses about 6,000 different words with the average length of a word being four letters.

Second, consider Bible prophecy as proof of its inspiration. A French astrologer and physician by the name of Nostradamus lived from 1503-1566. Many have said that his so-called prophecies are parallel to the prophecies found in the Bible. They speak of his amazing accuracy of foretelling future events. Let’s examine some of his so-called prophecies. From the book The Prophecies of Nostradamus by Erika Cheetham (1973), consider the following: “The sun and the Eagle will appear to the victor. An empty answer is assured to the defeated. Neither bugle nor shouts will stop the soldiers. Liberty and peace, if achieved in time through death.”

Think about this quote! Have you figured it out yet? If not, listen to E. Cheetham’s explanation: “. . .It contains the vivid description of Waterloo with Napoleon, the Imperial Eagle, coming out of the midst into the sun to attack the victor, Wellington. . . .” You are probably saying that was so clear, how could I miss it!

Consider another of Nostradamus’ prophecies: “The bird of prey flying to the left, before battle is joined with the French, he makes preparations. Some will regard him as good, others bad or uncertain. The weaker party will regard him as a good omen.” E. Cheetham says, “Nostradamus is describing one of the great warmongers of all time, Hitler, as a bird of prey, which name he also gives to Napoleon. . . .”
One final illustration to describe the prophecies of Nostradamus: “At night they will think they have seen the sun, when they see the half pig man: Noise, screams, battles seen fought in the skies. The brute beasts will be heard to speak.” I know everyone by now has figured this one out; it is so clear and precious! E. Cheetham explains, “Nostradamus describes a vivid picture of a battle in the air. The sun, appearing at night, is the searchlight piercing the sky, or possible bombs exploding. The pig-like man, which no commentator to date has ever deciphered, seems a clear picture in silhouette of the pilot in oxygen mask, helmet and goggles. The oxygen breathing apparatus would look just like a pig’s snout to Nostradamus. . . .”

Now let’s consider real prophecies from the Bible. In Ezekiel 26:3-4, 7-8, 12-14, 21, there is a prophecy against the city of Tyre. Ezekiel’s prophecy said:

1. Nebuchadnezzar will destroy the mainland city of Tyre (26:8).
2. Many nations will rise up against Tyre (26:3).
3. Tyre will be made like a flat rock; she will be made a bare rock (26:4).
4. Fishermen will spread nets over the site (26:5).
5. Her debris will be thrown into the water (26:12).
6. Tyre will never be rebuilt (26:14).
   

Notice how clear this Bible prophecy is. One does not have to guess what city the prophet is talking about. Who will destroy this city? Nebuchadnezzar! Consider the fulfillment of this prophecy.

1. Nebuchadnezzar did destroy the old mainland city of Tyre about 585-573 B.C.
2. Many nations were against Tyre. Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great, Antigonus, and the Moslems all attacked and conquered her.
3. Alexander the Great scraped the city clean, making it as a bare rock.
4. It is said that even in modern times where Tyre once stood fishermen spread their nets.
5. Some of the inhabitants from Tyre had fled from the mainland to an island. Alexander the Great with his troops scraped the old city of Tyre clean and made a causeway throwing all the rocks and items into the water in order to reach the island.
   

Bible prophecy is not like Nostradamus’ so-called prophecies. The Bible doesn’t say one day in a special place a special child will be born and do wonderful things. It tells us Jesus would be born in Bethlehem and many of the things he would do. The Bible tells us in great detail of His life, death, burial, and resurrection.

The third area of proof for the inspiration of the Bible is scientific foreknowledge. Consider the following:

Scientific Fact	Discovered	Bible
1. Both men and women possess the seed of life	17th Century	Gen. 3:15; 22:18
2. The earth is round	15th Century	Isa. 40:22
3. Day and night occur simultaneously	15th Century	Luke 17:31
4. Quarantine for disease control	17th Century	Lev. 13
5. Blood necessary for survival of life	19th Century	Lev. 17:11
6. Oceans have natural paths	1854	Psalm 8:8
7. Infinite number of stars	1940	Gen. 15:5

These are but a few of the points that help us to know that the Bible is God’s inspired Book. We need to read it and obey it because we will all be judged by it.

Do We Have All The Bible?
Holger W. Neubauer

The master said, “the Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). Jesus affirmed that the Word of God could not be destroyed, loosed or made of no effect. Again the Savior said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matt. 24:35). When discussing the issue of the preservation of the text of the Bible these verses are most important. Do we have all of the Scripture? Can we be sure that the Bible we have is correct? If the words of the Christ are to be trusted, and of course they are to be, we can also know that we have every verse of Scripture that God intended for us to have. Yes, we can know we have all of the Bible.

A cursory knowledge of the vast number of witnesses that corroborate the text of the Bible is helpful to those answering the question at hand. There are over 5,000 manuscripts presently extant that affirm the Greek text that underlies the King James Version of the Scripture. This includes 2,200 lectionaries (texts designed to be read in assemblies), 2,764 minuscules (small letter manuscripts), 267 uncials (large letter manuscripts), and 76 Papyri manuscripts. In addition to the witnesses, there are over 20,000 fragments of Scripture that corroborate the Textus Receptus or the Received Text of the New Testament that is the basis for the King James Version today.
A great scholar by the name of John William Burgon, B.D. and Dean of Chichester, compiled 86,489 quotes from uninspired men who quoted from the Bible in their writings. These quotations duplicate the text used in translating the King James Version of the Scripture. Given the fact that we have only a handful of ancient manuscripts that confirm the writings of Plato, Homer, and Aristotle we ought to be altogether impressed with the great number of ancient witnesses that confirm our Bible.

The Bible student will also be helped when knowledge of the copying procedure is understood. The Jews and those in the early church had stringent laws in place for copying of Scripture. Notice some of the rules:

1. Parchments and Papyri were first lined and if three words were written without a line the manuscript was considered worthless.
2. No letter could be written from memory. The scribe had to read and pronounce each letter before writing it.
3. Every word and every letter was counted when the manuscript was complete. One mistake condemned the sheet and it had to be recopied. Three mistakes condemned the manuscript and it had to be destroyed.
4. Old manuscripts were to be destroyed so that the old text that faded with age would never be misread. This made the newest, not the oldest manuscript most important. This piece of information is vitally important in considering the four or five ancient manuscripts that disagree with the King James Version. If the church used them regularly why did they not fade out or why were they not destroyed? The two manuscripts that have the prominence in the new versions (ASV, NASB, RSV, NRSV, NIV, NEB) disagree with each other over 5,000 times and have many mistakes in spelling. The new versions all cast doubt on Mark 16:9-20. Read Mark 16:8 and see if Mark would have made any sense by leaving with that verse!
5. There is a niche of paleography called stichometry. The ancient scribes listed how many words were included in each book. Since Mark is cited as having 1,616 words, we know the ancients included Mark 16:9-20 in their Bibles.
   

Finally all of the Greek texts which were published prior to 1881 were essentially the same. This included the text of Erasmus in 1516, Beza 1598, Stephen 1550, and Elziver of 1624. The Bible is corroborated like no other book. Yes, we can know that we have all the Bible. As the Psalmist said, “The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever” (Psalms 12:6-7).

Bible Teaching on the Existence of God
Glenn B. Ramsey

There are those who reject the Bible as a source of evidence for the existence of God. These atheists argue that God does not exist and that all who claim such do so without credible testimony. If a man uses his natural logical (God given) mind he can see the fallacy of the atheist’s position. He will know that every effect must have an adequate and sufficient cause. For instance, a watch implies that there was a watchmaker; a building implies that there was a builder. No one would argue that a beautiful building was built by an infant! The effect (the building) must have an adequate and sufficient cause! No one would argue that the watch was made by a monkey! We all know that a monkey does not have the ability to make a watch!

In addition to the above discussion, we might ask: “How did we get here?” Are we our own creators? Could we exist before we existed? Obviously not! If one says that the earth and all in it happened by accident this would mean that an effect can exist without any cause whatsoever. Since this is impossible we conclude that material matters which include human life did NOT begin by accident or chance.

But there is more – much more! The Bible, the revelation of God’s Will to man, testifies and provides evidence of God’s existence. In other words, God revealed Himself to man! He has done this in at least two ways. The Bible tells us that God may be known by observing the laws of the natural world (Rom. 1:20). The Psalmist wrote: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork” (Ps. 19:1); “The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory” (Ps. 97:6).

Furthermore, the Bible testifies and provides evidence of the existence of God through its inspired message. Consider the following passages which show the eternal existence of God.

Daniel in the long ago recorded in Daniel 4:34:


Paul said in I Timothy 6:15-16:


The writer of Hebrews states in Hebrews 11:1-6:


The four beasts of Revelation 4:8 said, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is and is to come.” Thus our God and Father has a glory and dominion that will last forever (Rev. 1:6).

Man, in his finite way, thinks that his “time” is the only time! Man thinks that his “way” is the only way. The apostle Peter rebuked this idea and said in II Peter 3:8: “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

Indeed, anyone who believes the Bible has an entire volume that gives continued evidence of the existence of God. May our Lord give us wisdom to properly use this Book of books to guide our lives and to teach all we may contact concerning the fact of God’s existence.