The Unity Question
Brethren Witty and Murch come with a message of peace and unity. "The voice is Jacob's voice but the hands are the hands of Esau." All desire the unity for which Jesus prayed. However, we cannot allow these brethren to "come with subtlety and take away" our blessing. The road to peace is not a road of compromise.
Lasting Peace
We have had a long and hard fight with the forces of evil. This fight is to achieve victory and to build a spirit of peace and security. We have won many a battle over materialism. The giants of Premillenialism have been put to rout in debate. Advocates of instrumental music in worship will no longer come out into the open for discussion. Winning a lasting peace is more difficult than defeating the enemy. The issues before the church are not dead simply because no one will come out in the open and champion them. The only way to make unity for which Jesus prayed universal is to completely destroy the enemy. The essentials of this peace would crumble with compromise. Jesus never once asked for peace on the basis of compromise. The beliefs in instrumental music and other false doctrines must be removed. As long as men have beliefs, they will strive to protect and expand them. Faith, itself, contains a militant crusading spirit. Those who are afraid to come out in the open usually speak out in the dark. "A little leaven will leaven the whole lump." The unity for which Jesus prayed does not come like manna from heaven; it must be cultivated from rocky soil with discussions of the question and great human toil. You cannot love sin out of the church. You cannot love false doctrine out of the world. It must be rooted up. "Every plant, that my father planted not shall be rooted up." (Matt. 15: 13.) The roots cannot be left. We have cut premillenialism and digression to the ground but the roots still remain. Like the roots of the bind-weed these roots are very deep. We must not allow our fight against these evils to disintegrate.
Invisible Sabotage
The effort to destroy the church still continues. Men no longer come out in the open. Yet they travel from place to place spreading gossip about those who have stood firm in the fight. They encourage all the half converted to hold on to their false doctrine for a while. They constantly brag on every man who sympathies with premillennialism. They say that they do not believe premillennialism. Yet they maintain friendly relations with those who teach it. They accept their money and encourage their work. We can but judge their work in the future by their work in the past. Here is just about the way it is. Clinton Davidson, endorses R. H. Boll. George S. Benson endorses Davidson. We are not under any illusions. A blind man can see into this. Where did Davidson ever condemn Boll for his work in dividing the church? Imprimatur. The militant premillennialisms seem to be few. Back when they thought Boll was winning they came out of their shells. Now that Boll and his fellows have been driven from the open field they crawl back and say nothing. That is they say nothing openly. They still carry on their "invisible sabotage." It is hard to make me believe that this constant criticism of those who have been active in this fight is not for a purpose. It is hard to make me believe that this continued endorsement of Clinton Davidson is not for a purpose. It is not a diplomatic or informal endorsement but an outright approval of the Davidson movement—an endorsement of those whom he endorses.
A New Type of Journalism
Another new type of journalism has arisen among us. This new type of journalism brought is being featured by papers like the "West Coast Christian," the "Rocky Mountain Christian." Glaring reports with newspaper headlines are the feature of these papers. Should one take the "Field News" of the Firm Foundation, Gospel Advocate, and Christian Worker and set them up in larger type with glaring headlines he would have just such papers as are mentioned above. It has been too well known by those who have read the papers for years that some are given to exaggeration in reporting. The church must realize that issues cannot be settled, false doctrines exposed by shouting hurrah! Over-optimism can burden our effort in driving the host of wickedness from heavenly places. Some of these papers have done much to encourage the work in the great Western part of the United States, but all this "hip, hip, hurrah" will not advance the church nor settle any issues. Big caption type cannot substitute for a discussion of problems and issues. Discuss the issues the brethren face on the field, as well as stand up and cheer. Let us never forget that free, frank and bold discussion is the way to win the victory in Jesus' name.
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A Popular Preacher
Once upon a time there was a preacher. He was easy on the eyes. The intonations of his voice were pleasing and reassuring. His linen was clean, and every detail of his dress was proper. All men spoke well of him. He was the preacher of his community. He married all the couples and preached all the funerals. There was in that community an infidel. He was a pretty tough proposition. He was interested in religion and preachers as all infidels are. If you think infidels are not interested in preachers, you are mistaken.. You can get a rise out of an infidel by mentioning a preacher, quicker than you can by saying something about Tom Paine. This infidel kept an eye on this popular preacher. One day he remarked to some of his friends: "When I die, I want that preacher to preach my funeral." The remark occasioned some amusement. "Why, Bill, you old scoundrel, you know a preacher cannot do you any good talking over you after you are dead." "I do not know about that," said Bill, the infidel. "I have heard this preacher preach about a dozen funerals lately, and he hasn't lost a case yet." If a preacher loses a case like that, the proprieties demand that he do it gracefully. But the presence of a corpse should not stampede him into denying the faith. "I charge thee in the sight of God, and of Christ Jesus, who shall judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be urgent in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching." (2 Tim. 4: 1, 2.) "And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them." (Rev. 14:13.) It may be a popular voice, but it is not a voice from heaven, which says, "Blessed are the dead who die out of the Lord." -Cled E. Wallace.