A Few Observations
During 1950 I wrote but little for any of our religious journals. I've learned by experience that many men write and say things that in later years they regret and wish they had never said nor written.
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I've read the articles pro and con on the scriptural way to support and preach the gospel in regions beyond. The amusing thing to me is that those who started a practice unknown to the New Testament and tried to defend the Big Church that was collecting and spending the money later reversed themselves and denied that any church was doing what they set out to defend. No sectarian preacher ever manifested a more contradictory attitude toward any of his teaching than this.
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Some of our so-called Big Preachers can make as many blunders as some of the smaller fry. Some I've learned that ought to be Big Men act very little.
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Religious Racketeers seem to be quite common nowadays. Highly advertised schemes are put before the brotherhood to extract money from them, and brethren seem prone to fall for the racket without any sober and serious reflection as to the scripturalness of procedure, or the worthiness or unworthiness of the appeal. Well this goes to prove you can't kill the church. It lives on regardless of the schemes of fraud that are perpetrated upon it.
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Those who advocate putting the college in church budget are not saying much of late. Why are they so quiet? Are they secretly doing this thing instead of coming into the open? I believe I heard of one brother who thought it lawful to put college in church budget, but not expedient. Before it could be lawful the scripturalness of such action would need to be proven. This cannot be done. Hence it is neither lawful nor expedient to do such a thing.
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An aged minister recently wrote me and said "THE GOSPEL GUARDIAN is the greatest bulwark against error that creeps into the church, that we have." I believe this aged brother is eminently correct.
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I enjoy immensely the articles that are coming to us through the Gospel Guardian. Men like Cled E. Wallace, Roy E. Cogdill and our able and efficient editor with a host of younger men and older seem determined to stand for the old paths regardless of threats by those who feel their self importance and take themselves more seriously than anyone else.
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When men tell preachers they are committing suicide as preachers when said preachers oppose unscriptural practices, if the future of the church depended on such would be leaders, it would die and ought to die.
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Some of the larger churches and preachers no doubt will not be saved from an apostasy, but many faithful brethren will not fall for this dictatorial power of one congregation usurping authority over sister congregations.
When ELDERS of the BIG CHURCH feel that the elders of the little church haven't sense enough to raise their own finances and plan their own work according to ability, the BIG ELDERS are taking themselves too seriously. They need to look into the perfect law of liberty and see themselves as God sees them—LORDING THINGS OVER GOD'S HERITAGE.
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We need a lot of sober thinking, and a more careful and prayerful study of God's word, and less shallow thinking and reckless actions in the church of our Lord.
We have some preachers that have "THE HOLIER THAN THOU ATTITUDE." These pious spirited brethren can sometimes act very ugly. I heard of one not so long ago calling a brother preacher a liar and sticking out his chin for this brother to punch. He no doubt wanted to play the part of a martyr. His conscience I'm told wouldn't let him sleep that night till he called the brother and apologized for his conduct. Well this just goes to prove that the sweet spirited, pious brethren are about like the rest of us, viz: human.
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May the Lord help all of us to walk a little closer to him in 1951. Study more, pray more, and manifest the same attitude toward sin and error that was manifested by him, and may we have the same attitude toward truth and righteousness.