MA Y , 1 9 7 0 With April Radio Features
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MAY, 1970 / Volume 10 / Number 5
MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THF BIOLA FFLLOWSHIP
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CHURCH GROWTH ......................... 3 Arvid Carlson CHURCH GROWTH IN A SOPHISTICATED SOCIETY .. 7 George Munzing CHURCH GROWTH IN A NON-GROWING AREA ......... 9 Royal Blue THE NEW CHURCH AND HOW IT CAN GROW ....................10 Royal Blue MUSIC AND MISSIONS ................12 Norman Nelson THE UNITY OF THE WORD OF GOD ..................15 Lloyd T. Anderson PANEL DISCUSSIONS ....................27
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Professor Clyde Cook takes advantage of the spring weather and moves to the outdoors for a class session.
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revival is unswerving doctrine. It says of these dedicated people, “They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine” (v. 42). In other words these early Christians were willing to obey, even if they didn’t under stand all they were to obey. They were not hearers only but were do ers of the Word. They followed up all the teachings they received. They weren’t a step behind God on any thing. The second principle is that of unceasing prayer. The early church lived, moved and had its being on its knees. It moved all the traffic of heaven and earth on the twin tracks of prayer and the Word. This is not the easiest course to follow for most churches, but it’s certainly the safest and most productive. Prayer de mands both time, and energy. Prayer might not be everything, but every thing is by prayer. We cannot neg lect prayer any more than we can neglect breathing. The devil will al low us to do almost anything else. The third principle of progress is that of unbroken unity. “All that believed were together, and had all things common” (v. 44). Je su s ’ prayer in the upper room was that we might all be one. The epistles teach the same kind of unity. We are to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The body of Christ is a new creation where the old man dies and new man takes over. It becomes the test of profes sion. John writes, “We know we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren.” The church is more often destroyed from within than without. Dissent is good but dissension is evil. The fourth principle is that of unstinted giving. Notice verse 45, “And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.” No one has begun to give until he has given all. Giving begins with what we are, not with what we have (II Cor. 8:5). In 3
CHURCH GROWTH
by Arvid Carlson, pastor of Evangelical Free Church, Orange, Calif.
C hapter O ne I N A cts 2:42-47, the Holy Spirit through His servant Luke, gives us an excellent formula for church growth. This should be a pattern at which we look consistently today. While the Gospels deal with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the remainder of the New Testament tells us about the planting of the Church, as well as its growth and the explanation of its doctrines. Acts records the history of the early Church. Acts was not basically writ ten to give us a treatise on church doctrine. It’s a book of life and ac tion. We do not, and should not, ap propriate every detail of it. Yet, no where else in Scripture do we learn the principles of growth and success better than in Acts. The most impor tant factor to remember is that the church’s life and power is the Holy Spirit. The first thing of seven fac tors to note for church growth or
the day of Pentecost and it has grown to a tremendous size today. We’re not planting an organization in this world. Growth is inevitable. We must lose ourselves in others. The church needs therefore to get on with its business reconciling the world unto God. Ceasing to do that, we lose the charter of our existence. This then is a seven-fold formula for growth. Adopt these Scriptural principles and your church will grow. I would like to move the recommen dation. I wonder if you will second the motion? If we’re all in favor, let’s unanimously carry the proposi tion. May God bless you and help you to that end through the power of His Holy Spirit. C hapter T wo I t was Peter Taylor Forsythe who declared, “The Church will be what its ministers make it. If the Church is to be saved from the world, it is the ministers who must do it.” There’s no question in my mind but that the pastor is the key man in every area of the church’s operation. He holds that enviable position in the New Testament by virtue of the fact that he has been placed there by God and not by man. He cannot escape the leadership responsibility. He must know how to conduct its affairs. The starting point is in the area of preaching. In preaching, he is a prophet. In personal contact, he is a pastor. In prayer, he is a priest. And in practical leadership, he is a promoter. Preaching, however, must be his first love and calling. If he is weak in the pulpit, the people will be weak in the pew. In spite of the criticism that the church is irrele vant, with all the pressures of life and the competition of the world, we desperately need dedicated preach ers. We are definitely told to preach the Word. How sad to find ministers today preaching books and social
revival times the purse strings seem to be very loose indeed. God’s money should go to God’s house and to God’s cause. II Corinthians 9:7 indicates that the people gave willingly. This was illustrated in the case of Barna bas who gave without compulsion. The fifth principle is that of un ending praise. “They, con tinu ing daily with’ one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with glad ness and singleness of heart, prais ing God” (w . 46-47). There is a difference between joy and enthusi asm. There’s no problem rejoicing in the success of a new work. The real test will come when the adverse circumstances set in. In Acts 5:41 it is recorded that these apostles were beaten to a pulp for their wit ness for Jesus Christ. Yet we find that they returned to their own com pany, rejoicing that they were count ed worthy to suffer shame for His name. This is a good thing to re member when the devil is assaulting you. Exercise the privilege of joy and praise. The sixth principle is that of an unlimited influence. “Having favour with all the people” (v. 47). This is really more of a result, but it should be included. No Christian lives or dies unto himself. All of us possess some sphere of influence. Your wit ness in your community will be felt. It was written of these early disci ples that people took note of them that they had been with Jesus. That’s the secret! Influence is in direct ratio to our dependence upon the Holy Spirit, and our yieldedness to the Lord Jesus Christ. The last secret is also perhaps a result more than a principle. We find unparalleled growth. “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (v. 47). Keep in mind that the church is an organ ism, not an organization. It is the Body of Christ, and bodies must grow or die. This Body was born on 4
tion for the secular clubs of our day. This is a wonderful way to get into homes where parents are not church- related. A pastor or a church cannot compromise convictions or clutter a schedule. Yet the minister ought to be in touch with the civic life of his area. Then there should be evangelistic patterns of outreach. The sustained effort of a campaign is becoming more difficult. It may be necessary to vary the formula. A weekend of hospitality evangelism, in which meals are served and youth reached, has been very effective. There ought to be more involvement in tract dis tribution. There can be other cam paigns of a briefer nature. There are so many ways to reach out in our community if we are only willing to do it. There’s another area which calls for the pastor’s complete involve ment. That is worship. As far as I ’m concerned, the Sunday school should be the church at study; the morning service, the church at worship; the youth groups, the church in train ing; the evening service, the church in fellowship; and the Wednesday night service, the church in prayer as well as perhaps activity. Let’s be careful to eliminate duplication of extra nights. We must be more ef fective in the outreach of the Gos pel. More churches should try to involve their young people in the evening service. They may consider some of the new formats which are found in our present life-style. I’m certainly not advocating art forms of our day. Is it possible, however, to adapt some of these things with out compromising bur convictions and message? We should know what the younger generation is thinking and how it’s reacting. Our whole consuming purpose should be to reach them for Christ. The fourth area of pastoral con cern is education. There has been an ever-changing role of the pastor in 5
causes ! We need convictions and con victions come from the Word of God. The second thing on the church’s program is outreach. This isn’t just visitation. We must be geared to reaching people both inside the church and out. A current phenome non going on in Southern California in that young couples are returning to the church. What a wonderful opportunity to reach these young couples for Christ. Have a cradle roll which is a mainline instead of a sideline. The experts tell us that if we were able to enroll all of the babies in a given year with our pres ent facilities, we could only take care of about 50% of them. This is a tre mendous opportunity for evangelism. The pastor should also promote a visitation program. It's simply good business to ring doorbells. The flow of love should always be outward. There are two kinds of visitation, di rective evangelism and friendship evangelism. We must cultivate peo ple. Be sure the mechanics of your plan have been tested and that they work. “Plan your work and work your plan.” The church might also take on a limited program of social service. Delinquency is on the increase. There is need of foster homes. Family counseling services are vital within the church. The divorce rate is alarming today. People should be able to receive spiritual help in their desperate times. Our whole purpose should be for the sake of love of souls. It is also possible to sponsor functions of community interest. This could be parent-teacher nights for the Sunday school. A Christian psychologist or expert can talk di rectly to them about their problems. Craft programs can sometimes be geared to evangelism. A public rela tions function can be used to adver tise the church, creating the proper image in the community. There should be club work for boys and girls, furnishing a spiritual competi
the last few years. It seems the min ister must be a preacher, a teacher, a comforter, a psychotherapist, a marital counselor, a crusader, an ex positor, an administrator, and above all else, a church-builder. To be sure, he must integrate his drives in such a way as to focus on those things which will be of the greatest impor tance to his church. There are two which should be paramount: evan gelism and education. The Sunday school hasn’t always occupied the position that it does today in the minds of pastors. Pastoral partici pation spells the difference between success or failure in this area of the work. All of us know that Dwight L. Moody, although known for his evangelism, was interested in the Sunday school to the point where he became, as one biographer reports him, the moving spirit in the Sun day school. If we are not education- minded, we ought to become so. The final facet of this program must include renewal. With the mag nitude of today’s problems, pastors soon realize they’re insufficient. Much
more is necessary than merely pro gram and promotion. Prayer is the vital key. The man of God must find the will of God for his church. Like Moses of old, who was told to come up early and to come alone, our dif ficulty is that we scarcely come at all. I must learn how to structure prayer more into my church. I must evoke and illicit group action in prayer at every board, committee and organi zational meeting. There should be prayer b re a k fa s ts for the men, prayer meetings for the women, and the young people should be taught to pray as they have never been so in structed. Too many churches are teaching their youth to dance. It’s much more important to put grace into their hearts than in their feet. These five areas spell out an acros tic for P-O-W-E-R: Preaching, Out reach, Worship, Education and Re newal. This must be a decade of power. We have seen a revolution in the 60’s. Now, with God’s strength, let’s aim toward a spiritual counter revolution in the 70’s. May God help us all to do it!
Evangelical Free Church, Orange, Calif.
6
CHURCH GROWTH IN A SOPHISTICATED SOCIETY
It’s interesting to note that sev eral of our recent presidents have become more openly religious after moving into the White House. This isn’t just good public relations. There is an expression of real need. We all need faith in God through Jesus Christ our Lord. There needs to be a growing, supportive fellowship with people of like faith. The Church is a body of believers with Christ Himself as the Head. No matter what our station in life, we are all needy people. The first important aspect of growth is that we must be a Biblical congregation. The Bible is our source of both spiritual knowledge and faith itself. It is true that “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” An aged, devout Christian put it. “The more I read the Bible, the more I believe the Bible, and the less I understand it.” We can never plumb its depths. It’s like an artesian well, continuing to overflow with life-giving water. How disap pointing when we come across those who through in te llec tu a l pride, known and unconfessed sin, or simp ly blasé sophistication, reject the Water of Life which the Scriptures offer. We teach the Bible, use the Bible, and see it as the basis for all Christian relationships. We want it to challenge the mind as well as the heart. The need for the milk of the Word of God applies to spiritual babies of all ages, whether Sunday school children or soph is tica ted adults. Without embarrassment or compromise, the Bible is basic to the church’s mission and evangelism. The second element basic to prog ress and growth as a congregation is an emphasis upon the Centrality of Jesus Christ. A relevant Christian faith must emphasize p rac tica l, everyday application. Our responsi bility is to exalt Jesus Christ before the eyes of all. Jesus Christ is the fullest revelation of God (Col. 1 :15- 23). Colossians is an Epistle writ- 7
by George Munzing, pastor of Trinity United Presby terian Church, Santa Ana, Calif. S ophisticated by dictionary defini tion means: falsified; adulterat ed; changed from the natural char acter or simplicity; and artificial. It means one whose ideas, tastes, and manners have been altered by edu cation, worldly experience, and the like. It seems that in a sophisticated type of society we find an emphasis on self and the material rather than dependence upon God. The Church can expect an increasingly difficult time. I minister to a congregation that is largely cultured, made up of high ly-educated and comfortably-affiuent people. Its growth patterns are bound to change. I’m confident we’ll con tinue to see significant signs of spir itual growth in the midst of this “Sophisticated Society.”
all your soul, and with all your mind.” But He also said: “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” John spelled this out, “This is how we know what love is: Christ gave his life for us. We too, then, ought to give our lives for our brothers!” (I John 3:16) Paul said: “And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you” (I Thess. 3:12). Res member what Paul wrote in Colos- sians 1:28: “So we preach Christ to all men. We warn and teach every one, with all possible wisdom, in order to bring each one into God’s presence as a mature individual in union with Christ.” Paul’s goal was mature men who were fully grown and complete. Do you realize that to day 10,000 persons died from mal nutrition and 123,000 died from oth er causes? Also today 324,000 babies entered the world. Today the net gain was 190,000 persons: 190,000 more mouths to feed, 190,000 more bodies to clothe, 190,000 more minds to educate, 190,000 more souls to be reached for Jesus Christ. We have a growing task. If we’re to fulfill the command of Jesus to “witness to our world,” we must reach out “in breadth,” personally and socially touching those who can be touched by daily contact. We can reach them by radio, television, prayer, letters, telephone, and missionary partners in the outer fringes of geography. This is our task, and it grows at 190,000 a day. The answer is involve ment both personally and socially. When the church is Biblical, when it finds its Centrality in Jesus Christ, when it is Person-centered, and So cially Concerned, then the words of Jesus regarding His church become excitingly true today, “And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
ten for sophisticates. It contains a warning against trusting in worldly wisdom. It counteracts a doctrinal error growing out of the mixture of Judaistic teaching, combined with the vagaries of Oriental and philo sophic speculation. These very here sies tended to obscure the divine glory of Jesus Christ. Paul empha sizes the place of the Word of God and the glory of the person and work of Jesus Christ; The third element making a major contribution to the life of our church is the Person-centered emphasis pre vailing. The best type of evangelism is personal. There needs to be an open sharing and a transparent hon esty, with a candor in speech and prayer, which cannot help but be healing to those involved. An aged woman in London wrote these words in her diary on each of the last 10 days of her life: “13,000,000 people all about me and no one called to day.” Have you ever felt like that, alone and forgotten? Loneliness is basic to mankind. Each of us needs to know that someone cares. These dynamics take place in our congrega tion for those who voluntarily par ticipate in small groups, where inter relationships are stressed. The shar ing of burdens is encouraged. We need to give ourselves to each other openly and honestly. One of our members described the church as ministering on the personal level, with an emphasis upon the inter dependence of emotional, physical mental and spiritual parts of its people. The fourth element has had an important part in the progress and growth of our church over the past few years .We should be Socially concerned. Our church believes that the New Testament teaches the Gos pel of Jesus Christ is both personal and social. It’s concerned with a man’s relationship to God. Jesus said that “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with 8
Leave it all quietly with Him: fears, foes, failures, future.
CHURCH GROWTH IN A NON-GROWING AREA
has departed. This is one reason for the growth of sound, fundamental, evangelical churches. There is a real danger though that some of these groups still are not moving forward for God. They may be tied down to higher leader ship, conventions, and conferences. These things are good for fellowship and direction, but they can also de stroy or interrupt the quality and autonomy of the local body of be lievers. Also there can be an over balance of the separatist viewpoint. Christianity isn’t a negative; it’s a positive. We cannot isolate ourselves from the opportunity of reaching others for Christ. Our North Valley Baptist Church in Redding, California started with a few more than 30 members about eight years ago; God has so blessed in adding to the membership so that we now have about 1,200. We’re lo cated about five miles from a town of less than 30,000. We are not in a high economy area. In fact, Shasta County is one of the most poverty- stricken sections in California. We don’t have a large Sunday school bus route either. All of what we enjoy have been specific blessings from the Lord. About 800 of our members are folks who have accepted Christ as their persona] Saviour in the past seven and a half years. There are lost people who do not know the Saviour in any area. We wanted to establish a church to reach the un saved. Jesus wanted the disciples to see the lost. There are areas r ig h t around us where people need to be born again. We need to urge people to follow God and His leadership. This is what the early believers were told in Acts 2:42. God abundantly blessed these people. Our outreach has been successful because we have people who love the Lord, have a high degree of faith and love to see the lost won for Christ. It’s just normal to see the unsaved come for- 9
by Royal Blue, pastor of N o r t h V a l l e y B a p t i s t Church, Redding, Calif.
W hile many churches are grow ing today, the normal picture is toward a down trend, except where the population is sizable. Here and there across the country God is rais ing up churches through the indigen ous method. They have not had out side help. Many of the older churches, unfortunately, are cold and static, involved in social action, rather than Gospel presentation. I don’t believe a minister needs to be involved in marches and protests. His business is reaching the lost for Christ. He must meet the spiritual needs of his people. Many local churches are dy ing, or merging with other denomi nations, trying to stay alive. Destruc tion and failure have been written over the door of too many of these spiritual wrecks. The glory of God
THE NEW CHURCH AND HOW IT CAN GROW
ward to accept Him. It’s only when each of us allows the Holy Spirit to fill us and use us that we see results. We must be burdened for souls dy ing in their sins. We’re not called to be involved in things outside the church such as contests. The life of dedication can not be over-emphasized. Otherwise we lose concern for the souls of men. When the church grows spiritually, it will grow numerically as well. We must sense the need for a Spirit- filled life. God burdened my heart for this neglected area of Northern Califor nia. I had no idea it would grow to what we have seen today. Thirty peo ple, with dedication and love for the Lord, have made the vision a reality. They were willing to move out by faith, trusting God to do the im possible. They remind me of the early church. They didn’t stand idly by, twiddling their thumbs. The Bi ble says in Acts 1:14 that “They were of one accord in prayer and supplication.” What a blessedness! No wonder the Holy Spirit of God could fill them. Too often today do we lean too much on our intellec tual ability to promote God’s pro gram. Man wants wonders without the Word. God will still bless any local born-again body of believers if they will wait upon Him in obedi ence to His Word. Our Lord wants to do “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to His power that works in us.” Christ is the same eysterday, today, and forever. He wants to do today just what He did in the early church. That’s why God used those early be lievers. They waited upon the Lord. Are we willing to do the same today ? My life as a worker is the way I say "thank you” to God for His unspeakable salvation. —Oswald Chambers The hallmark of Christianity is action, not words.
by Royal Blue, pastor of N o r t h V a l l e y B a p t i s t Church, Redding, Calif.
T he early church realized the im portance of personal fellowship with their risen Lord. Do we have the desire today? These followers of the Lord didn’t question His resur rection. They had personally experi enced His presence. They were peo ple of differing passions and prob lems. Yet God brought them together into one accord. It was not an easy task, for there were doubters, pessi mists, and those who were impetuous and fearful. Incidentally, a pessi mist is one who sees a problem in every opportunity. An optimist, how ever, is one who sees an opportunity in every problem. We need more of the latter. The unifying force was that the group had seen the risen Saviour. The same need is apparent today if a church is to grow. After people are saved, we endeavor to get them grounded in the Word. In ad dition to basic Bible classes, we con duct home Bible study fellowships throughout the area. Teaching and fellowship go together, along with prayer both private and public. Since we started the church nearly eight years ago, we’ve been meeting together every Tuesday morning with a group of men for prayer at about 6:30 A.M. Our high school ers meet at the same time. College young people gather on Wednesday morning, and there are other groups as well. These people have learned the power of prayer. How this has
to us of perseverance. They weren’t quitters. God is still on the throne. He is able and wants to do today what He did for those early believ ers. If a new church is to grow, it must learn obedience. God’s love was real to each of the early believers. There was not dis cord. They honored the Scriptures (Acts 1:15-20, II Tim. 3:16). They honored the Old Testament. Then they brought their difficulties to the Lord in prayer (verses 21-24). If a heart or a church is yielded to God, the Lord will show Himself mighty. They knew that if they lacked wis dom on any matter, they could ask and receive the answer. These fea tures will characterize the members of any church which is growing. This makes for an empowered, soul winning, missionary-minded church. It will most certainly grow thereby. We must keep our eyes on the Lord whether we’re pastor or people. We must be willing to do what Christ wants us to do and to be what He wants us to be.
increased our church not only numer ically and spiritually! The latter is by far the more important. Today there are many people pro fessing to be Christians, who simply worship Christ as a good person or even as the Son of God. They don’t accept Him as the risen Lord. In Acts 1 :5 we see the importance of the Spirit’s filling. This promise was given not that they might be more fully justified before God, but that God might become more fully justi fied in them before the world. They were obedient to His Word (verses 12 and 13). In the Upper Room they were told to wait. What an order! That is something we need to learn, too. Our lives must be fully yielded to Him. If the disciples had gone out when they wanted to, they would have gone in the strength of the flesh and failed. They waited, obedi ent to the Word of God, claiming His promises, and soon were filled with the Holy Spirit. Notice that they all continued in one accord in prayer and supplication. This speaks
North Valley Baptist Church, Redding, Calif.
11
3:16 gives us a good foundation, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another, in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, sing ing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Ephesians 5:18 is similarly challenging. Then from Zephaniah 3:17 we un derstand the Lord’s joy will be over us with singing. God sings about us. If He can find anything in us about which to sing, then we certainly ought to sing about Him. It was in 1955 that Overseas Cru sades invited me to join with a team of men on a missionary journey to the Far East. I was amazed to find so many people who really love mu sic. Most of the music I’d heard from the Orient was in a minor key, not very happy. The people of the Orient gave us an almost overwhelming ac ceptance. The Lord saw to it that the songs did communicate. I always try to learn a few songs in every language where I’ll be working. I also sing in English. So many people in these foreign lands are anxious to learn our language. Another unexpected delight had to do with the language used in the Philippines where our family had been stationed. There the people speak English. In fact, the Philip pines is the third largest English- speaking country in the world. They have their own national language, along with eight other major lan guages. There are also as many as 160 more dialects. Obviously there was no communication problem in this country. I was also fortunate in that people there like tenor voices best. Filipinos are generally very reli gious people. They really enjoy Gos pel music. My ministry includes be ing teamed with nationals such as Greg Tingson, a dynamic Filipino evangelist. This is the best way of getting to the people. By being a visiting American tenor, I could be
MUSIC AND MISSIONS
by Norman Nelson, repre sentative for Overseas Cru sades, Inc.
C hapter one I T HAS been fascinating to me to see how the field of music relates to missions. Over the past 13 years, I’ve been associated with Overseas Crusades and Dr. Dick Hillis, an alumnus of Biola, our Founder-Di rector. Our objective is to minister to pastors and churches in various countries so that these congregations in turn might more effectively evan gelize their own people. Our theme is, “Every heart without Christ a mission field, and every heart with Christ, a missionary.” Being a missionary is an exciting experience. Yet, too often, I’m afraid some people might think that sing ing is merely entertainment. This is not to say that music can’t be enter taining or interesting. Singing the Gospel is much more than this. It’s not merely the projection of an art form. It is communicating and shar ing oneself with others. Colossians 12
C hapter Two M any of the Psalms are those written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and sung by David. I particularly enjoy the 104th, be ginning with verse 31. I think of the words: “I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise unto my God while I have my be ing.” This has been my ministry for the past 24 years, the last 13 of which have been in association with Overseas Crusades, and six and a half years with our family in the Philippines. I wasn’t in Manila 24 hours before I found myself singing to 10,000 people. The enthusiasm of the people was almost unbelievable. Their response to the Gospel was tremendously rewarding. We had a 500-voice choir that sang each eve ning, and as the message was given, people listened and responded to the call of the Gospel. One night, Presi dent Ramon Magsaysay drove by in his limousine. The next day, we re ceived an invitation to have break fast with him. When the meal was finished, the President said, “Norm, I understand you sing. Let’s go into the music room, and give us a con cert.” That was quite a thrill, but then missionary life is always filled with contrast. Whether out in a re mote village or with leaders of the country, it’s exciting and rewarding with many spiritual victories. During the time we were in the Philippines, I sang to more than two millions of people and reached un told numbers more through radio. This is really one of th e main avenues of reaching the Orient to day. Radio goes beyond the bamboo and iron curtains. In the Orient, wherever you go, you see people carrying transistor radios. I’ve seen men going through the jung les, wearing only a loin cloth, but with their little receiver. There are many radio stations there which while not large certainly have a tremendous audience. Before leaving the field, I 13
used to give Greg an audience of sev eral thousand, instead of just sev eral hundred. Oh, how the people re sponded! We send a sound truck through a city or village and there is a guaranteed crowd of anywhere from three to fifteen thousand peo ple. They really roll out the red car pet. The people enjoy singing but also listening to the Gospel. The min istry of music can be extremely ef fective. Opportunities are almost unlimit ed to present the Gospel in song. I would much rather be singing the Gospel, than to be on any concert stage of the world. People are im portant. The only things God prom ises to rescue from this old globe are human beings. Souls for Christ are more important than popularity, position or anything else. Some well- meaning friends told me when I left for the mission field that my talent would be wasted. How wrong they were! Although I was reared in a Chris tian home, and gave a mental assent to the Gospel, I didn’t invite Christ into my heart until the age of 12. I was at home alone and began sing ing, almost absent-mindedly, some of the songs I had learned in church and Sunday school. The little chorus, “Into my Heart” hit me. With tears of joy, I invited Christ simply to come into my heart. He did, and took over the controls of my life. How wonderful it's been! Some time later, in church, I enjoyed hearing a college quartet. While they weren’t the greatest singers, there was some thing about their smiles and testi mony that touched my heart. From that moment on, I determined to use my talent for the Lord. I ’m convinced that if we give God all we have without reservation, He in turn will give us all He has. On this basis, a person can’t lose. Ro mans 6:11-13 should challenge our lives. Let’s yield ourselves “as instru ments of righteousness unto God.”
had the privilege of being on 19 sta tions five days a week. The average cost of each broadcast was about $2.50. This is almost unbelievable. In the barrios, or little remote tri bal villages, if a neighbor doesn’t have a radio, you turn yours up full blast. I’ve walked through many a village where I ’ve heard an undis turbed broadcast, from one end of town to the other. The people of the Philippines love music. It has a vital point of contact and communication for the Gospel. Another area of tes timony is through our Bible corres pondence courses. This is how the people become grounded in the Word of God. You know, one of the things that characterizes our Christian faith, setting it apart from other religions, is the song in our hearts, regardless of circumstances. Christ puts a song in our hearts. When you sing these songs of triumph, you’re simply en tering into the testimony of victo rious Christians who have been in spired to write the music. Singing characterized the early church, too. They sang in the upper room; Paul and Silas sang in prison. Martin Luther admitted that more people were sung into the fold than by any other means. Enemies of the cross thought if they could just stop the people from singing, they could stop the whole Reformation move ment. No one can take away a sing ing faith that’s born of conviction and confidence. Singing opens the heart of a person to receive the Gos pel. Singing is a universal language. Many times, singing can be used to break down the most difficult op position. One day national evange list Greg Tingson and I were invited to Basilan, known as “The Island of Sudden Death.” This was its reputa tion due to evil present-day pirates. The Yacan people who inhabit the area believed that to kill a Christian would give them a special place with Allah. I admit we had some fear and 14
trembling. Robberies and massacres in this area were not unusual at all. There was one missionary on the island. He told us that they had Gospel services but only on the com pound due to lurking dangers. That night, however, we planned to go out to the main plaza and give a concert as well as to preach the Gospel. When we got to the plaza, we set up six oil drums, putting planks on top of them. With my electronic equipment as a background, I began to sing. The men gathered around without any smiles. They wore turbans on their heads. There were long knives at the sides of their loin-clothed bodies. They listened. I sang one song after another as they continued to listen. Greg Tingson preached in his fearless way, proclaiming the Gospel of Christ. God, by His Spirit, came down and hallowed that piece of ground. The men were attentive, and at the invitation more than thir ty of them stepped forward for Christ. Here we saw the power of the Gospel reaching the hearts of Muslim people. With music in missions we have seen repeatedly the presence of God in great power even as we find it promised in Romans 1:16. The Gos pel is the power of God unto salva tion, whether it is preached or sung. I count it a privilege simply to dedicate all I have to Him as a mis sionary singer and as an ambassa dor of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's in the path of His appointment that we find His presence. There are miraculous possibilities for the one who depends on God. The church is full of willing people— those willing to work and those willing to let them. Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God. —William Carey
he accounted for the mutilated Bible. The weakened response was, “I sat under the ministry of a pastor who didn’t believe this was all the Word of God. He felt there were parts inspired to be sure. But others were questionable.” With a deep sigh, he explained, “What you hold in your hand is the result of the ministry of a pastor who destroyed my confidence in Scripture.” What a terrible thing for which to be held accountable! The godly, visiting minister was able to restore the needy man’s faith in the infallibility of the Word of God. The Bible isn’t an encyclopedia which needs to be brought up to date with man’s later scientific dis coveries. Scripture explains itself as becoming one single Book. It’s unified message must be accepted or reject ed only in its entirety. There is a very helpful passage which stands as a hallmark on the subject. Read for yourself I Peter 1:9-12. Here we see a picture of how verbal inspiration has miracu lously occurred. While the heavens declare the glory of God, the Scrip tures declare His love. The heavens reveal His hand, while the Scriptures reveal His heart. After His resurrection, the Lord met two grieving disciples. Accord ing to Luke 24:27, “He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” Perhaps it was in the upper-room when He appeared to the eleven disciples that Jesus refers to in verse 44: “I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.” The Bible has but one subject: God’s love and man’s redemption. The resurrection for Peter was the final great evidence of Scriptural au thority and the reality of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. This was the truth upon which Christianity was to be built. 15
THE UNITY OF THE WORD OF GOD
by Ll oyd T. A n d e r so n , Biola Hour teacher and pastor of Bethany Baptist Church, West Covina, Cal.
C hapter O ne O NE OP THE irrefutable evidences of scriptural inspiration is the unity of the Word of God. Perhaps you’ve heard the illustration of the pastor who called on a certain man who was dying. His attention was drawn to a copy of the Bible on the night-stand by the bed. Thumbing through it, the minister found that most of Genesis had been cut out; pieces of Leviticus and Deuteronomy also were missing, along with some parts of the Psalms and prophetical books. All of these sections had been heavily clipped. In the New Testa ment, Revelation was gone complete ly. In portions of the Gospels and epistles not only certain verses, but actually entire chapters had been re moved. He asked the sick man how
It was Thomas who had demanded evidence before he would believe. Christ assured him, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29). Pet er’s epistle is addressed to those in Asia Minor, who had not seen the Lord and yet, by faith, they had be come believers. The positive hope was that despite their trials of faith and many testings they, too, would receive the salvation of their souls which was what the prophets dili gently sought to understand. I Peter 1 :10 reminds us that this is the pre dominant subject of the Bible. The prophets, like the believers in the New Testament, had never seen with their own eyes the object of their faith. They had been searching. How slow to believe we are even as Christ predicted (Luke 24:25-26)! Not only does the Bible concern itself with one tremendous subject, but it also shows one Divine Author throughout. This is clearly defined for us in II Peter 1:19-21. Study this, and mark especially the words, “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 Spirit.” This unity permeates the entire Bible, al though it’s made up of 66 books,writ ten over a period of more than 1500 years and by nearly 40 different writers. This is because of the mov ing of the Holy Spirit. The prophets and apostles weren’t merely tape re corders on which the divine Spirit impressed His message. Each one reveals much of his own character, personality, and background in his own writing. Sunlight will shine through a lovely stained-glass win dow to fall on the church floor in a multi-colored splash of light. It reveals the many components which make it up. Even so the light of God filters through the personalities and cultures of the writers, revealing va rious facets of His wonderful truth. This altogether makes up the whole 16
of God’s wonderful revelation. De spite differences in style and lan guage, all of the writers spoke the Word of God. They were the “win dows” of the Lord’s mind and heart. The Scripture is a “sure word” be cause there is One Divine Author, God the Holy Spirit, who directed the work of its many multiplied writ ers. How wonderful it is to consider the practical and convincing evi dences for the inspiration of the Word of God! C hapter T wo I s it important to realize the won derful Biblical evidences we have that verify the fact that all of Scrip ture is a wonderful unity, written by a number of men all under the di rection of the Holy Spirit. The one subject of redemption through Je sus Christ runs through the entire book. A verse very important for con sideration is II Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for in struction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, through ly furnished unto all good works.” Today’s young people come face-to- face with basic life decisions. School teachers may challenge them on a subject which would seek to under mine their Christian faith. Frequent ly students will ask me, “Can I ac cept the modern, materialistic phi losophy that explains the origins of life? Is the Bible, God’s explanation, sufficient?” The fact comes down to the point of either the whole Bible or none of it. Who is qualified to say that one verse is God’s Word while another is not? “All scripture is giv en by inspiration of God.” You see, all of the Bible is equally inspired. It’s the only reasonable position for one to accept. Neo-orthodoxy would have us believe that the Bible be comes the Word of God whenever it
Word to be false. God says in He brews 11:6 that without faith it is impossible to please Him. But the Lord hasn’t required that faith be unreasonable. He gives reasons whereby we may confidently trust the pages of Sacred Writ. The apostles were made eye wit nesses of the resurrection so that they might have all of the necessary evidence to believe the claims of the One about whom they were com manded to testify. Three of them had the privilege of seeing Christ trans figured into His glorified appearance. Yet Peter says, “We also have a more sure word of prophecy” (II Peter 1:19-21). We have between the covers of this wonderful Book suffi cient revelation of God for our hearts and lives. The favorite pastime of some pro fessors of higher learning seems to be the imparting of doubt as to the accuracy of inspiration. They delight in making sport of any young people who still believe the truth and hold to its standards. They say that in this scientific-enlightened day young people don’t need to believe these things. What terrible injustice and harm they do with their totally un real and erroneous views. Christians need not worry. There is a proper and accurate defense. To the honest questioner there is an abundance of evidence that the Word is exactly what it claims to be, the infallible Word of the living God. C hapter T hree O NE OP the wonderful ways to see the reality of the Bible’s inspiration is how it can be deter mined even from the standpoint of biographical evidences. God’s Word is inspired by the Holy Spirit and given to us for our salvation and spiritual maturity. How sad that we hear of people who consider many portions of the Old Testament, such as the Genesis record, as mythologi- 17
speaks God’s message to our hearts. That just doesn’t go far enough! Whether it speaks to us or not, the Bible still remains God's Word. To follow the liberal view, a hymn like “Amazing Grace,” or even one of Shakespeare’s plays could be just as inspired as the 23rd Psalm. It’s not only an erroneous view, it’s also a very dangerous one. We can’t trust our fallible judgment as the criteria for biblical inspiration and interpre tation. The eternal varities we have in this Book are literally “breathed by God.” We need it for the matur ing of the Christian man. If we don’t sense that God is speaking to us through some passage we should ask ourselves why. It may be that we need to search our hearts to see what sin has closed the channel of under standing for our growth in the faith. We needn’t judge the Word of God. We should let the Word of God judge us. All of the Word of God is equally authoritative. When God chose a na tion to bear His truth before the world, He told them how to recognize that message. He spoke to Moses face-to-face, to the accompaniment of thunder and lightnings. Israel recognized God’s presence. They were instructed how to recognize His prophets. If their sayings came true, they could be trusted. If their pre dictions didn’t come to pass, they were to be branded as false prophets. Deuteronomy 18:21-22 brings this singularly to our attention. There were those who attempted to confuse the people. God’s true spokesmen, whose words Israel carefully pre served, were increasingly vindicat ed, as their long-range prophecies were fulfilled. The fact of fulfilled prophecy is the one mark of authori ty God has placed upon His wonder ful Word. Our present knowledge has barely penetrated the fringes of God’s wis dom and His works. No man can sat isfactorily prove anything in the
Early in May Biola students and faculty enjoyed a weekof missionary conference. Much time was given to individual contact with missionaries. Students were able to enjoy first hand information on missionaryposibilitiesthroughouthe world. Mr. Dave Beckwith (left) was responsible for many of the conference details.
place demonstrated not to have exist ed before a much later date. These men also lived in real times. Look, for example, at Joshua 24:2-4 and 14, 15. Among the most fascinat ing 20th century archeological dis coveries has been the uncovering of buried documents which relate to these areas mentioned in this ac count. There are legal documents, business contracts and personal let ters telling us a great deal about how people lived in the northern part of Mesopotamia during the early centuries. In their normal social con tacts, the Old Testament patriarchs lived by the same set of manners and customs as did the other people of that same era. In those days the ma jority of people were polytheistic, worshipping many gods. Each city, however, was usually dedicated to one deity who was looked upon as the protector. The archeological find ings consistently bear out the bio graphical information we find in the Bible. As one example, the account of the sale of birthrights have been uncovered by scientists in recent days. In each account found in the Genesis record, we find overwhelm ing and convincing proof of the Bi ble’s inspiration and authenticity. C hapter F our T he B ible reveals itself to be the truth of God by the fact that it is absolutely unified in every degree. The Scripture cannot be broken. The divine subject of redemption through Jesus Christ is the overwhelming theme. All of the Bible is equally and absolutely inspired. Old Testa ment personalities such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, were real people, living in real places. There are no myths with which we have to reckon. This is one of the proofs of that fact. Every spade of dirt the arche ologists turn over literally verifies again these various biblical passages. In Matthew 22:31-32 we find the 19
cal. Evolution is one of the results of such downgrading of the truth. The leaders of God, spoken of in the Old Testament, were real people liv ing at a definite time in human his tory. They were men of faith de spite their failings. They serve as good examples for us. Only in our 20th century knowledge of the rich pre-Greek world history has been uncovered. Before that, people ac cepting the Bible as true history, did so by faith. Yet in the final an alysis, they were the best informed. It’s sad to realize that there are many who teach in seminaries across the land, who hold to the completely erroneous view that the Word of God isn’t really the fully inspired truth of the Lord. In Acts 7:2-9 there is an in te r e s tin g account about the reality of these biog raphies. This passage validates the veracity of these leaders and patri archs. These people lived in real sub stantial places. Stephen, the first Christian m a rty r of th e early Church, stood before the Jewish Sanhedrin to explain his activities as a believer. His defense was based on a recital of the history of Israel. His hearers would have been glad to trip him up on even the smallest point. Stephen based his claims for Christ on the reality of God's cove nant with the fathers of Israel. The Saviour, in answering the Saducees’ questions on the concept of immortality and the resurrection, clinched His reply with reference to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Matt. 22:32). If the book of Genesis is merely a human writing, penned as late as the 8th century before Christ, then the author or authors would have placed Abraham in towns that were known to him rather than men tioning places long since forgotten. Yet, consistently, we see these Old Testament patriarchs stopping at places known only by later archeo logical excavations. Never once are they described as having visited a
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