Exhortations Volume 1 Number 4

8/7/2019 Exhortations Volume 1 Number 4

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This article is transcribedfrom a presentation originallymade at an Apostolic Chris-tian Church Eastern Camp

meeting, held August, 1968. Itis available in pamphlet form

from the Apostolic ChristianPublishing Company.

Brother WernerLeimgruber

When we began our Campon Sunday morning, BrotherGeorge Freund held the serv-ice and spoke on the themeof our lesson, What Must IDo to Be Saved?. And he

fulfilled what I trust all of usappreciated: namely, a defi-nite need to redefine the truescriptural meaning of what itmeans to be saved. He men-tioned that this concept ofbeing saved, the concept ofsalvation, the concept espe-cially of repentance, had be-come a bit fuzzy and blurredin certain quarters, so that weneed to redefine it and get

back to the true and soundbasis of the Word of God.

This morning we wouldlike to present a sequel, as it

were, to that particularlesson

be redefining some other

concept which in the recentpast has, unfortunately, be-come rather blurred, seri-ously distorted, and danger-ously misrepresented.Brother Bob and I would like

The Newsletter of theApostolic Christian Publishing CompanyExhortationsExhortations

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. II Timothy 4:2

Volume 1 Number 4 Autumn, 1996

In This Issue+ True Unto the End Page 1

+ The Fallacy of Eternal Security Page 1

+ Doctrinal Deviations of Calvinism Page 9

+ Who Are the Wise? Page 13

+ The Life of Samuel Heinrich Frhlich

Page 14

We need...to get backto the trueand sound

basis of theWord of

God.

True Unto the EndThis excerpt, written by a brother in the former Yugoslavia,poignantly typifies the suffering of the Serbian brethren by describ-ing the case of one brother who was persecuted by the authorities

for his refusal to bear arms or swear to an oath.

This letter is taken from a work compiled by Brother K. Stubli from Pfffikon-Zrich, Switzerland, in 1928. Brother Stubl served with Brothers Eduard Geistlich and Henry Michel as a delegate on behalf of the brethren of our faith to the officia conference of the Alliance of the Societies for the League ofNations, in Brussels. There the matter of non-combatant alterna-tive military service was addressed with the Yugoslavian and

Romanian authorities.

The Fallacy ofEternal Security

Continued on page 2

April 14, 1928

Indeed, dear brother, it is hard to believe what an evil andlawless movement those in powerare directingagainst us at thepresent time, seemingly with thepurpose in view to exterminateus. But there are also some among them who declare that it

would be the greatest blessing for mankind, if all were like usNazarenes.

Werner Leimgruber, Robert W. Freund,

George Freund

Continued on page 4

Autumn, 1996 Exhorta


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Thy word is true...(Psalm 119:160).

Gods word is truth. How is it, then, that so many conflictinginterpretations of the Scripture exist? The adversary, whoknows all the errors associated with each truth, is busy sowingthem in the hearts of men, both believers and unbelievers. Theless we train ourselves with the armor of God, the more suscep-tible we are to his advances.

Those teachings that are obviously false generate only asmall following: Satan much prefers the subtle errors, with

which he can deceive many.

How can we separate spiritual truth from spiritual error?Here is a simple test that can be used to examine whether aparticular teaching is truth or error:

+ Does the doctrine flow from the Bible naturally? Is it incomplete harmony with the teaching of the entire Bible?

+ Does support of this doctrine require strained and awkwardinterpretations of the Scripture?

+ Is this doctrine in complete harmony with Gods evaluationand abhorrence of sin and His plan of redemption?

+ Does this doctrine encourage a closer walk with God ratherthan encourage yielding to temptation and a life of sin?

Our gracious God desires that we understand His word to us,personified in Jesus Christ and recorded in the Bible. It is ours,

then, to take in, to partake of heartily, daily.Such a habit will help us become better prepared to meet the

Master at the end of this life. There will be more spiritual fruit.That is what we are striving for, after all.

Exhortationsi s t h e n e w s l e t t e r o f t h e A p o s t o l i c C h r i s t i a n P u b - l i s h i n g C o m p a n y , S y r a c u s e , N e w Y o r k . I t s p u r p o s e i s t o d e c l a r e

a n d p r o m o t e t h e o r i g i n a l d o c t r i n a l s t a n d p o i n t s a n d p r a c t i c e s o f

t h e A p o s t o l i c C h r i s t i a n C h u r c h t h r o u g h t h e p u b l i c a t i o n o f r e l e -

v a n t a r t i c l e s , b o t h h i s t o r i c a l a n d c o n t e m p o r a r y .

C o r r e s p o n d e n c e r e g a r d i n g t h i s n e w s l e t t e r a n d o t h e r p u b l i c a -

t i o n s i d e n t i f i e d h e r e i n m a y b e a d d r e s s e d t o : A p o s t o l i c C h r i s t i a n

P u b l i s h i n g C o m p a n y , P . O . B o x 4 1 6 , S y r a c u s e , N e w Y o r k 1 3 2 1 5 -

0 4 1 6 . E m a i l m a y b e s e n t t o : e x h o r t @ a c p u b . o r g . V i s i t o u r W o r l d

W i d e W e b s i t e o n t h e I n t e r n e t a t h t t p : / / w w w . a c p u b . o r g

G r e g o r y D . K u f c h a k E d i t o r

G a i u s W . L a u b l i A s s o c i a t e E d i t o r

D a v i d M . F r e u n d B u s i n e s s M a n a g e r

The Newsletter of theApostolic Christian Publishing CompanyExhortationsExhortations A captain, an assistant judge in the court martial, who hadnoknowledge ofthe Nazarenes until hemet themin court,oncesaid to me, The Nazarenes deserve rather to be rewarded than

persecuted. For this very reason he selected a Nazarene prisoner to be his orderly (personal assistant). When General

______ organized the persecution, this orderly was taken atonce to the prison in ______.

This captain, and a major as well, expressed their desire tohave me accompany them in visiting the prisoners, their formeservants. I was glad and ready to go along.

The military judges, especially, for the most part speak in thehighest terms about the Nazarenes. But they are often com-pelled to sentence them contrary to their own convictionbecause they are ordered to do so.

During the visit referred to above, the warden of the prisonreceived us with greatest kindness. When the two officers leftthey begged him to treat the Nazarenes with kindly considera-tion. The eyes of the captain were full of tears.

Last Friday we buried a soldier who was our brother. Thepoor man had once before served a prison term of 4 years forefusing to take up arms and to take the oath. But, in order tomake continuous persecution possible, he had been pardoned, and he was again ordered to report for military dutyto his company in ______.

Again he was told to take up arms and to take the oath; butas he could not act against his conviction, he was sent to prisonagain. The place of confinement was very wet. The dampnessand the cold were so severe the prison not being heated

that he had to suffer a great deal during the winter.About 10 days ago he was sent to the military court in ______

But in the evening, preceding the day when he was to bearraigned before court, he suffered a stroke of apoplexy. Hispoor mother and his young wife were informed by telegraphThey left at once for this city. They arrived by train after a triplasting 24 hours. He was no longer able to recognize themalthough he opened his eyes quite often; but he could not uttera word.

For a week he lived on in this condition, just as if he wereasleep, and in this way he passed from this life. An autopsy wasperformed. One of our brothers had a chance to see his dis-

sected body. Itwas terrible tolookat. The brainwasfullof blackblood, the kidneys were black. It cannot be said that he wasbeaten; but, taken at its best, it may have been due to the coldand exposure suffered. It was a sad and a terrible scene.

He had been a healthy, very handsome, and strong man. Hispoor wife had unknowingly suspected his sufferings and had

written to him that he should sign the document which dealswith taking an oath and taking up arms, andwhich also containa clause stating that he felt sorry for having been misled.

True Unto the End

Continued from Page 1

Continued on page 3

2 Exhortations Autu
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In his answer to his wifehe wrote that this could not be done:It is not enough to have made a good beginning and reachedthe middle, but it is necessary to also be true unto the end.

When you were here, you became acquainted with our

brother, the Serbian soldier so highly respected and trusted bythe major, who is a judge in the military court. This soldier waslately pardoned. The other day he was sentenced anew toseveral years in prison. He is a loving, faithful brother whoserved a number of years together with the late brother in theprison in ______. He has given us the best proof of the finecharacter of our late brother. He wept like a child over him.

One of our brothers, acting on the request of the latebrothers mother, begged the official in charge of the hospitalto postpone the funeral until her brother-in-law could arrive,but he was given such a ferocious answer: These poisonedminds ought to be exterminated. Our brother died earlyThursday morning. His mother wanted to have her only son

buried on Saturday. Her wish was refused with contempt.

We never before have had a case of death among the soldiersof our faith here in ______, and this hard-hearted and contemp-tuous conduct on the part of the hospital management hasgrieved us very much.

When I heard of this terrible blow and of the dangerousillness of our Brother ______, I telegraphed at once to the ElderBrother ______ to hold himself in readiness to come to us, atmy calling, in case of death. Our brother died the 6 J D day and Iinvited Brother ______ to come to the funeral. We waited in

vain for his arrival. We went out to the railroad station to meetevery train. He did not come. [Possibly the extraordinary emer-

gency caused by this conflict with the government made itimpossible for anyone to come. Translators.]I was all alone withour young Brother ______ and with two sisters. Oh, it was hardfor us to be alone!

Our poor imprisoned brothers are treated by the militaryjudges as kindly as circumstances permit. They are at liberty tocome into the city and to attend our meetings. They came tothe funeral service in the chapel in spite of the verbal order ofthe commandant forbidding them to do so. Oh, they could seeour great distress and they came to say a last farewell to theirbeloved comrade.

By this time the general had probably heard something aboutthe harshness of the hospital director and he set the time forthefuneral at 4:30 instead of 3:00. Then10 soldiers commandedby an officer arrived to act as a guard of honor.

We sang a few hymns in the chapel. The soldiers (the militaryprisoners) were good singers. It was a quiet song, much like amystical anthem, but very sweet and touching. A few strangers,civilians, came in and joined us in the chapel. Some of themcould not restrain their tears.

When the singing was over, our brothers, the military prison-ers, had to go away. Then the body was placed in the military

True Unto the End


hearse and taken to the cemetery. The grave marker, with across upon it, carried at the head of the funeral procession, hadthe following inscription on it: Military Prisoner ________.

Though no clergyman officiated, wherever the funeral procession encountered any officers, even those of highest rankstopped and saluted, standing at attention in honor of the deadsoldier. Only a few of our brothers went to the cemetery. There

we read a few verses, then we sang and prayed. The officerremained with us to the very end. He was very friendly, and

when he left he shook hands with us.

We were very sad and depressed, but everything had gonemuch better than we had anticipated in the beginning. Thesinging of the few of us was also very beautiful. Let us praiseGod for this!

I am alone and lonely here in ______. I have no opportunityto actually see the atrocities which our brothers in the faith haveto endure, butit was dreadful to treat this brother of ours, whom

we buried here, with so much cruelty and he was the only sonof a loving, tender mother!

In return for the many beneficial services which the Naz-

arenes render the Serbian people, they are now persecuted tothe verge of extermination and they are being tortured underthe pretense of the law of self-preservation: If we do noexterminate them, the Romans or the Italians will come andtake our country and our people.

It is sad, very sad, but it is true: just as Austria exterminatedand persecuted the Serbian people, old men and children, inthe beginning of the war, so is Yugoslavia now treating theNazarenes. The men of military age are being destroyed andtheir poor families are reduced to misery and great distress...

Yours, united in love,

(Signature) +

This letter supplies a very personal glimpse into the extent of suffering the Serbian brethren had to endure because of theirdetermination and faith in holding fast the faithful word, adhering to the doctrinal teaching of not bearing arms or swearing to an

oath.

A companion article in the next issue of Exhortations,HoldFast Without Wavering, will provide a doctrinal overview of theScriptural prohibitionagainst bearingarms or swearing to an oath

and describe the historical circumstances which formed the back-drop to the tragic experiences in this letter.

O faithful be! Who here in every trialWill show his worth his praise meets no denial;Were there no test, the strong could not be known,Nor weak, nor faithful,Nor those faithless grown.

Zions Harp, Hymn 172

Autumn, 1996 Exhortat


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to speak about this becausewe labored together in cer-tain areas with some of theseproblems. We were rathershocked, to say the least, thatsome brothers representsome ideas about eternal se-curity Once Saved, Al-

ways Saved which arecompletely in contradictionto the Word of God.

Frankly, I previously neverpaid too much attention tosuch doctrine, because Ithought its error was so self-evident, based on the Word

of God. However, since thisthought has recently beenspread about by some, I

wrote to Brother ______ andsuggested that the error ofthis doctrine be exposed inthe light of the Word at oneof our forums.

Lets take a page out of theexperience of the medicalprofession. When a certaindisease is going about, thepeople are injected with abooster against infection. I

would like to give you, as abooster, Bible passages thatcontradict and show the fal-lacy, the grave error, in theteaching of Once Saved, Al-

ways Saved.

We are not going to spenda lot of time explaining howthis is being presented. Weare not even too interested inexploring all the various as-

pects of wrong teaching. Weare interested in knowing thetruth! It is the truth thatmakes us free.

For instance, we were toldthat once you are saved, youcan never be lost; or, if youare lost after you had oncebeen saved, you never weresaved properly in the firstplace! These aregrave distor-

tions that we wish to setstraight.

I would like to proceed ingiving you Bible passages forfuture references. I am start-

ing out with St. John 15:1-7.This is one passage we spe-cifically used in our discus-sions with a particularbrother.

+ I am the true vine, and myFather is the husbandman.Every branch in me thatbeareth not fruit he takethaway: and every branchthat beareth fruit, he pur-geth it, that it may bringforth more fruit. Now yeare clean through the word

which I have spoken untoyou. Abide in me, and I inyou. As the branch cannotbear fruit of itself, except itabide in the vine; no morecan ye, except ye abide inme. I am the vine, ye arethe branches: He thatabideth inme, and I inhim,the same bringeth forth

much fruit: for without meye can do nothing. If a manabide not in me, he is castforth as a branch, and is

withered; and men gatherthem, and cast them intothe fire, and they areburned. If ye abide in me,and my words abide in you,

ye shall ask what ye will,and it shall be done unto

you.

I would like to point out acouple of things. First of all,note the original position ofthe branches that are cast outand thrown into the fire.Christsaid verydistinctly thatthese were branches uponthe vine. Now, the vine is the

whole thing, the whole plant,

Christ; the branches, an inte-gral part of the vine, just likethe members are an integralpart of the body. So what wehave here is truly repented

individuals, because they arepart of the vine. Lets not saythat we are talking here ofsuch who had not repentedproperly!

Now, Every branch in methat beareth not fruit hetaketh away. I mentionedthis to that brother, but hemade a flimsy statement. Hesaid, Man threw them intothe fire. How shallow can

you be, almost to the point ofdishonesty! Lets speak inplain language. The Lord hasalways used men as servants,both to preach the truth andalso to minister discipline.Who took the branches offthe vine? The Husbandman,God Himself. Its very plain.They withered. And afterthey were doomed in the firstplace, men were ordered as a

matter of discipline withinthe body of Christ: Casthem into the fire. But it is

very plain that it was not menthat did it at will. Here werebranches upon the vine properly implanted at first, nobringing forth fruits; andthen the Husbandman cu

them off and cast them out.Where is the basis for the

argumentthatthosewhomayperish, or get lost becausethey drift away through lackof fervor and spiritual life

were never part of the bodyof Christ in the first place?There follows a definite ex-hortation on the part oChrist. It says, Abide in meand I in you, because if youdont abide, there is doom.

Let us proceed to Matthew25:1-13:

+ Then shall the kingdom oheaven be likened unto ten

virgins, which took theilamps, and went forth tomeet the bridegroom. Andfive of them were wise, andfive were foolish. They tha

were foolish took thelamps, and took no oil withthem: But the wise took oiin their vessels with theirlamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they alslumbered and slept. Andat midnight there was a crymade, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go yeout tomeet him. Then all those

virgins arose, and trimmedtheir lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Giveusofyouroil;forourlampsare gone out. But the wise

answered, saying, Not solesttherebenotenoughforusandyou:butgoyeratherto them that sell, and buyfor yourselves. And whilethey went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they tha

were ready went in withhim to the marriage: and


These aregrave

distortionsthat we

wish to setstraight.

The Fallacy of EternalSecurity

Where isthe basis for

theargument

that those...were neverpart of the

body ofChrist in thefirst place?

Continued on page 5

4 Exhortations Autu


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the door was shut. After-ward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord,Lord, open to us. But heanswered and said, Ver-ily I say unto you, I know

you not. Watch there-fore, for ye know neitherthe day nor the hour

wherein the Son of mancometh.

Ten virgins, pure, all equalat one time, all showed thesymbol of a heart containingthe Spirit. The big differenceat the end was that some

lacked the Spirit while othershad it. Those that had theSpirit were accepted, for they

were clearly identified andalert when the call of Christcame, calling them to eternallife. It does not even say (butit is always important to me)that the other virgins weresteeped in moral filth: five

virgins, still outwardly mor-ally clean and notbesmudged, but lacking in

Spirit and no longer accept-able unto Christ I know

you not. Watch therefore.In other words, remain alert,sound, and sober in theSpirit!

The next passage is Mat-thew 25:24-30. Ill just readthe thirtieth verse because Ithink all of us are familiar

with this particular parable ofthe talents. This thirtieth

verse refers to the servantthat brought backthe one tal-ent, and even accused theLord of being an austeremaster. Listen to Christs ver-dict: And cast ye the unprof-itable servant into outerdarkness: there shall be

weeping and gnashing ofteeth.

Clearly the three servants

had received varying degreesof talent. They were clearlyidentified in association withthe Master, clearly consciousof what they were supposedto do. Two of them did it, thethird did not. He merely pre-

served the talent. Verdict: Itwas not just a matter of get-ting by; it was a matter ofcondemnation. So how can

we say, Once Saved, AlwaysSaved? It is almost shock-

ing, yet its the Lords truthwhen He says, Cast ye theunprofitable servant intoouter darkness: there shall be

weeping and gnashing ofteeth.

Brother RobertW. Freund

One of the things that always goes along with this

feeling of Once Saved, Al-ways Saved is the fact thatthe person whoproposes it to

you will say, Well, dont youbelieve in the promises ofGod? Absolutely we do in all of them. The thing thatis so discouraging about it allis that in most cases, and Irepeat, in most cases wherepeople believe that you can-not fall once you have been

converted, comes also a li-cense to live as you please, todo as you please, and to rest

well on the fact that the graceof God is great enough tocover all of that. The Chris-tian church that believes this,the Christian church so-called, loses its witness in the

world.Certainly, we believe in the

promises of God: but we talkabout people making a cove-nant with God, and a cove-nant is always made by twoparties, not one. And God,being one party in the cove-nant that we make, is abso-lutely true to His Word! Are

we willing to remain true toour part of the bargain?

This is not just a problemthat faces us today. Id like toread for you a couple of para-graphs now, one in particu-lar, out of a letter that wasdated January 25, 1842, writ-ten when the church, as weunderstand it, was in its in-fancy. There was a spirit justlike this raising havoc in thatchurch also, and BrotherFrhlich had to write thesechurches a letter that he said

pained him very much to write, but he said thesewords: If anyone were savedalone by the promises ofGod, as they say, then it

would be impossible for one who was once entered intothe covenant of Christ toeverfall away or be lost; but Godspromises do not lie, and it iseven possible of those who

were joined in the covenantto miss salvation.

I dont want to read it, butI suggest you read about halfof the tenth chapter ofI Corinthians. It speaksabout the forefathers of Is-rael, how all passed throughthe sea, and all ate of thesame manna, but with someof them God was not wellpleased, and they were de-stroyed in the wilderness.

Gods covenant of grace isnot just a one-sided, but amutual, one; and, as God isgenuinely true in His promise, thus must those whohavereceived grace be true: andthey are again like Adam wasbefore the fall, who could jusas well have been steadfast a

he was not so.Now, these souls that are

touched by the Word acampfire are touched by theSpirit of God. However, I

want to make them aware ofa spiritual underworld whichis out to give them a real bat-tle. The spirit of evil that haskept them shackled until nowisnt going to give up easilyYet they have this assurancegreater is the Spirit of Him

who called them than thspirit that is in the world.

Id like to read two versesout of St. Luke 11, verses 24and 26: When the uncleanspirit is gone out ofa man, he

walketh through dry placesseeking rest; and findingnone, he saith, I will returnunto my house whence Icame out. An establishedfact is that this evil spirit hasbeen uprooted and thrownout of somebodys heartThose of us that are here wilagree that it can happen only

to somebody whose life hasbeen changed by the Almighty God. Some of us triedto clean out our own heartand couldnt. And I mighsay, dont waste your time trying it, my friend you canteither. And it goes on to sayThen goeth he, and takethto him seven other spirits



Wherepeople

believe thatyou cannotfall... comes

also alicense to

live as youplease

Godspromises do

not lie...

Continued on page 6



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more wicked than himself;and they enter in, and dwellthere: and the last state ofthat man is worse than thefirst. This says very plainlythat there rests that possibil-ity that, after a heart is oncecleaned, it can not only goback to its former state, butgo back to its former state

with interest.Some of us havehad the experience of know-ing some of these unfortu-nate people.

Another tenet with thosepromoting eternal security,

or Once Saved, AlwaysSaved, is that Paul was justa man and they dont like

you to go into the Paulineepistles. Im willing to admit

that Paul was a man, but Paul

was a converted man. Thethings that the Spirit retainedin the Bible, the Bible says,

were given by inspiration ofGod, and is profitable fordoctrine, for reproof, for cor-rection, for instruction inrighteousness. (II Timothy3:16). I become very sorry forthose who want to say, Tellme only what Jesus said

about it, but I will. Ill tell you what Jesus said aboutthis very important thing. Hesaid that, Many false proph-ets shall rise, and shall de-ceive many. And becauseiniquity shall abound, thelove of many shall wax cold.Notice what Jesus said:But, Brother AlbertKagi in Syracuse often pointsout the ifs and buts in theScripture it says, But hethat shall endure unto the

end, the same shall be saved.(Matthew 24:11-13).

I want to go back to thisletter, if I may, for a moment.

When I readthis,I readit outloud to my wife when I hadcome back very discouragedfrom a trip not long ago. Isaid, You know, I almostthink that this brother wasfollowing me around and

wrote the things that heheard that come to BrotherLeimgrubers and my ears.Notice, he writes again, Janu-ary 25, 1842, For a lofty andhaughty spirit has gone forth

which makes a sport of theholy name of brother, thechurch, baptism and com-munion, and the Word ofGod; and with an arrogantand haughty speech, has al-ready deceived many and re-moved them from compo-sure and the simplicity ofChrist,onlyafterheforalongtime went around in andabout the sheepfold like a

wolf. And his true nature and

design of tearing them asun-der,he wellknew how tocon-ceal under sheeps clothing.Yet, from time to time on oc-casion, it ever showed moreplainly until finally, help-lessly, it broke forth as a rootof bitterness which defiledmany.

We look oftentimes outinto the world for the false

prophets. Lets recognizethose who might be amongus. Jesus said again in St.Mark 13:13, And ye shall behated of all men for mynames sake: but he that shall

endure unto the end, thesame shall be saved.

Then theres another thingthat always arises when youtalk with somebody who be-lieves in eternal security. You

point to them and say, Howabout some of those whohave been converted, and

who you will admit have beenconverted, but are not livingexemplary lives of the mindof Christ? And they will say,These are those who arecarnal Christians. These arethose who have allowed thecarnality that troubles all ofus somewhat (and make nomistake about it: it knocks on

everybodys door, mine too)to overcome them again. Thedisciples of this doctrine say,Dontworryaboutthem,be-cause before the Lord comesagain, He is going to reinstatethem. This is completely

without support in the HolyScriptures.

I would like to read some-thing here that is not on our

list, but came to my attentionthis morning. Just a few

verses out of Romans 8verses6,7,and12through14Notice, he was talking to thebrethren:

+ For to be carnally mindedis death; but to be spiritually minded is life and

peace. Because the carnamind is enmity againstGod: for it is not subject tothe law of God, neither indeed can be. Thereforebrethren, we are debtorsnot to the flesh, to live afterthe flesh. For if ye live afterthe flesh, ye shall die: but i

ye through the Spirit domortify the deeds of thebody, ye shall live. For asmany as are led by the

Spirit of God, they are thesons of God.

The fact is, if there arethose who have embracedcarnality again, there is nothing in the Word whatsoeverin any place, that talks aboua reinstatement in the elev-enth hour. The Apostle Pautalks about another spirituadeath after they have followed the leading of the flesh

instead of the leading of theSpirit.

In St. Matthew 5:13, ourLord says, Ye are the salt ofthe earth: but if the salt havelost his savour, wherewithshall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but tobe cast out, andto be troddenunder foot of men.

We have read quite a bitprimarily outof the sayings o

Christ our Master. Lets con-tinue and see what the apostles say about it. Let us turnto Hebrews 6:4-6. Very plainlanguage: For it is impossible for those who were onceenlightened, and have tastedof the heavenly gift, and weremade partakers of the Holy



Continued on page 7

For a loftyand

haughtyspirit has

gone forthwhich

makes asport of theholy nameof brother

We look

oftentimesout into theworld forthe falseprophets.

Letsrecognize

those whomight beamong us.

6 Exhortations Autumn, 1996


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Ghost, And have tasted thegood word of God, and thepowers of the world to come,If they shall fall away, Mind you, the start was good;they were clearly identifiedas redeemed ones, as such

who were reborn by the waterand the Spirit to renewthem again unto repentance;seeing they crucify to them-selves the Son of God afresh,and put him to an openshame.

I should like to use a pas-sage which I think is used

sometimes by those who pro-fess that once you have beenbaptized and become a mem-ber of the body of Christ, youcan still be saved eternallyeven though you drift away.This is the passage that Ithink is misrepresented bythose who use it, I Corin-thians 3:12-15: Now if anyman build upon this founda-tion Note, they are stillbuilding upon the founda-

tion, basically not changingthe foundation gold, sil-

ver, precious stones, wood,hay, stubble; Every mans

work shall be made manifest:for the day shall declare it,because it shall be revealedby fire; and the fire shall tryevery mansworkof what sortit is. If any mans work abide

which he hath built there-upon, namely, on thefoundation he shall re-

ceive a reward. If any manswork shall be burned, he shallsuffer loss: but he himselfshall be saved; yet so as byfire.

It doesnt talk about achange of foundation, or ofthe precepts, basically, of theWord of God. It talks aboutthe erroneous type of build-ing, motivated maybe by self-

ishness, maybe by pride, or ina way that the Apostle Paulmentions in I Corinthians: if

we give all things away to thepoor and lack love, it meansnothing. Building in that wayis not motivated by, and iden-tified with, the true spirit ofthe Gospel, the true Spirit ofChrist. We will not have a re-

ward for it, but we may justgetbybythebareskinofourteeth. But it doesnt say this

about those who destroy theFoundation or drift awaycarelessly, carnally counter-act and violate the Gospel ofChrist.

Not only did the ApostlePaul believe it was possiblefor someone who was onceenlightened to fall away, buthe said this concerning him-self in I Corinthians 9:27:But I keep under my body,and bring it into subjection:

lest that by any means, whenI have preached to others, Imyself should be a castaway.Can you imagine that? Andthen he mentioned some byname who indeed did fallaway. Those who not onlyembraced the Gospel, but la-bored with him in it.

He writes to his belovedson, Timothy, in I Timothy

1:18-20: This charge I com-mit unto thee, son Timothy,according to the prophecies

which went before on thee,that thou by them mightest

war a good warfare; Holdingfaith, and a good conscience;

which some having put awayconcerning faith have made

shipwreck: Why, if itdoesnt matter how we fight,or how the victory comes? Inanother place he says, con-tend for it: it doesnt comenaturally; it doesnt comeeasily. It isnt up your sleeveto be dropped out and tuckedback in at your pleasure.Contend for it Holdingfaith, and a good conscience;

which some having put awayconcerning faith have madeshipwreck: Of whom isHymenaeus and Alexander;

whom I have delivered untoSatan, that they may learnnot to blaspheme.

I would like to read an-other Scripture to counteractthat those who fall away werenever converted. This prob-ably is the greatest back talkthat we get. One, BrotherWerner already has men-

tioned, in Hebrews. Certainlyit was a very good one, cer-tainly describing a totally re-generated person. Here isone in II Peter 2:20-22: Forif after they have escaped thepollutions of the worldthrough the knowledge of theLord and Saviour JesusChrist, they are again entan-gled therein, and noticethe two words and over-

come, the latter end is worse

with them than the begin-ning. Notice how similarlythat rings true to what Jesussaid about the evil spirits thatcame out of a heart and thengo back in: The latter end is

worse with them than the be-ginning. For it had been bet-ter for them not to haveknown the way of righteous-ness, than, after they haveknown it, to turn from the

holy commandment delivered unto them. Why wouldit have been better? Becauseof the Scripture that BrotherWerner mentioned: theyhave trodden underfoot theSon of Man whom once theyembraced for their salvationBut it is happened unto

them according to the trueproverb, The dog is turned tohis own vomit again; and thesow that was washed to her

wallowing in the mire.

For all ofus comes thisveryimportant admonition inI Corinthians 10. Im going toread only one verse, and I

want you to read at leastwelve verses when you havethe opportunity. Whereforelet him that thinketh he stan

deth take heed lest he fall.(I Corinthians 10:12).

In Ephesians 5:1-5, the Apostle Paul writes: Be yetherefore followers of Godas dear children; now hetalks about children, or tochildren, hence he is talkingto believers And walk inlove, as Christ also hath lovedus, and hath givenhimself forus an offering and a sacrifice

to God for a sweetsmellingsavour. But fornication, andall uncleanness, or covetousness, let itnot be oncenamedamong you, as becomethsaints; Neither filthiness, norfoolish talking, nor jesting

which are notconvenient: burather giving of thanks. Forthis ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean personnor covetous man, who is anidolater, hath any inheri

tance in the kingdom oChrist and of God.

We know ofsomethathavereached that stage, unfortunately, after they had oncebeen cleansed by the blood oChrist, and it says here theyhave no inheritance in thekingdom of Christ and o



Continued on page 8

Holdingfaith, and a

goodconscience

Why, if itdoesnt

matter howwe fight?



8/16

God. For ye were some-times darkness, but now are

ye light in the Lord: walk aschildren of light. (Ephesians5:8).

And we have another one,in Revelation 2:10. And I

would like to ask you, why doyou think that John was com-missioned to write letters of

warnings to all sevenchurches, to those who wereredeemed, if Once Saved,

Always Saved really had anybasis at all? Just read Revela-tion2:10:Fearnoneofthose

things which thou shalt suf-fer: behold, the devil shallcast some of you into prison,that ye may be tried; and yeshall have tribulation tendays: be thou faithful untodeath, and I will give thee acrown of life. The provision,the reservation, is to be faith-ful unto death. Revelation3:5: He that overcometh,the same shall be clothed in

white raiment; and I will not

blot out his name out of thebook of life, but I will confesshis name before my Father,and before his angels.

I think weve had enoughconvincing Scriptures; andbelieve me, these are only afew of those that do exist.Brother Werner, Im sure,and I also have tried to pickout only those Scriptures

which most pointedly de-scribe the fact that it is possi-ble, once having been en-lightened, once having beenconverted, once having beenreborn, to have a spiritualde-struction and eternal death.

And I think we ought to askourselves, How do we get tothat extreme? It doesnthappen overnight. That one

who falls in adultery doesntdo it at the snap of a finger.

That one who ends up deny-ingthe faith because hisintel-lect has told him that thethings the Bible describes arebeyond being reasonabledoesnt become falsely in-doctrinated without theSpirits warning. No matter

where I go, I hear too manysay to me, Did God reallymean this? Was God reallyemphatically describing thatthis is the way we ought tolive, or this is the way weought to look, or these arethe places to which we oughtto go, or ought not go?

Notice, beloved, in the

Scripture that Ill read to younow, it talks about thechurches in Revelation. I just

want to read to you twoverses from the third chapterof Revelation, 16 and 21. No-tice, here was the church ofLaodicea that the Lord saidhe would spew out of Hismouth. Do you know wheretheir failure was? So thenbecause thou art luke-

warm, Notice be-

cause thou art lukewarm, andneither cold nor hot, I willspue thee out of my mouth.

All of these gross sins thatfinally overcome some, anddo overcome some, beginfirst by a lukewarmness, aquestioning of the past prac-tices: Have we made an is-sue out of something, or wasthis something that was goodonly Pauls generation? Wesay weve come beyond that

now, were the enlightenedgeneration, the new breed, ifyou will.

This book, the Bible, is thesame for every generation.From the admonitions andchastisements to the prom-ises and blessings, it has thesame words, the same doc-trines, the same modes of liv-ing for every generation. It

doesnt change as we getwiser. I think I know whythe Lord said, when I comeagain, will I find faith? Itseems the wiser we get, theharder the problem is to sim-ply believe those things thatare written in the Scripturefor us to keep.

Notice again the verse inRevelation 3:21: To him thatovercometh will I grant to sit

with me in my throne,evenasI also overcame, and am setdown with my Father in histhrone. Now, beloved,someone will say to me,

Whydoyouaskpeopletobeconverted, if youre trying todisplay or promote such anunsure thing? Its not un-

sure at all. The fact is, its thesurest thing. Paul was able tosay, in Romans 8:38-39, ForI am persuaded, that neitherdeath, nor life, nor angels,nor principalities, nor pow-ers, nor things present, northings to come, Nor height,nor depth, nor any othercreature, shall be able toseparate us from the love ofGod, which is in Christ Jesusour Lord. This is the same

Paul who said, lest I shouldbe a castaway. (I Corin-thians 9:27).

What enabled him to say,I am persuaded, beloved?Because he was abiding inChrist, and because those

who continually abide inChrist are eternally secure.No question about it. No onecan pluck us out of the hands

ofGodaslongaswekeepourhands in His. However, thereis thedistinct possibility giventhat we can walk out of it atour own volition, and be absolutely, totally, and foreverlost.

Brother George

Freund

I have only two verses ofScripture that I would like tomention in conclusionBrother Werner Leimgruberhas just given me two other

verses in the fourth chaptein I Timothy. The apostasy inthe church is foretold withthese words: Now the Spiritspeaketh expressly, that inthe latter times some shal

depart from the faith, givingheed to seducing spirits, anddoctrines of devils; Speakinglies in hypocrisy; having theirconscience seared with a hoiron. (I Timothy 4:1-2).

We thank the Lord for theWord we had this morningand I know that some of yousitting back there supportingthe Word that was read are

saying to yourselves, Weland good. What are you going to do about it? Brothersand sisters, I want to ask youa question:What areyou going to do about it? If youregoing to be obedient to theWord of God, this is what youand I are going todo about itthe Bible says, Now I beseech you, brethren, Ibeg you, brothers markthem which cause division

and offences contrary to thedoctrine which ye havelearned; and avoid them. Forthey that are such serve notour Lord Jesus Christ, butheir own belly; and by good

words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. (Romans 16:17-18). +



Those whocontinually

abide inChrist areeternallysecure.



9/16

The Challenge to

the ChurchIt seems that every genera-

tion must come to grips on apersonal level with the doc-trinal truths which form thebasis of our faith. It is notsufficient to simply be awareof what our fathers believed,

without understanding thescriptural reasons why theybelieved what they did, andexpect to experience the

same precious fellowshipwith God resulting from a lifefully hid with Christ in God(Colossians 3:3). Our faithmust withstand the chal-lenges brought by teachings

which present only a partialor misunderstood view of allthe counsel of God (Acts20:27). To do so we must takethe time to honestly searchGods word and be preparedto follow through in our own

lives on the conviction of theSpirit that may result.

One of the current chal-lenges facing our churches isthe teaching of Calvinism.This essay is an attempt todefine what Calvinism is, and

why we should be concernedabout its teachings. Most ofour brotherhood probablydoes not formally subscribe

to being Calvinist. How-ever, we commonly hearstatements madeby believers

which are similar.

John Calvin was a six-teenth-century leader of theProtestant Reformation.Five basic tenants of his fol-lowers can be summed up bythe acronym TULIP as fol-lows:

Total depravity of manUnconditional electionLimited AtonementIrresistible gracePerseverance of the Saints

Total Depravityof Man

The teaching of the TotalDepravity of Man states thatmankind is totally evil. Manis incapable of doing any-thing good to the point thatman is even unable to chooseto serve God. Only throughGods sovereign choice, thecriteria for which we have nopossibility of un-

derstanding, canany individual besaved.

When we exam-ine the scripturesthere is obvioussupport for part of

what is taught. Weread in Romans3:10-12: (whichquotes from Psalm14:1-3) As it is

written, There isnone righteous, no, not one:There is none that under-standeth, there is none thatseeketh after God. They areall gone out of the way, theyare together become unprof-itable; there is none thatdoeth good, no, not one.

Ephesians 2:8-9 clearlyshows that works do not pro-

duce salvation (but salvationdoes produce works, cf.James 2:18): For by graceare ye saved through faith;and that not of yourselves: it

is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man shouldboast.

Romans 8:7-8 also con-firms that the flesh cannotplease God: Because thecarnal mind is enmity againstGod: for it is not subject tothe law of God, neither in-deed can be. So then theythat are in the flesh cannotplease God.

If the Calvinist claim werelimited to the deeds of theflesh are totally depraved

we could support it 100%;however, Calvinists also usethe following verses to implythat we are unable to chooseother than what God haspre-determined. John 15:16 says,Ye have not chosen me, butI have chosen you, and or-dained you, that ye should go

and bring forth fruit, andthatyour fruit should remain: thatwhatsoeverye shall ask of theFather in my name, he maygive it you. John 6:44 says,No man can come to me,except the Father which hathsent me draw him: and I willraise him up at the last day.

There is no question that

God is sovereign, and, with-out the mercy ofGod, noonecould come to Him. However, we see that God, in Hismercy, draws all unto Him

self through Christ, according to John 12:32: And I, if Ibe lifted up from the earth

will draw all men unto me.The paradox is that God ensures that Hischoicedoes noin any way interfere with ourability to also choose. He eloquently repeats His pleas formankind to choose to serveHim throughout the scriptures:

I call heaven and earth torecord this day against youthat I have set before you lifeand death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose lifethat both thou and thy seedmay live. (Deuteronomy30:19).

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORDchoose you this day whom ye

will serve; whether the god which your fathers servethat were on the other side othe flood, or the gods of the

Amorites, in whose land yedwell: but as for me and myhouse, we will serve theLORD. (Joshua 24:15).

Ho, every one that thir-steth, come ye to the watersand he that hath no moneycome ye, buy, and eat; yeacome, buy wine and milk

without money and withou

price. Wherefore do ye spendmoney for that which is nobread? and your labour forthat which satisfieth not?hearken diligently unto meand eat ye that which is goodand let your soul delight itselin fatness. Incline your earand come unto me: hear, and

Doctrinal Deviations of CalvinismKirk Huber

Mark Igic

This article, written byBrother Kirk Huber with assis-

tance from Brother Mark Igic,defines the basic tenets of Cal- vinism, and identifies howthose teachings deviate fromthe principles of the Word ofGod. Brother Kirk is an assis-tant elder in the Coarsegold,California, congregation.

Brother Mark is a minister inthe San Diego, California,

congregation.

There is noquestion that Godis sovereign, and,

without the mercyof God, no onecould come to

Him.

Continued on page 10



10/16

your soul shall live; and I willmake an everlasting cove-nant with you, even the suremercies of David. (Isaiah55:1-3).

And the Spirit and thebride say, Come. And let himthat heareth say, Come. Andlet him that is athirst come.

And whoso-ever will, lethim take the

water of lifef r e e l y . (Revelation22:17).

God wouldnot plead sopassionately for us to make achoice we are unable tomake. Rather, the indict-ment upon the unrighteous isthe fact that, after God hasenabled them to choose life,they have chosen darkness(John 3:16-18): For God soloved the world, that he gavehis only begotten Son, that

whosoever believeth in him

should not perish, but haveeverlasting life. For God sentnot his Son into the world tocondemn the world; but thatthe world through him mightbe saved. He that believethonhim isnot condemned: buthe that believeth not is con-demned already, because hehath not believedin the nameof the only begotten Son ofGod.

A more extreme extensionofthisteachingstatesthattheonly significant differencebetween the saved and theunsaved is that the believersare forgiven (Christiansarent perfect, just for-given). However, considerthe verse (v 9) immediatelyfollowing the passage in Ro-mans 8 mentioned above:

But ye are not in the flesh,but in the Spirit, if so be thatthe Spirit of God dwell in

you. Now ifany man havenotthe Spirit ofChrist, he isnone

of his.

Romans 6 alsohas much tosay about our ability and re-sponsibility to live holy livesunto God (vv 12-18): Let

not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that yeshould obey it in the luststhereof. Neither yield ye yourmembers as instruments ofunrighteousness unto sin: but

yield yourselves unto God, asthose that are alive from thedead, and your members asinstruments of righteousness

unto God. For sin shall nothave dominion over you: forye are not under the law, butunder grace. What then?shall we sin, because we arenot under the law, but undergrace? God forbid. Know yenot, that to whom ye yield

yourselves servants to obey,his servants ye are to whom

ye obey; whether of sin untodeath, or of obedience untorighteousness? But God bethanked, that ye were the ser-

vants of sin, but ye haveobeyed from the heart thatform of doctrine which wasdelivered you. Being thenmade free from sin, ye be-came the servants of right-eousness.

Also consider Colossians3:5: Mortify therefore yourmembers which are upon the

earth; fornication, unclean-ness, inordinate affection,evil concupiscence, and cov-etousness, which is idolatry.

Please note that Romans8:1 says, There is thereforenow no condemnation tothem which are in Christ Je-sus, who walk not after theflesh, but after the Spirit.From these and other pas-sages we must conclude thatGod expects as great a differ-ence between the lives of be-lievers and unbelievers asthere is between night andday.

UnconditionalElection

The Calvinist teaching isthat God has predetermined

who will be saved (referred toas the elect), and nothingcan change this predeter-mined outcome. This viewappears to be based on pas-sages such as Romans 8:29-39 (especially vv 29, 38, and

39): For whom he didforeknow, he also did pre-destinate to be conformed tothe image of his Son, that hemight be the firstborn amongmany brethren. For I ampersuaded, that neitherdeath, nor life, nor angels,nor principalities, nor pow-ers, nor things present, northings to come, Nor height,nor depth, nor any othercreature, shall be able to

separate us from the love ofGod, which is in Christ Jesusour Lord. Also Romans9:18: Therefore hath hemercy on whom he will havemercy, and whom he will hehardeneth.

Two immediate problemswith the Calvinist view cometo mind, one leading to arro-gance and the other leading

to despair. First, If God haspredetermined that I will besaved, and nothing I do wilever change that, why shouldI bother putting much effort

into repentance (Jeremiah29:13) or living a holy life (IIPeter 1:10)? Conversely, IGod has predetermined thaI am locked out of heavenand nothing can change thatoutcome, what reason ithere for me to even considerrepentance, much less holyliving?

A more in-depth study othe scriptures is requiredhere. There are four references to Gods elect:

+ Christ Isaiah 42:1: Behold my servant, whom Iuphold; mine elect, in

whom my soul delighteth; Ihave put my spirit uponhim: he shall bring forth

judgment to the Gentiles.

+ The Israelites Isaiah45:4: 45:4 For Jacob myservants sake, and Israe

mine elect, I have evencalled thee by thy name: Ihave surnamed theethough thou hast noknown me.

+ The True Believers Matthew 24:31: And heshall send his angels with agreat sound of a trumpetand they shall gather together his elect from thefourwinds,fromoneendo

heaven to the other.+ Angels I Timothy 5:21

I charge thee before Godand the Lord Jesus Christand the elect angels, thatthou observe these things

without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.

Doctrinal Deviations of CalvinismContinued from Page 9


God would not pleadso passionately for usto make a choice we

are unable to make.



11/16

In all four cases, the scrip-tures refer to servants of God

who were found to be faith-ful.

Romans 8 tells us that Godknows in advance who willremain faithful to Him. ForGod to be God, He mustknow the outcome of everyhuman life in advance. Themere fact thatGod knows theend from the beginning doesnot change our responsibilityor ability to serve God withevery fiber of our being. Itappears that one of the pri-

mary purposes for the word-ing in chapter 8 was to con-trast our unworthiness forsalvation with our being ofgreat worth to God.Consideralso that in every case whereGod mentions that He hard-ened someones heart, thehardening only occurred af-ter earlier rejection of Gods

warnings (see the account ofPharaoh in Exodus, Romans1:28, and II Thessalonians

2:11-12). Additionally, God says in

Exodus 32:31-33that he will blotnames out of Hisbook: AndMoses returnedunto the LORD,and said, Oh, thispeople havesinned a great sin,and have madethem gods of

gold. Yet now,if thou wilt for-give their sin; and if not,blot me, I pray thee, out ofthy book which thou hast

written. And the LORD saidunto Moses, Whosoever hathsinned against me, him will Iblot out of my book. Thisbook is used as the final cri-teria for escaping the lake offire (Revelation 20:15).

A related claim is that theblood of Christ covers all ofour sins, past, presentand fu-ture. However, we read inRomans 3:25: Whom God

hath set forth to be a propi-tiation through faith in hisblood, to declare his right-eousness for the remission ofsins that are past, through theforbearance of God. Sinscommitted by the believerare to be dealt with by a com-bination of the followingscriptures:

My little children, thesethings write I unto you, that

ye sin not.Andif any man sin,we have an advocate with theFather, Jesus Christthe right-eous. (I John 2:1).

If we confess our sins, heis faithful and just to forgiveus our sins, and to cleanse usfrom all unrighteousness.(I John 1:9).

Confess your faults one toanother, and pray one for an-other, that ye may be healed.The effectual fervent prayer

of a righteous man availethmuch. (James 5:16).

Brethren, if a man beovertaken in a fault, ye whichare spiritual, restore such anone in the spirit of meekness;considering thyself, lest thoualso be tempted. (Galatians6:1).

If necessary, disciplinaryprocedures laid out in pas-sages such as Matthew 18:15-

17, Titus 1:13 and 2:15,II Thessalonians 3:6, andI Corinthians 5 are applied.

The question for some is,then, how sure can we be ofour salvation if we reject un-conditional election? Notetwo of Pauls statements, ashe was approaching his own

death:

For the which cause I alsosuffer these things: neverthe-less I am not ashamed: for Iknow whom I have believed,and am persuaded that he isabletokeepthatwhichIhavecommitted unto him againstthat day. (II Timothy 1:12).

I have fought a good fight,I have finished my course, Ihave kept the faith: Hence-forth there is laid up for me acrown of righteousness,

which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at thatday: and not to me only, butunto all them also that lovehis appearing. (II Timothy4:7-8).

Paul did not say, I know I

am going to heaven becausethats my destiny; nor did hesay, I really dont know if I

will make it to heaven. Hisassurance came from theknowledge that, after Godmade him a new creature inHis mercy through the powerof the Holy Spirit, Paul liveda life of active obedience tothe voice of that same HolySpirit.

Some may ask then to whom John 10:28-29 refersAnd I give unto them eternalife; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man

pluck them out of my handMy Father, which gave themme, is greater than all; and noman isable topluck them ou

of my Fathershand. We findthe answer inII Peter 1:5-11And besidethis, giving aldiligence, addto your faith

virtue; and t

virtue knowedge; And to

knowledge temperance; andto temperance patience; andto patience godliness; And togodliness brotherly kindnessand to brotherly kindnescharity. For if these things bein you, and abound, theymake you that ye shall nei-ther be barren nor unfruitfuin the knowledge of our LordJesus Christ. Buthe that lack

eth these things is blind, andcannot see afar off, and hathforgotten that he was purgedfrom his old sins. Whereforethe rather, brethren, give diligence to make your callingand election sure: for if ye dothese things, ye shall neverfall: For so an entrance shalbe ministered unto you abundantly into the everlastingkingdom of our Lord andSaviour Jesus Christ.

This passage shows thaelection (if we need to makeit sure) itself is conditionalbut that we can have positiveassurance of salvation when

we diligently seek to followthe instruction of the LordFor it is God which worketh



For God to be God,He mustknow theoutcome of every

human life inadvance.

I have fought agood fight, I have

finished my course,I have kept the

faith.



12/16

in you both to will and to doof his good pleasure.

LimitedAtonement

Limited Atonement is thebelief that Christs atone-ment applies only to Godschosen ones. However, thescriptures are very clear thatsalvation is open to anyone

who will respond. If there isany limitation, it is the unwill-ingness of mankind to re-spond on Gods terms. Con-sider the following scrip-tures:

For there is one God, andone mediator between Godand men, the man Christ Je-sus; Who gave himself a ran-som for all, to be testified indue time. (I Timothy 2:5-6).

And he is the propitiationfor our sins: and not for oursonly, but also for the sins ofthe whole world. (I John

2:2).The Lord is not slack con-

cerning his promise, as somemen count slackness; but islongsuffering to us-ward, not

willing that any should per-ish, but that all should cometo repentance. (II Peter3:9).

Have I any pleasure at allthat the wicked should die?saith the Lord GOD: and not

that he should return fromhis ways, and live? (Ezekiel18:23).

Say unto them, As I live,saith the Lord GOD, I haveno pleasure in the death ofthe wicked; but that the

wicked turn from his way andlive: turn ye, turn ye from

your evil ways; for why will yedie, O house of Israel?(Ezekiel 33:11).

The call must always bewhosoever will, let him takethe water of life freely.

IrresistibleGrace

The teaching of IrresistibleGrace states that, when Godoffers His grace to any indi-

vidual, it is so attractive thatthe person will not, andcould

not, resist His grace.In response, it would be re-

dundant to review the pre-vious verses on choice. In ad-dition, however, consideralso:

Ye stiffnecked and uncir-cumcised in heart and ears,

ye do always resist the HolyGhost: as your fathers did, sodo ye. (Acts 7:51).

And grieve not the holy

Spirit of God, whereby ye aresealed unto the day of re-demption. (Ephesians4:30).

Quench not the Spirit.(I Thessalonians 5:19).

Perseverance ofthe Saints

This teaching is best iden-tified by noting the differ-

ence between the followingtwo statements:

Only true believers perse-vere to the end of their lives,and All true believers perse-

vere to the end of their lives.Calvinists explain all occur-

rences of believers who fallaway as never having beentruly converted using I John2:19: They went out from us,but they were not of us; for if

they had been of us, theywould no doubt have contin-ued with us: but they wentout, that they might be mademanifest that they were notall of us.

There is no question thatthose who are not truly con-

verted will not remain true tothe faith. However, passagessuch as Hebrews 10 andII Peter 2:20-22 show us that

willfully careless believers will find themselves in thesame condition.

Additionally, if we allinevi-tably persevered, there

would be no purpose for pas-sages such as the following:

And let us not be weary inwell doing: for in due seasonwe shall reap, if we faint not.(Galatians 6:9).

As the Father hath loved

me, so have I loved you: con-tinue ye in my love. (John15:9).

Who will render to everyman according to his deeds:To them who by patient con-tinuance in well doing seekfor glory and honour and im-mortality, eternal life. (Ro-mans 2:6-7).

But continue thou in thethings which thou hast

learned and hast been as-sured of, knowing of whomthou hast learned them.(II Timothy 3:14).

Behold, I come quickly:hold that fast which thouhast, that no man take thy

crown. (Revelation 3:11).

What then are theDangers of these

Five Teachings? Any teaching which re

lieves mankind of their accountability to God shouldbe suspect. Taken to the poinoutlined here, Total Depravity and Limited Atonemenundermine the call to repen-tance by teaching that onlyprivileged individuals areable to repent. Unconditional Election and Irresist

ible Grace lead to spirituacomplacency by teaching thaGod will inevitably bringabout salvation for theseprivileged individuals. Alfive teachings as a whole pro

vide the foundation for thedoctrine of eternal security

which is unscriptural. Somesay that they do not believe ineternal security, because thaparticular wording is not inthe Bible. However, the ef

fect of Calvinism is still thesame.

In responding to theseteachings and others likethem, we need to take thetime to know what Gods

word says. We need to beableto speak the same clearly toothers. Finally, where appropriate, we need to apply theresults of our searching ofGods word to our own livesthereby demonstrating thatabundantly fruitful life thaabides in the vine spoken ofin John 15. There is no other

way to preserve this precioufaith for the generations yetto come. +




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Walter MeisterAdark night is coming. The Lord says that this is the case.

Let us listen to Him. He says, Whoever has ears to hear with,let him hear. What a deep-striking summons is this to takeheed to His doctrine.

Lo,here Heis forecasting for us a darknightto come, a nightwhich will envelop all, and from which there will be no escape.This is a forecast similar to those made by the ancient prophets

which foretold the coming of Jesus and His kingdom. It differs,however, in that it is of more earnest importance, and in that

we are more directly concerned.

When an article is to be manufactured, it is first designedand blueprinted to the smallest details. It is forecast in this waybefore the real article is made. In fact it existed already in theminds of the designers and on the blueprint, and was clear toanyone who was able to read the blueprint. So were all theprophecies of old, and so also is this prophecy.

Then in that inescapable midnight hour, which was re-ferred to by the Savior in the parable preceding the one in ourtext, the Lord shall come and shall make the faithful and wiseservant a ruler over all His goods, but shall appoint the portionof the evil servant with the hypocrites, where there shall be

weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the kingdom of heaven

on earth of which cannot be said, Lo, here, or lo there, forit is not outwardly manifest, but is within Gods people thiskingdom shall take such a form as to be comparable to anincident in which ten virgins went out to meet the bridegroom.

The ten virgins went out, all with the same purpose. All hadlamps, and all had acknowledged that the bridegroom wouldcome at night (in fact, that it was night on earth). To all ten thebridegroom came later than they had expected; and when Hetarried, they all fell asleep and slumbered. And when thebridegroom came, they all arose and trimmed their lamps. It

was only the awesome midnight cry, announcing the coming ofthe Lord, that determined definitely the fate of each, and which

made manifest who were wise andwho were foolish. We cannottell by outward appearances who are the wise and who are thefoolish ones. The wise virgins themselves did not distinguishthose who were foolish. They thought they were going withothers who were also wise as they themselves.

It would be insulting to Gods kingdom to conclude that thewise virgins acted as they did because they were concerned onlyfor themselves, as it might seem from their reply to the requestfor some oil: Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you.They answered so out of prudency, highest prudency, which is

wisdom, and which was proper of the wise virgins. They knew

that by dividing up the oil they could not help their foolishsisters, and that, on the contrary, they would only damagethemselves and deprive themselvesof meeting the bridegroom

However,they still had a goodintention for them and a wordof advice when the foolish ones were all confused. They toldthem, But go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for your-selves. This is proper of all who are truly wise.

And, surely the others went to buy, too. But it is nothing toboast of to become wise in a time when everything is evidentas it shall be when we shall be able to see that the bridegroomcomes. What stores those virgins who went to buy found openand what kind of oil they got, is very questionable; but, anywaythey came pretending, at least, that they had oil.

They found the door shut, and cried, Lord, Lord, open tous. The prayer was heard from the other side of the gate, and

was answered, too. But what was the answer? Verily I say untoyou. I know you not!

What a terrible verdict! All because the true essence of thawhatwe ought tohave was lacking the oil for light in spiritua

darkness, the wisdom of heaven which has issued from GodFor the attainment of this wisdom a promise has been given usThat promise is: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask ofGodthat giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shalbe given him, but let him ask in faith nothing doubting. Thispoints out the fountain of wisdom, and of the true oil, without

which no one can pass the gate and enter into the great mar-riage. The value of that oil shall be revealed when the darknessis the deepest and the bridegroom comes.

No show can be made with that oil, as it can with the lamps,for it is sealed in the vessel; and this is the reason the foolishones laid no stress on it. There lies the point where those who

have the mind of Christ, and those who do not have it, differThose who do not have it always strain to represent somethingbefore men, while those who have it try to please God. Theselatter are like the good bride who tries to read the grooms eyeto know his will and to please him; while the happy-go-luckybride tries to make a show before people of how much she lovehim, and tries to let everybody know how much she thinks ohim.

This ironclad parable also reveals to us the fright of beingshut out. It upsets the doctrine that, at the end, everybody not

worthy of entering heaven will see that he is unworthy and wilvoluntarily not enter there, since he would not even feel well

there. We see it here, as well as in Luke 13:25, that those whowere found unworthy to enter still longed to get in, and criedat the door. Since they came too late, however, the door wasshut and was not opened any more.

We will not speak in particular now of what that all meansto us. We could not express it anyway: we can only dimlyperceive it, but yet it presents a terrible picture. But this we wildo: we will gather oil, genuine oil, into our vessels, while it stilcan be gotten. And, if the bridegroom tarries much longerbefore coming, let us recognize that we need so much more oilto last until that hour. +

Who Are the

Wise?Matthew 25:1-13

Autumn, 1996 Exhortati


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The Life ofSamuel Heinrich Frhlich

Part 4

Growth

Persecutions brought Frhlich in October, 1832, to Zu-rich to his sisters where he could remain a week. InZurich the truth began to find a way. The movement

spread farther and farther through Frhlichs tireless activityand reached over into other areas. Even the newspapers couldnot stop it, though they agitated: The sect of the Re-baptizersis growing in the Cantons of St. Gallen, Appenzell, Thurgau,and Zurich. They publicly called upon the government of theCanton Aargau to prevent the dangerous sectarian S. H.Frhlich from moving about. In Appenzell believers werebeaten till blood flowed and fined up to 100 gold pieces.

Frhlichs delivery in his addresses and talks was earnest,clear, and positive,awakening thelukewarm and chastening theopponents of the truth. This led to a decision of the spirits: theone to repentance, the other to enmity.

Expulsions and Departure

Early in 1837 Frhlich was forced to the realization thathe could not long remain in his native city because hismarriage had taken place without state-church sanc-

tion, having been blessed instead by the united prayer of thecongregation at Hauptwil. As this was not according to state-church order,its validity was notrecognizedby the civil authori-ties. The home (state church) congregation at Brugg denied the

young woman the right of citizenship, although the publicationof the banns had taken place, and the marriage license and theimmigration papers had been issued. All petitions, to theauthorities of Cantons Aargau and Thurgau, as well as aninterview with the federal president at Bern, for recognition ofthe marriage were of no avail.

On March 20, 1843, Frhlich was expelled from the city ofZurich as a sectarian, five months after he completed his seriesof sermons on the Epistles of John [*copies available uponrequest]. He appealed, only to be denied on April 10J D , after aninterim of five days. He traveled to Wil, Hauptwil, and later toSt. Gallen, where his family visited him by day. It was not

possible for him to stay in Hauptwil as a reward had beenoffered for his capture. On June 27 J D he was expelled from St.Gallen. He fled by night to Rapperswil and sought refuge atHirzel, a small village on the Lake of Zurich.

In June, 1844, Frhlich made one more attempt in Brugg tobring his marriage papers in order. He was told that the mar-riage could by recognized only if he would permit the baptismand confirmation of his children. As his conscienceforbade himthis, there wasnothing else to do but to leavehis fatherland andsettle in Strasbourg, where, at last, he had the prospect ofsetting up a home. For the time being, he could not take his

family with him. That was not possible until June, 1846, whenhe finally succeeded in obtaining legal recognition of his civimarriage. After seven years of enforced separation, he wasunited with his family in a home in Strasbourg. AlthoughFrhlich could achieve nothing for himself in Switzerland forlegal recognition of his marriage, he was a pioneer for othersin a matter which weighed down heavily upon the believers.

Determination

The brotherhood met in the Rohr on July 10, 1843, tomake petition for the recognition of their society. I

was resolved that, in accordance with the Word ofGod, the congregations should hold fast to their principles andcarry them out whatever the cost. Opposition was assertingitself everywhere, yet it was not possible to repel the light thathad appeared. The good seed had been sown and had broughtforth its fruits.

After Frhlich had been expelled from Canton Zurich inSeptember, 1843, he could not abide in one place for long

without exposing himself to arrest and penalties. In his distresshe remembered the advice given to him ten years before in

London: to settle in Strasbourg where there was freedom ofspeech. This course he now took.

Frhlichs departure was a severe trial for the congregationsin Switzerland. In the storm of those years his experience wasinvaluable. An active correspondence shortened the distancethat separated them, for which a messenger service of travelingor visiting brothers was utilized. Of one of these trips, it isreported that a package of 70 letters was delivered. By meanof mutual visits the bond was kept close, and especially werethe various extended journeys which Frhlich made from hisnew home into Switzerland a blessing and joy to the churches

Typical of the depth of his letters, here are excerpts fromletters written in September, 1856, a few months before hisdeath:

To the Church in Bern

Ireceived an invitation to a conference of Baptist

preachers from Germany, France, and Switzerlandwhich will be held here from the 4 J D to the 8 J D of this

month. It concerns unification of all the various and separatedparties among the Baptists. However, as this union could beonly an outward one, without the inward one of the Spirit oChrist and the truth, I cannot take part in the conference; and

have, therefore, written them a detailed reply outlining myreasons for declining.

Such a formal union would have the result that we wouldhave to allow all such who differ with us in doctrine to teach inour meetings, for thus they expressly write: That the variousbodies, regardless of the differences of their views, ought to

work together for the one great purpose of the kingdom oGod. Thus the matter has a good appearance and a fine titlebut, in itself, a destructive character and poison.




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Is it according to the apostolic rule and evangelical truththat men of the most varied opinion and views should unite forone purpose in the kingdom of God? Is not this Satan in theform ofan angel oflight?I believe that here appliesour Saviors

warning that in the last days the seduction would be so subtlethat, if it were possible, even the elect would be drawn intoerror.

We can insist upon nothing so much as that all brethren inthe Lord be of one mind, endowed with one doctrine; and nowit isdeclared that this difference has nothing to do with workingtogether for the kingdom of God.

I am therefore writing to you so that if anyone shouldtrouble you about it, you may know the true state of affairs. Forexample, the Brothers L______ received the invitation beforeI did, and until I came here, were willing to accept it and toattend the conference.

To me, my life in itself is not precious. However, I do rejoiceif through me the Lord does things for the comfort and well-being of the brotherhood; for the church is everything o me,and for her I will present what I am able to do, and I also wouldbe presented as a sacrifice, if it is the will of our Father inheaven.

All is grace, and Christ does all things for His Fathers sake,to the glory of His name, when He bestows gifts and powersupon His servants and messengers, for it concerns the destruc-tion of Satans kingdom and government on this earth and therestoration of Gods kingdom and glory. To this end the Soncame and, by His victory, paved the way to victory. It may begradual, slow, as long as the Gospel is preached: and much isdone in a false guise that it might have prestige, as if it were forGods kingdom and the hurt of Adam were healed (in theeasiest way), as if nothing more were necessary that to believe;but if the whole world remains in enmity against God in thedisposition of the flesh, that matters not at all.

To the Honorable Baptist PreachersConference

You have honored me with a written invitation toyourconference. But because I am not in position toaccept this invitation, I at least feel obligatedto reply

to your letter, giving a few reasons. First, and in general, I havea poor opinion of the benefit and results of such conferences,especially as they concern the truth and the kingdom of God.They remind me too much of the erstwhile church synods andcouncils in which men desired to replace the missing truth withhuman inventions and wisdom, to the great harm of the truth


Part 4


and the church of God. For even as there is but one truth, soalso is the true church in itself but one, and this oneness (unity)has not first to be discovered or established by means of con-ferences.

Here, the words of the prayer of the Lord (John 17:21) donot at all apply, for Jesus prayed the Father not that manyexisting organizations, each resting on its own foundation, bemerged into one, for under none of the organizations could

another foundation be laid than that on which it already restsRather, this was the prayer of the Son: that all who are con

verted to Him and, through the word of the apostles, becomebelievers on Him be in their entirety one, even as He and theFather are truly one. This unity, accordingly, is given and existsin the true faith (by virtue of the intercession of Jesus) andshould not first be achieved later on between various separately-established organizations by means of conferences andall sorts of human endeavor.

On the basis of the divine truth, therefore, such an intendedunion is not possible because the divine truth is not the foun

dation of these individual organizations; otherwise, one wouldnot have to bring it into existence artfully. If a church rests onthe foundation of the truth it will not afterwards confer withother organizations; otherwise, it would mix the truth withstrange additions and errors, and, what is worse, no organization resting on a foundation of error is inclined to relinquish itfalse principles.

How is it possible then to have a union based on the truth?Where the foundation is one, there the hearts are already oneand where the foundation is false, the individual hearts mustmake a new beginning. Many have passed the judgment on me

that the foundation upon which I build the church, namely, mydoctrine and my baptism, is wrong, in that I ascribe too muchto baptism and do not permit it to be an opus operatum or aformal confession of the believer; and that as a result, I, for 25

years, teach that he who by baptism is born again is no longea sinner, but has become a child of God to walk in a new life asa righteous and holy person. Otherwise God, like the devil

would be a father of sinners.

In general, different churches cannot become one in Christalthough the many local churches in the time of the apostles, iis true, were but one church of Christ. This is my answer, and I

now leave to you what you may think of it. It is a matter oindifference to me whether I am judged by you, or, in a human

way, for it is the Lord who judges me aright. To Him I committhe matter until He comes. Then will each one receive of Godthe praise that is due him. This I know, that true brotherly loverests only in the truth as it is in Christ Jesus, and I would notdeceive myself with another kind of brotherly love. Where thetruth is and conquers, there of itself, and without conferencesis found a community of saints.


Autumn, 1996 Exhortati


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The Newsletter of the

Apostolic Christian Publishing CompanyExhortationsExhortationsP.O. Box 416Syracuse, NY 13215-0416

Blessd rest when toiling here is ended,

God shall give me in eternity;For the Father thereunto hath called meAnd in love to Him He draweth me!O how blest will be that eventide,When we, when we perfected in that true rest abide!

Verily, a rest has been prepardFor the faithful people of the Lord!All who here the trial of faith endurdWill in heaven receive their great reward!

Blessd are we when the strife is won,When the faithful, when the faithful there receive thecrown!

Zions Harp, Hymn 295

Toiling Ended

Samuel Heinrich Frhlich died January 15, 1857 aged53 years. His last words were: I shall die, Lord myGod. Mayest Thou keep Thy holy ones from the temp-

tationthatis inthe world,thattheyperishnot but abide inThee;and give them eternal life. For the prince of this world isprepared with hiswhole power of darkness andall hispreachersof unrighteousness to seek to destroy Thy work,to misleadThyelect. Thou knowest that I have not sought glory before men,but only the furtherance of Thy glory, and have declared Thyname before all; and that I have not been ashamed of Thee,

and have fought until this hour.Then after speaking with Brother Weiler, who had watched

at his bedside, about experiences of faith and his fears, aboutthe congregations and his family, he committed himself to theLord, saying, ... I do not regret our going out; we would andshould let nothing frighten us; and if all unite to honor God,there is no enmity and no foreign spirit can work among us. My



Part 4

soul is saved and I am comforted in the Lord.

The mortalremains of Samuel Heinrich Frhlich wereburiedin Strasbourg, the city of his refuge. A simple gravestone inthe St. Helena Cemetery, which stands to this day, marks theend of his earthly pilgrimage with these simple words of Scripture: The memory of the just is blessed... +

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