Adam and Christ – Contrast and Compare

Have you ever taken a final examination and seen this dreaded phrase?  Contrast and compare. It’s an adage familiar to most high school and college students.  Of course the two items under consideration had some mysterious link existing only in the mind of the professor, and the three words were always followed by details of the impossible task:

     Contrast and compare the civilization of the Incas, their way of life and method of exchange against the struggling supply and demand economy under twentieth century President Carter’s administration.

The scriptures teach us to rightly divide the word of truth; the more one mines the golden fields, the bigger the nuggets of truth he discovers.  We know Adam and Christ have a connection.  With the hindsight of types and shadows, the advantage of the New Testament and history, we can even see the New Testament church in the Old Testament.

We should look for signs of the church in the Old Testament writings.  And we should strive to find Christ wherever in scripture we read.  What can be gleaned by looking at Adam to cause us to see Jesus in a more majestic light?

Adam’s only mentioned thirty times in the scriptures, yet his impact on each of us is refreshed daily by our very nature. 

Adam created the problem, the Creator provided the solution.  

1Cr 15:22.  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.  

1Cr 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit.  :46  Howbeit that [was] not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual  :47 The first man [is] of the earth, earthy: the second man [is] the Lord from heaven. 

Unusual Beginnings

Both Christ and Adam were brought into this earth without a set of natural parents.  Christ having not an earthly father, and born of a virgin, while Adam, formed out of the dust of the earth, had neither mother nor father, but only a Creator. 

A Garden Commonality

The problem Adam created was in a garden where man had never been; Christ provided the solution to Adam’s transgression in another garden.

Adam was created outside the garden and placed into one.  Gen 2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

Christ died outside a garden and was placed within one.  John 19:40 Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.  :41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. 

Both had Open Sides

Adam’s side was opened to provide him a bride, a helpmeet, a partner, a friend.

Gen 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;  :22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.   Adam’s side was opened for a bride, in order to secure him a wife. 

Christ’s side was opened for the bride – because of the bride; to provide her all the things He had promised, to secure her, to purify and sanctify her.

John 19:34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.

Eph 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 

That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Both Bled, One Shed

While it can be said that both bled for their bride, only one shed His blood.  Only one poured out His blood for many.

Both Died for their Bride

Adam gave his life for his bride.  Adam knew full well the single instruction he had been given by God.  He knew the consequences were perilous indeed.  He heard the instruction directly from the mouth of the Lord and no doubt considered again the severity of disobedience when he relayed these instructions to Eve.  We know the Lord’s order to Adam was clear and perfect in the explanation.  No room for equivocation.  There was no possibility of misunderstanding or miscommunication.

Few men are recorded in the old scriptures that were given the great privilege of speaking with the Creator, or hearing his audible voice.  How perfect is every word from the lips of He who created language; how void of uncertainty, how crystal clear each note, how sweet the sound upon the ears of His children.  Fully rich in power, as in the new birth, when the still small voice is heard, there is no doubt the birth has taken place!  There is no opportunity for failure or incompleteness!To surrender the daily opportunity to hear the Master’s voice had to burden Adam in his decision.  Tradition leads us to believe Adam’s decision was a split second one. Common sense would teach us he probably pondered the consequences for some time.

When Eve presented Adam with the fruit of which she had partaken, the edict of the Lord and seriousness of the matter, all that Adam stood to lose, indeed the life and death position of the choice must have raced through his mind, yet ultimately, he made a conscious decision to choose his wife – and death – over the commandment of God.  In that respect, Adam gave his life for his bride.  Did Adam love Eve so much he was willing to die for her?  Let’s read Adam’s own words:  Gen 2:23 And Adam said, This [is] now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.   2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 

Adam didn’t leave father and mother, but he did leave his Creator. Today when we take a bride we promise ‘til death do we part.”  Adam did the opposite; he joined unto death.

1Ti 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.  When Adam joins with Eve, it is his disobedience that earns us all the sentence of death. 

Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; …5:28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.    Col 3:19 Husbands, love [your] wives, and be not bitter against them.

How you do stack up in comparison to Adam, husbands?  And did you ever notice the scriptures never tell the wife to love her husband?  If she does love you, it’s not by commandment of the scriptures.  Gen 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire [shall be] to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

Adam named his wife Eve after the fall. Gen 3:20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.  Before she had been called Woman or Adam.  We have a name change coming as well, not resulting from the fall, but from salvation: Rev 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth [it].

Rev 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, [which is] new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and [I will write upon him] my new name. 

Did ever anyone love their bride so much they would leave their favored position with God to die for her?  Indeed, once more.  As Adam’s choice to cleave unto his wife brought us all into sin and death, Christ agreed to leave his heavenly abode to rescue His bride, bringing her life.  And for a brief moment in time, Christ was separated from his Father’s presence for his bride, the church.

Adam’s offense plunged us all into sin, a condition we call total depravity. Every human born from and since Adam are born in sin, prone to sin and subject to sin, throughout their entire life, carrying about them as long as they live the very nature of sin.  Not even the new birth spares us from sin in the physical body.  Our old Adamic nature is not repaired at the new birth; rather, a second nature, a perfect nature, a spiritual nature is imparted to us.

We’ll be in heaven thanks to Christ.  Will Adam?

Because of the gravity of original sin and its universal impact, Adam becomes the subject of controversy among those prone to handicap the fate of biblical personalities.  Much like Judas, they wonder if Adam will be in eternal heaven.  After all, wouldn’t you like to ask him what he was thinking?  Can we ascertain Adam’s situation?  If we can, it can only be by the strong either/or test of election.  We know choice before the foundation of the world is not based on anything a child of God does or might do during their fleshy existence.  Rom 9:11 (For [the children] being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)  So the weight and horrible consequences of Adam’s sin notwithstanding, we must filter our conclusions through this criteria: Adam was either elect, or he was not.  Though we are taught not to judge the eternal status of an individual, we can be fruit inspectors and look to scripture to see if one position or the other is supported. 

Adam and Eve felt a sense of shame after their sin.  Is that a common condition for a child of God?  Can we all raise our hand as that being our case?  And do we not rejoice over one whose condition is such that they feel a sense of shame, of condemnation; are we not joyous when a sinner seeks remorse?

Adam and Eve received chastisement and punishment for their sin. We believe God punishes, and corrects his children.  But such censure is not for the non-elect.

Adam and Eve had (ceremonial, sacrificial) animal blood spilt on their behalf to clothe them with coats of skin.  Although the scripture doesn’t tell us in Genesis, what we read elsewhere about sacrifice would indicate a lamb, pointing us to Christ.

The Lord continued to instruct Adam, who in turn taught his sons, Cain and Abel and Seth to honor the Lord..    Luke 3:39 Which was [the son] of Enos, which was [the son] of Seth, which was [the son] of Adam, which was [the son] of God.

Mat 23:35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.  (The guilt runs from “A” to “Z”).    

The stain of the sin of Adam runs completely through time.  Thankfully the shed blood of our Lord and Savior ran both directions from the cross of Calvary.

Jos 3:16 That the waters which came down from above stood [and] rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that [is] beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, [even] the salt sea, failed, [and] were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.  (Adam to Zaretan – again, A to Z.) 

Zec 14:8 And it shall be in that day, [that] living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.       

Immediately in Adam’s progeny we begin to see the dual and dueling natures of the child of God.  Every one of us before the new birth is prone to and subject to the very worse in human nature, capable of even Cain’s actions.  After the new birth, our spiritual nature, our eternal life makes us capable of the type of offering Abel made.  As pointed out above, the new nature doesn’t replace the old, but it does begin to subdue it, contain it, and restrain it, while imparting unto us knowledge, wisdom, prayer, praise and worship, plus a sincere desire to fulfill the will of God and to strive towards Him daily.

 Addition, subtraction, conclusion.      

Much was taken from Adam when the fall occurred.  His life of fellowship, and daily companionship with God died.  We cannot say he died spiritually, for the scriptures don’t support such.  Adam was not a spiritual creature.  While he was made without sin, we note of all of God’s creation, man was not among that which the Lord declared as “good.”   How perfectly crafted and preserved is the Word of God!  You cannot find the word “Adam” and “good” in the same verse of scripture. Gen 1:25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good.

We know also that Adam had not partaken of the tree of life.  One who has been carried by the Holy Spirit through that tree has eternal life, spiritual life.  Had Adam been a spiritual creature, the tree of life would not have needed protection.  Before he fell, he was free to partake of the tree which would have granted him eternal life.  Now, we being dead in trespasses and in sins, are carried through that tree in the new birth – we have no life or strength in us to approach that tree on our own. 

Gen 3:22-24 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:   Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.  So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.  

And after spiritual life comes, we begin to see another tree before us – the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Evil we know continually, from our nature, from our practice; when life comes in the new birth, we understand evil, and begin to separate from it and understand good.  It is our partaking of that same tree of the knowledge of good and evil in this lifetime that prolongs our lives; in contrast to how it shortened and ended the lives of Adam and Eve.

Besides losing paradise, Adam gained death.  He died a physical death at 930 years.  “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.   And 2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

In the eyes of the Lord, Adam’s physical death also took place in the same day that he broke God’s solitary law.

Bro. Royce Ellis

 

The Question of Liberalism

 Let me first start out by laying down some groundwork by defining the terms; “liberal” or “liberalism” and “conservative” or “conservatism.”  According to my Webster’s New World Dictionary the term “liberal” especially as it has to do with the Church of Christ, in number 4, which refers to “not being restricted to the literal meaning; not strict; ‘a liberal interpretation of the Bible.” And number 7, which refers to someone who “favors reform or progress, as in religion, education, etc.”

And I know that usually when we think of the term “liberal” we like to think about the definition found in number 1, which refers to one who is “a freeman; not restricted;” and number 2, “one who gives freely; generous;” and also number 3, meaning “large or plentiful; ample; abundant; a liberal reward.” These are the three terms that give us that warm and fuzzy feeling when we think about ‘em. And someone will say “okay, and so what’s wrong with that?” To which I would say nothing at all is wrong with it. But stop and consider the latter terms numbers 4 and 7, and you can see the problem, especially as it has to do with the Church and God’s people. In politics it means that someone is to be tolerant of everything, or as it is stated, “we must be tolerant of people who are different than we are,” meaning that we must overlook their sins and way of life.

For example, as it has to do with homosexuality, we are told that we are to be “liberal” and not only to tolerate their behavior, but to accept it as being “an alternative life style.” And in that respect, as being “liberal” we ought to not be so strict as to the defining of the term marriage. So “liberalism” says, “if marriage is defined as one man and one woman, why can it not also include one man and one man or one woman and one woman?”

Or, “liberalism” says that we ought to understand why there are people out the world who want to kill innocent people. They say that we need to understand…WHY…they hate us so much. You know they’re talking about the ones that we call “terrorist.” This form of “liberalism” tells us that we need to understand why we; as Americans, are so hated by a terrorist. And even as the statement comes out of the mouth of those who espouse such a viewpoint, most of us readily understand that they are “terrorist,” and that “terrorist’s” kill people.

But that’s not what I’d like to focus on at this time, let's move on now. I only use these as examples of what is viewed as being “liberal” or “liberalism” as it is used in the world of politics. Now let us take a look at it from the viewpoint of the Church of the Living God.

In the Church, the Primitive Baptists have, as far I know, always had what can only be called “liberals” among them. The scriptures inform us in Jude 1:4, “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” But in recent years there has been a rise of such who because of a decline in church membership have sought to “fix” the problem, and try to improve on what our Lord Jesus Christ has establish as His Church. Put simply, they want to “change” things in order to fix the problem.

It was not too long ago that someone told me that we of the “old line didn’t have anything for the young folks.” And that we were falling behind the times, and that we would soon dry up on the vine and wither away.” This person was what is called the “Progressives.” And they had the idea that the church needed to be “modernized” and brought up to date in order to bring in more young people into the church folds. They thought that the church needed to have Sunday schools, musical instruments, and to send out missionaries to foreign lands to try to stop the decline. But tell me are the Progressives any better off today then they were back then? In reading some of their papers and articles they admit that they aren’t any better off. In fact I read one article that suggested that they needed to get back to the basics; that they needed to get back to their foundation.

And it saddens me that the “liberals” among us don’t seem to understand this principle and are trying to once again “fix” the problem and to make the church more “acceptable” to the world. In fact did you know that in an article from a Southern Baptist paper called the “SWORD OF TRUTH,” dated May 21st, 2004, says that were no baptisms in 2003. And that “The Southern Baptist Convention reported a record membership of 16,315,050, up from .41 percent over 2002, and grew to 43,024 churches, an increase of 249 new congregations, according to statistics released in the SBC Statistical Summery…Although’ they say that ‘there was growth overall, LifeWay President Jimmy Draper said the statistics were cause for concern. The incremental growth reflects a denomination that’s lost its focus.” And the article goes on to say the number of baptisms have decreased for the fourth year in a row.

What, how can this be? Way back in the early 1800’s we were told that the adding of things to “fix” the church was going to save more souls, and cause the church to grow, and that all that was needed was to go forward in the “great commission” to march out and “go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” And it was said then, as was said by the Progressives, and even to this day, that we of the “old line” are gonna dry up and wither and die on the vine.

Let me add something that I have observed just down the street from the little church that I pastor. When I became pastor here at the Dixie Primitive Baptist Church there were two “Dixie Churches” that used the name “Baptist” as a part of identifying who they are: One an “old line” Baptist Church, and the other a Southern Baptist Church. But I noticed that the other church dropped the name “Baptist” and opted for the title “Dixie Pioneer Church.” But why did they do such a thing? So I dropped by and met with their pastor and I asked him why they did such a thing, and do you know what his answer was? He told me that the Southern Baptist Convention wanted to move forward into a more “contemporary” style, in order to draw in more people. He said that they were still a part of the SBC, but they wanted to draw in more people from other denominations like Catholics, Pentecostals, etc. And that maybe, he said, if they removed the word “Baptist” that that would remove a hindrance to such persons. But does it really help? I think not.

When I was a young man, mind you, not that I'm saying that I’m old, but when I first came in among the Primitive Baptist someone told me something that I will never forget, they said, “Thomas when you got out and visit other churches, don’t try to preach about duty.” Now exactly what does that mean? He went on to tell me that it’s best to only preach about the eternal blessings of God, so that you’ll not offend anybody. And me bein’ a young man I thought to myself, “Well I don’t want to cause any trouble, so I won’t try to preach any duty to anyone.”

And today as I look back at that statement there are two points that I wonder about. Either he didn’t understand duty, or that he thought that I didn’t understand it. That brother has since passed away and went to be with the Lord, so I’ll not be able to ask him what he meant. But I’m sure of one thing, for most of my life, especially among the Primitive Baptist, I didn’t hear too much about our duty to God, or to one another. That’s not to say that the subject never came up, it not too often.

At one point I was livin’ in Alabama, and was sittin’ in the Church and listenin’ to a sermon, and was thinkin’ to myself, “Yes I do believe in election and predestination, but give me somethin’ that I can live with now. I need to know how to live here today.” And that’s what duty is all about. As the apostle Paul told Brother Timothy, in 1 Tim 3:15, “that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” WE need to be taught our duty to God, and to one another, about how to live here in this world. How we are to behave ourselves and receive the blessings of God…here in time. Beloved that’s what “duty” is all about.

Anyway I know that it’s just as hard to bring in converts today as it was way back in the days gone past. But adding things to the Church in order to “fix” it is not the answer. As it was with Moses, so it is today, God instructed him and us here today to “look that thou make them after their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount” (Ex. 25:40). We are not at liberty to “fix” anything in the way of improvements! We are to follow after the pattern of the Church that Jesus Christ Himself has set up and established here in the world. I recall the admonition of the Apostle John in Revelation 22:18 and 19,  “For” he said, “I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” I don’t know about you, but I want my “part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

As I see it there has been a root problem that has arisen and troubled God’s people in the kingdom today. And it’s that old serpent the devil, has brought in those who espouse the doctrine of “Calvinism.” I know what you may be thinking, “Well, there are only two basic forms of doctrine in the Christian world today, “Calvinism” and “Arminianism.” And over the years everything that we read about; and especially about the Primitive Baptist tell us that we are strongly Calvinistic in our doctrines. And that’s what I mean when I say that it’s the problem. A lot of folks have allowed the world to shape us into their mold. I met a man, who after he talked to me for a while remarked, “hey, I think that you are a Calvinist.” And I told him that I have been accused of being a Calvinist, but that I wasn’t.

I would like to say here and now that there were many of the tenets of John Calvin that were true and are embraced by the Old Line Church, but Calvin was not the one who discovered them. They are doctrines that are found in the inspired word of God. And the true Church of God has always preached these truths, and they ought to be preached today. But to believe and to preach the truth does not mean that you have become a Calvinist. I say, if the world wishes to call me a Calvinist, then so be it, but that does not follow that I become one.

Going on now to the term “liberal” as it has to do with the Church Kingdom of Heaven and as it has to do with the definition as it is found in numbers 4 and 7, “not being restricted to the literal meaning; not strict; ‘a liberal interpretation of the Bible,” and “favors reform or progress, as in religion, education, etc.” In order to really understand the impact of the problem we must understand what the scriptures tell us, as the true Church of Christ, they say that we are to “hold fast” in our doctrine and practice, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (see 1 Thes. 5:21, also 2 Tim 1:13; Heb 3:6; Heb 4:14; Heb 10:23; Rev 2:25; Rev 3:3). Just as Moses was admonished by God that he was to be careful in the building of the tabernacle to “look that thou make them after their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount” (Ex. 25:40). But there have been “certain men” who have “crept in unawares,” (See Jude 1:4) not just in our time today, over the centuries who have come in among God’s people who have been “of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” And as in the keeping of the term “liberal” have sought to attempt to improve and modernize the old Church. Why? They do it because of the small numbers as compared to the religions of the world. They do it in order to bring in more people, to make it more palatable to the majority of people of the world. Let me say here too, that this “liberalism” is nothing new; no it has already been tried over and over again in the past. And each time that it is tried it fails and causes turmoil and division within the Church.

The root of the problem has come and revealed itself as being “Calvinism,” and the teaching of the doctrine of “Perseverance,” as opposed the true scriptural doctrine of “Preservation.” Some folks may be wondering, “Well, what’s the difference?” And put as simply as possible “Perseverance” means that God’s people will “persevere” which means that they will continue in their own “effort, course of action, etc. in spite of difficulty, and opposition.” You see this is the main tenet of “Calvinism” dear brother and sisters. And it flies in the face of the doctrine of “Preservation” as has been taught by Baptist of the Old Line since her founding by Jesus Christ. Okay, you may ask, “so what’s the difference?” Well, “preservation” means that we are “preserved” in Christ! That He and He alone keeps us from “harm, damage, danger, evil, etc.; to protect us” and has saved us by His own sovereign mighty hand. While “perseverance” has to do with the works of man, Calvinism says that if someone does not persevere then that is evidence that he was never a child of God in the first place. But persevere in what? Why in good works of course! And this doctrine brings us to another problem, which is in direct conflict with the truth. If a child of God must “persevere,” than it is up to the preacher to preach the gospel, because it is also said that every child of God will hear and he will believe the gospel. This puts the power and glory in the hands of a mere man, and away from God. And God says that He will not give His glory “to another” (Is. 42:8).

You see dear brothers and sisters “liberalism” is an attempt to remove the “ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set” (Prov. 22:28). This is also the “broad way” that Jesus told us about in Matthew 7:13 and 14, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” And the “broad way” leads us “to destruction.” Not the destruction of an eternal hell, but a destruction of our peace and the loss of the “candlestick” (Rev 2:5). 

How well do the scriptures speak of these persons in Jer. 6:16, “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.” And in Is. 4:1, “And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.” They have left off even caring about the doctrines of Christ, and have created a gospel that is after their own heart.

And in closing let me add here that we as the TRUE CHURCH OF CHRIST, the OLD LINE PRIMITIVE BAPTIST, should not put undue praise on the flesh, that is to say the preacher. I don’t mean that we are to not show proper respect that is due them, but we are not to allow that respect to cloud our God given judgment to place any man up on a pedestal. I recall another place where “Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost” (Acts 12:21-24). I suppose what I’m trying to say here is that we can’t go by anyone’s name and renown, but on the fact of whether or not he is preaching the whole counsel of God.

I hope that I have not caused anyone reading this article to be miss-informed. And I hope that maybe with God’s help I have shown a little light on this that has come in and so upset our people. If I’m in error or have misrepresented the facts please tell where and I will endeavor to correct it. But this is the way that I understand it. And I feel that it is the responsibility of God’s ministers to be “watchman” set upon the wall, that when they “see the sword come, and blow the trumpet,” and warn the people that the enemy has come and is at the gate (see Ezek 33:1-7).

May God bless you and keep you in the way of truth.

 

Elder Thomas McDonald