Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

self."us."us."world."eyes."antichrist."view."off."us."sir,"ranks."world"record.""Out from the bosom of the church itThe Gnostics were the principal antichrists whom John had to withstand.The Gnostics taught that the gospelwas good as far as it went, but theyhad a more excellent way. They saidit was a mistake to suppose that thehistorical facts and moral precepts ofthe Scriptures were to be taken literally,and to suppose that the Scripturescontained all that was necessary forman's spiritual well-being. The Gnostics claimed that they had a higherknowledge and that their souls weresteeped in light. Theysaid that goodactions could not greatly increase one'senlightenment. There were many thingscommonly regarded as bad which thetrue Gnostic would seek and do as ameans of enlarging his experience. (1)They said that righteousness was madeof no account in comparison with intellectual illumination. (2) That Scripture was made of no account in comparison with knowledge which partlytransmuted and superseded it. (3) Thatthe work of Christ was made of no account for there could be no need of anatonement if there was no real evil insin.II. There Are Heretics in theModern ChurchThey deny the inspiration and infallibility of the Scriptures ; they write aboutthe myths of the Old Testament; theytalk about Bibliolatry. They claim laterand superior revelations (Mormanism,Eddyism, Decrees of Popes and RomanCatholic church councils, etc.). Othersdeny the deity and blood atonement ofJesus Christ and say that there is nodevil and no hell, etc.III. How Deal With the Antichristsin the ChurdhSurely John "the beloved disciple"and "the Apostle of love" would be agood example to follow. Possibly it wasin answer to the Gnostics' claim that itwas a mistake to suppose that the historical facts and moral precepts of theScriptures were to be taken literallythat John said, "He that saith I knowhim, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not inhim."It was probably in answer to theGnostics denial of the fact of sin thatJohn said, "If we say we have no sin,we deceive ourselves, and the truth isnot in"He that committeth sin isof the devil: for the devil sinneth fromthe beginning." "For this purpose theSon of God was manifested, that hemight destroy the works of the devil.""If we say that we have not sinned, wemake him (God) a liar, and his wordis not inIt was probably in answerto the Gnostics' boasts of their superior188illumination that John wrote: "If wesay that we have fellowship with him,and walk in darkness, we lie, and do notthe truth." "He that saith he is in thelight, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now;""He that hatethhis brother is in darkness, and walkethin darkness, and knoweth not whither hegoeth, because that darkness hath blinded his It was probably in answerto the Gnostics' attitude toward Christand His redemptive work that Johnwrote: "Who is a liar but he thatdenieth that Jesus is the Christ. He isantichrist that denieth the Father andthe Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, thesame hath not the Father.""Everyspirit that confesseth not that JesusChrist came in the flesh is not of God:and this isthat spirit of antichrist,whereof we have heard that it shouldcome: and even now already is it in the"Many deceivers are enteredinto the world, who confess not thatJesus Christ came in the flesh. This isa deceiver and an"He thatabideth in the doctrine of Christ, hehath both the Father and the Son." "Ifthere come any unto you and bring notthis doctrine, receive him not into yourhouse, neither bid him God speed: forhe that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds."rV. The Result of Dealing With theAntichrists as Did the Apostle John"The beloved disciple" and "The apostle of love." We are not told that he hada session meeting and put them out ofthe church. The beloved disciple did nothave to do that. He so severely denounced their antichristian sinsthatthose men who loved darkness ratherthan light had to either repent or getout. They got out. "They went out fromus, but they were not of us; for if theyhad been of us, they would no doubthave continued with us: but they wentout, that they might be made manifestthat they were not all of "Theirdefection was a Divine provision for theexposure of the hollowness of theirprofession.""If there are hyprocrites inthe Church, God will not allow HisChurch to be wrecked by them, butwill cause them somehow or other tobe exposed toA gardner wasonce asked, "Why do so many pearsfall off that tree?" "Oh!was hisreply, "it is only those that are rotteninside that fall "Some there arewho receive the Word with joy, and fora while believe; but they have no rootin themselves, and in time of temptationfallaway."If Churches are on thewhole loyal and sound, false men will"go from them." This is an effective yetpotent kind of Church discipline, whenchurch administration and testimonyare so faithful and effective that falseadherents spontaneously quit theirEnd ofa number of quotesfrom the Pulpit Commentary.Pray that our subsequent conductmay not prove that we "lied unto God"(Acts 5:4) every time we renewed ourcovenant vows.W. M. S. DepartmentMrs. Ross Latimer, Editor,Prayer Hour, 1:00 P.M. MondayWMS LESSON, OCTOBERBy Mrs. Alvin SmithTHE DECEITFULNESS OFSTRONG DRINKProv. 20:1This text is most appropriate as wewomen of the U.S.A. consider how ournation has been deceived by the rosypromises of the liquor traffic to "lowerour taxes," "get rid of the bootlegger,""decrease the number of"lower our criminalalcoholics"andThere is no need to recount what hashappened; just read any daily paper andone will be enlightened. The liquor interests are united in trying to deceivethe public with their advertising program. Notice the liquor ads at Christmas, Easter and Father's Day. Disraeli,over a century ago, characterized it as"organized hypocrisy," and it may beaccurately applied to the Americanliquor traffic today.I. Am I My Brother's Keeper? Hab. 2:15Certainly the liquor traffic is not, sowe Christian women, many of us mothers, must be. "The hand that rocks thecradle rules theis a well-knownmaxim. But mothers today, many ofthem, trust the care of their children tobaby-sitters and their training to anyone, or no one.Here is our opportunity to train tomorrow's parents today by presentingtemperance teaching in the SabbathSchools, the P.T.A.'s, and even in theschools themselves where we find manyteachers willing and ready to use temperance materials we can supply. Haveyou talked with your children's teachersabout this matter, or have you felt itwasn't worth while without at leasttrying?Very vivid pictures of cars smashedin wrecks may be secured from theNational Safety Council and shown tochildren. A high percentage of driversand pedestrians involved in accidentshave been drinking, you know.H. Forgetfulness of God. Isa. 5:11-12When the word "woe" is used in theBible, it is a very serious matter. ManyCOVENANTER WITNESS