Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 10
July 17, 1958
NUMBER 11, PAGE 9

Miscellanea

James A. Allen, Nashville, Tennessee

Never shirk a duty to dodge a criticism.

A man's choice shows what he really is.

Higher criticism is a low form of infidelity.

Pay as you go and you won't go so far.

If you are on the broad road, you had better call a halt.

Be ye not unwise but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

When a man tries to get away from God, he always runs into trouble.

If people will keep out of the frying pan, they will not have to jump into the fire.

The best way to teach the Bible is right out of the Bible itself, not out of the "canned lessons" of the much commercialized Sunday School "Literature."

When a paper becomes a wealthy monopoly and "the house organ" for a racket, it is time for brethren to get another news media.

If the clouds of preachers who swarm around a theological school could be dispersed "every where preaching the Word," it would establish innumerable new congregations, each one of which would be a true theological school to begin the great work of giving a Christian education to many rejoicing Christians.

If a man devotes himself to ministering to the fleshly pleasures of the public, the world rewards him with big pay. If he devotes himself to doing some thing that has real value and that makes people better and happier, his pay may not be so big, but he will get far more out of life.

The only way to evangelize the world is for each congregation, besides utilizing every opportunity to speak publicly, in every place where people are gathered, is to go through the streets of its neighborhood, "house to house," preaching and teaching the gospel. "Have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house." (Acts 20:20)

Preaching the gospel is a wonderful work. Men who do it are the world's greatest benefactors. They should be paid. and paid regularly and well. Every one who loves God and his fellow-man is unspeakably happy to give until it hurts to sustain men in preaching the glorious gospel that he loves. Every Christian wants a part in their great work.

Establishing a theological college to train "ministers" for the churches is pure Catholicism. The apostles did not establish such colleges. That settles it. How can churches be guided by the precept and precedent set by the apostles and do things that the apostles did not do? The apostles established churches, and nothing else, and taught each local church to be all-sufficient and thoroughly furnished for every good work through the personal and individual study of the Scriptures by every member. This is the way preachers are trained in the church, not by taking a "ministerial course."

An elder is not eldering, or doing the work of an elder, when his only appearance before the church, when "the whole church be come together into one place," is to make an announcement, or to lead a prayer. If he does not "let the Word of Christ dwell in him richly," and is not "apt to teach," he cannot be an elder. A plurality of such men in every congregation who conform to these divine injunctions, furnishes a teaching force that the world's greatest universities have never equaled. And it is free, without money and without price, in every neighborhood, to "whosoever will." And this is the only way to get a "Christian education."

Brother Blankum says that a certain congregation, before sending a contribution to a certain Orphan Home, wrote it to send them its financial statement. The Orphan Home replied that it did not send out financial statements. The congregation dropped the idea of sending it a contribution.

There is some thing incongruous in the brothers and sisters of a congregation making a sacrifice to send a contribution to a general institution of whose financial standing they know nothing. Various persons, from time to time, make it gifts of money, stocks, bonds, properties, real estate, etc., etc., besides its continual and perpetual collections from thousands of churches. And yet, with all this financial outlay, the general institution is inherently incompetent and unable to do the work that the thousands of churches who turn their money over to it, are perfectly, thoroughly furnished to do in their own thousands of neighborhoods, if they would follow the precept and the example of the apostles and the New Testament churches.