Text: "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13)

Matthew tells us that when the disciples were threatened by the waves of the sea they cried, "Lord, save us: we perish." (Matt. 8:25)

When the Syro-Phoenician (Canaanite} woman would gain the Lord’s attention, she cried, "Lord, help me." (Matt. 15:25}

When the Philippian jailer fell before Paul and Silas exclaiming, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" the preachers said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." (Acts 16:21)

Salvation --whether temporal or eternal, cannot be separated from the doctrine of the Lordship of Christ. It is the Lord who has done great things for us. One day, good and faithful servants will hear, "Enter thou into the joy of the Lord." (Mk. 5:19; Matt. 25:21)

At the incarnation, the angels told the shepherds, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour which is Christ the Lord." At the crucifixion, it was ‘our Lord’ who was crucified. It was the purpose of His death, burial and resurrection that Jesus would be manifested as "Lord both of the dead and living." (Lk. 2:11; Rev. 11:8; Rom. 14:9)

"Lord, Thou art God which hast made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is." (Acts 4:24). WHERE THERE IS NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST, THERE IS NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE LORD! "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Rom. 10:9,13)

THERE CAN BE NO WORSHIP OF CHRIST UNTIL THERE IS A KNOWLEDGE OF WH0 HE IS. Yet, for the past three or four generations the Church which is to be the Pillar and Ground of the Truth has largely been preaching a prostituted Gospel, the basic tenet of which is this:

This is heterodoxy, and is not the Gospel at all.

Now, suppose a man prays and asks Jesus Christ to "come into his heart." Is such a person saved? Hindus are eager to receive Jesus Christ as their Saviour while adding Him to the millions of other gods they serve.

What saith the Scripture? "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." "Confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus..."

IF A MANY DOES NOT RECEIVE JESUS CHRIST AS HIS LORD, HE STILL HAS HIS OLD LORD. His heart is not right with God. He is still held in the cords of iniquity. HOW PERVERTED IS THAT "gospel" THAT CAN DECLARE SUCH A MAN TO BE CONVERTED!

In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is called "Saviour" 24 times; while in the same Testament, He is called "Lord" over 800 times. But such corrupters of the Gospel as they are who can divorce the Lordship of Christ from salvation certainly cannot understand why God would lay such great emphasis.

THE ORIGIN OF THE "RACES"

Text: "And the sons of Noah that went forth of the ark were Shem and Ham and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan. These are the three sons of Noah: and OF THEM WAS THE WHOLE EARTH OVERSPREAD." (Gen. 9:18,19; see: chapter 10)

On account of the recurring tide of prejudice particularly between white and black people, the subject of the origin of the "races", so-called, is in our day of particular importance. When did distinctions originate between men? Where did the various families of men settle? And what accomplishments has each made?

First, When did distinctions originate between men? There are

4 common solutions advanced. According to one theory, there are ten seeds in Genesis, and that black people did not spring from Adam. According to this view, the Hebrew name "Adam" means "able to blush," and since, as they believe, only white people are capable of blushing then only white people are descended from Adam.

The name "Adam" however, means "red" and is the same name as "Edom." It speaks of the color of the earth from which man was fashioned. However to espouse the notion that every "race" of people did not originate from one common ancestor named "Adam" is to deny the doctrine of the Imputation of Sin, and of the Federal Headship of Adam. We are left to assume each "race" fell into sin at separate times, or that one "race" never did sin. The Apostle Paul, however, declares "As in Adam all die." (I Cor. 15:22} The records of genealogy in Genesis are perspicuous.

A Second View asserts the mark set upon Cain was the origin of the black people. But again, two serious problems are raised.

First, all Cainites were destroyed in the flood in the days of Noah.

This is the reason why people who espouse this view argue for a limited flood. Yet this raises a second problem: If the flood did not cover the mountains "15 cubits and upwards," if it did not overthrow the earth, what need was there for building the ark? Noah had 120 years to find high ground!

A Third View places the origin of the "races" at the Tower of Babel. However the dispersion of people is mentioned only in connection with the diversity of tongues—not on the basis of physical appearances. Are people therefore to practice segregation from one another on the basis of language? There are presently over 3000 languages and dialects in the world today.

A Fourth View, and to our mind, the only logical one, is that the Bible teaches all people originated in Adam in whom were the genes of all families, or "races" of mankind. I invite you to examine two extra-Biblical sources: The Genesis Record is a commentary on the book of Genesis written by Henry Norris of the Creation-Research Institute. The other is entitled The Sons of Noah and is written by Canadian theologian Arthur Custance.

THE OFFICE OF DEACON

Text: (I Timothy 3:8-13}

It is required in deacons that they be men of good character. There are three reasons, the first of which is that they are assistants to the pastor, and therefore they must be fit men as well as capable men. Second, they serve publicly, under the eyes of public scrutiny, and the testimony of God must not be made to stink on account of them who are reputed to be honorable men. And third, deacons are entrusted with a great work --one that requires great care. "It is required in stewards that a man be found faithful", i.e. "full of faith." (I Cor. 4:2)

The requirements of a deacon involve the character of the man as well as the character of his wife and children. Like the pastor, if be is not capable of ruling his own house, how can he take care of the Church of God? (Vs. 12, see: vs. 4,5)

I.

The deacon must be grave, or serious, for he must be ever watchful first over himself, and then over the Church of God. He is to be temperate and sober-minded, and not light, frothy, clownish or rude.

He must not be double-tongued, or hypocritical, what we call two-faced.

He must be no drunkard because wine or strong drink equips no man for business, but fosters poor judgment at best and temptation at worst.

Since a deacon is entrusted with the Lord’s money, a deacon must not be greedy of filthy lucre. "The love of money is the root of all evil." (I Tim. 6:10) He must not be covetous, act like others who would use base methods to finance the work of God, or like others who would use the Lord’s money deceitfully.

A deacon must hold the mystery of faith in a pure conscience. He must be fully persuaded of the dogmatic truths of the Faith once delivered unto the saints. He must guard himself against everything that would debauch his conscience, or that would entice him away from the Lord.

The Apostle them declares that a deacon is first to be proved or tested that his fitness might be ascertained. He must not be a novice or a new convert; neither is he to be a recent member of the church, a man against whom no evil can be proved. "Let (him) use the office of a deacon, being found blameless."

II

Likewise, the deacon must be a man whose wife is herself grave not frivolous or silly, but serious because her husband will be actively involved in the ministry of the Church of the First Born.

The wife of a deacon must not be a slanderer, or in the Greek, a "devil". She must be of good behavior, no talebearer or backbiter.

Therefore, if the wife of a deacon is slanderous, by her conduct she disqualifies her husband from the office of deacon.

She must be sober, not flighty, or one who sows mischief. She must be faithful in all things.

Like the pastor, the deacon is to be the husband of one wife, not having divorced a wife because he has tired of her. NOTE: It would appear from this that a deacon must be a married man. How else could it be said that he rules well his children and his home? How else could he be an example to other families?

III

A deacon must have his home in order. If his children are known to be unruly or disobedient, by their conduct they disqualify their father from the office of deacon.

Application: These qualifications are not set up to be argued with. The word "must" means "must." To choose men who are not qualified for the service of God is to court God’s displeasure.

Good character is a requirement for the proper functioning of the Church, and all deacons who execute the duties of their office well will receive great boldness in the things of God. For it is the righteous who are bold as a lion.

Next month: Part IV --The Duties of the Office

LETTERS

"In the process of my reading, I have come across your publication, The Angelus. I feel that I could use it effectively in my teaching here at Southwestern. Would you be kind enough to place me on your complimentary subscription list? If you could do so, I would share the publication regularly with my students."

Dr. M. Dan McLallen, Ft. Worth, Texas

"Races" --Continued

Every source must be weighed by the revelation that God reveals in His Word; and only the Genesis account gives a completely reliable source.

The term "race" as used of mankind is not a Biblical term. The only time the word appears in Scripture it speaks of a race. When it is used of divisions of mankind, it is an evolutionary term designed to teach one "race" is inferior or superior to another. It has its origin in the idea of a subspecies evolving into a new species. Note: it is also an evolutionary concept that teaches a retarded child or a yet unborn child in not human. Scripture divides mankind into 4 groups: kindred, tongues, people and motions. (Rev. 5:9,10; 7:9,10)

Contemporary writers tell us that there are between 3 and 6 "races" depending upon the classification used. There are in the word, however, approximately 150 nations of any significance. They are therefore in error who define "race" as "nation."

It is evident these kindreds, tongues, people and nations descend from a common ancestor, first by the fact all are true men capable of physical relationships. Therefore black people are not a cross between men and apes as has been proclaimed. A second evidence all are men is that all are capable of learning. And third, and what frustrated Charles Darwin most because he wanted to teach that man is only an educated animal, is fact that all men are capable of worship. Scripture says God "hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth..." (Acts 17:26)

Physical differences must have been present in the first man just as the different species of animals must have been present in the genes of the first of their kind. When Noah took dogs aboard the ark, he did not take 2 Sheep Dogs, 2 Beagles, 2 Wolfhounds, 2 Pomeranians, 2 Poodles, 2 Collies, 2 German Shepherds, etc. --he took two dogs, and from these two all other breeds have derived.

The idea there are 3 "races" --Mongoloid, Negroid, and Caucasoid is neither Biblically nor genetically correct. It is the testimony of Scripture that Noah had 3 sons --Shem, Ham and Japheth, and it is the testimony of Moses that by these three sons of Noah the whole earth was overspread.

Next Month --Part II --The Sons of Noah and Their Settlements

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