The Truth In Print Vol. 15 Issue 8, Sept. 2009
A Publication of the
Valley church of Christ,
2375 W. 8th Street,
Yuma, AZ 85364 (928-782-5058)
Great Truths Learned from Tom Roberts’ Speech at the Truth Magazine Lectureship
Tom Roberts’ speech at this
year’s Guardian of Truth, Truth Magazine Lectures was titled “The Church is the
Pillar and Ground of Truth (I Tim. 3:15).” He spoke to justify their practice.
Their unscriptural practice is they have a human organization that exists for
both business and worship and evangelistic purposes. Weak men and elders in
local churches over the years, in various places, told young preachers not to
preach against “our” human organizations that it would just cause trouble. Now
look who’s preaching on this through their own human organization!
When you read his speech you see the same Pattern of Apostasy in what he’s
defending that he puts into his own speech as he speaks of what can be learned
from past apostasies. The speech quotes brother Floyd
Decker’s comments on the manhood and faith of elders and preachers being sapped
by the United Christian Missionary Society apostasy and its influence in the
First Christian Church. In other words men in the churches were too weak and
did not defend the faith against “that” error. Three times in his speech
Roberts criticizes churches that are cancelling meetings and denying support
for preachers who are caught up in the apostasy and error he seeks to justify
(pgs. 285, 299, 303). These churches, elders and brethren should be commended
as being “strong” — men should not be “weak” and give in to the GOTF apostasy.
Those involved in this apostasy need to repent!
A great deal of Roberts’ speech is on great truths God’s people learned from past controversies.
I. Great Truths Learned from the Restoration Era
Roberts connects the Restoration Era to the Great Awakening Era in America during the late 1700s and well into the 1800s. He explains how many preachers abandoned human denominations with their creeds established by “man’s” authority and began to practice the New Testament. The well known plea during this period was “Speak where the Bible speaks, and be silent where the Bible is silent.” He explains that literally thousands of early Americans responded to the “pure gospel” and were baptized into Christ.
Roberts says the main lesson “learned” is that unity and zeal for the Truth did not last. He says you learn from studying this period that people can turn to the Lord, and people can turn away from the Lord. “Just as in the days of the Apostles, even so throughout history, men depart from the “old paths.” He’s so right! Those warnings have been there since the first century Apostles (cf. 2 Tim. 1:13, 2:2, 3:14-17). Restoration History reveals two main issues: Instrumental Music and Human Associations, Societies and the A.C.M.S. (1849).
Concerning Human Societies he says we “learned” to appreciate today that the church universal is composed of individuals, not churches (Heb. 12:22-23). He points out that the church universal has no earthly headquarters, treasury, collective work, or structure. And yet his explanation of I Tim. 3:15, out of context, is the universal church fulfills the role of pillar and support of the truth. He seeks to justify Human Societies individually supported. The “universal church” (composed of living and dead) did not employ Human Societies! How do dead saints go about forming and funding human societies?
His speech emphasizes that each local church is independent under Christ (Acts 14:23; I Pet. 5:1-2; Acts 20:28). He points out how Brethren wanted to devise schemes for a more effective proclamation of the Gospel. His speech points out that Brethren recognized the fact that the Lord ordained the local churches, with their elders, as His appointed missionary societies; that man can’t substitute a creation of his own hands. Moreover, Roberts’ speech points out that men wanted to exalt Man as of superior wisdom and power to God (pg. 269). Then what does he do himself? On pg. 270 he says: “The local church is authorized to teach the Bible. The individual is authorized to teach the Bible. It is ludicrous to compare such efforts as one better than the other for in many cases, the same preacher will preach in a local church and, later, preach in a lectureship provided by individual brethren.” You need to understand that he’s seeking to justify Human Organizations engaged in worship and evangelism. Immediately following a quote showing that men in “that” era wanted to exalt human wisdom above God’s wisdom and power he raised Human Wisdom and Organization up to the level of God’s Wisdom through His Divine Organization. He might as well have said the Local Church and Evangelistic Society stand on equal footing! How clever – don’t say it is better just that you can’t say one is better than the other. He does this by saying the same preachers preach in both. That is to despise God’s method while elevating “preachers” to the point where “men” establish that one is not better than the other --- not doctrine establishes this but the fact that the same preachers preach in both. Which should you take the Lord’s Supper in? A “preacher” is part of God’s Plan! (Eph. 4:3,11-16). A true preacher is not to ashamed of God’s plan ( 2 Tim. 1:8-11).
II. Truths Learned From Battles With Daniel Sommer
Roberts states that Daniel Sommer (born Jan. 11, 1850) saw the error in the Missionary Society and Instrumental Music apostasies, and led many to walk out of churches that utilized either. Then he goes right into Sommer using I Tim. 3:15 to oppose not only the Missionary Society but the Colleges teaching the Bible. He shows that Sommer objected to individually supported efforts where individual brethren supported organizations other than the local church that engaged in evangelism. He says Sommer confused brethren and divided churches needlessly. In his speech he says later in his life Sommer softened on the College Issue and made it a matter of “opinion.” He points out that Sommer’s heirs such as W. Carl Ketcherside (in 1957), and Leroy Garrett (in 1959), wound up reversed themselves completely and endorsed fellowshipping denominations. I gathered from his approach if you were a “Sommerite heir” you were a radical apt to change later and endorse fellowshipping anything! He says all of this to later accuse men such as Don Martin and Gene Frost as being “Sommerites” who deny the right of brethren to act as individuals in evangelism and benevolence. “They deny the right of group activity to anything except the local church,” he says. If you’ve ever read brother Frost’s definitions of “individual action”: 1) Independent 2) Concurrent VS. Joint action through organizations then you know what Roberts has done. Amazingly you can find brother Frost’s definition in Roberts own speech. But then again, doing such things is part of the pattern of Apostasy.
III. Truths Learned from the 1950s and Institutionalism
Roberts says here the church support of Human Institutions arises “again” as the focal point of the battle; the church support of Orphan Homes, Colleges and other Homes was nothing more than a revival of the issues associated with the church support of Missionary Societies. Roberts says G.C. Brewer spoke at the Abilene Christian College Lectureship calling for support from the churches for the college. He says “Many brethren objected and it was ten years before N.B. Hardeman, President of Freed Hardeman College again defended the practice.” Then later in his own speech he introduces the Jesus Group Lk. 8:1-3 Argument to justify Human Societies. And with that he then quotes Gene Frost who opposed this in 1979. And he shows that brother Frost says Mike Willis of the GOTF was not willing to defend this in 1979. In other words Roberts speech is now defending what Mike Willis of the GOTF would not yet defend in 1979. Thus the pattern in Apostasy of “backing off” when challenged, waiting for a more appropriate time, and then reintroducing the error appears in his own speech as an example of “how” their own apostasy worked.
Roberts goes on to show that the church supported Orphan Home and College stand and fall together. (If you’ve studied this period then you know that the Liberals argued the church could support the “Home” because it could support a “father” as the head of a Family. Thus the Family authorized the Home. Once the Family argument justified the Home (Human Society) then they argued that if the church could support one Human Society (the Orphan Home) and that society teaches and provides worship, then it could support another Human Society, the College that teaches and provides worship.) Statements are quoted showing that “institutionalism” had become a racket built upon “created” needs. (Don’t “institutions” individually supported solicit individuals based upon their created needs?) He says opposition to Colleges as well as Homes was “only” because of the drive to put these institutions in the church budgets. (While “most” might have felt this way some did see the error of individually supported societies for worship and evangelism. There were some who saw at this time that individually supported societies for worship and evangelism had no scriptural place to begin with. The “mistake” made at this time was that our preachers did not fight “both” kinds of societies — church supported and individually supported— at the same time and defeat both of them.) Roberts goes on and shows arguments where it is said that the School is an auxiliary or adjunct of the Home. This argument kept the College safe as long as individually supported. This is the “Family Argument” argument used to justify Human Societies today among us! He says all of this so that now he can say that attacks on the College and other human societies are repeating themselves. He calls this “the new spirit of Sommerism” that would dare to deny support for preachers caught up the GOTF apostasy. As I said earlier he quotes brother Floyd A. Decker who left the Christian church. Brother Decker’s quote included “how fast” the Christian Church moved in Apostasy once it was fully endorsed. We “learned” from that period how fast apostasy moves when fully endorsed! Roberts then commends Florida College for refusing church contributions as a matter of conscience. He then summarizes by saying that “Individuals, whether alone or in groups, have functions to do outside the parameters of the local church and in no sense compete with the local church.” How fast now will that move! Do you suppose that there is just so much more that many are likely now to be ready to do through their “own” human organizations?
Great Truths Learned from Tom Roberts’ Speech
1950s Digression: Whatever the “individual” can do the “local church organization” can do:
“I” —> X <— The local church “organization” can do!
2009 Continued Digression: Whatever the “individual” can do the “organization” brethren build can do:
“I” —> X <— The “organization” brethren build can do!
1950s Digression:
The “Family” authorized —> the Human Society!
2009 Digression:
The “Family” authorizes —> The Human Society!
Great Truth Learned: Points on the pattern of Apostasy that Roberts included in the first of his speech can be applied back to himself and the brethren supporting the Guardian of Truth Foundation apostasy!
By Bob Lovelace
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