Grace and Truth by Jack Hyles 1975 FOREWORD Someone said, "Never mind the beautiful; give me the durable and the useful." Let that one behold the yellow-gold of the grainfield, the emerald green of a meadow, the peerless blue of the sky, the sevenfold beauty of the rainbow, the towering mountains with their ceaseless lights and shadows, the snowy white of the snow, the glory of the sunset and the fresh green of the spring. Let him remember that the God Who made the trunk of the tree also made its autumn coat, the God Who made the mighty ocean rolls across its top the whitecaps, and the God Who made the mighty mountains has made for them a sundae-like covering. Yes, we need the strong and the durable, but we also need to add to that strength and durability beauty and grace. To the acquiring of this balance, this author several years ago set forth a volume called BLUE DENIM AND LACE. Similar truths were presented in the second BLUE DENIM AND LACE which was named STRENGTH AND BEAUTY. Now the twins become triplets with the publishing of GRACE AND TRUTH. Even the casual reader will note that much of this volume is directed toward the Christian school movement. It is hoped that the following words will be an anchor to the drifting and will be used of God to give strength to the beautiful and beauty to the strong, zeal to the scholar and knowledge to the zealous, majesty to the honorable and honor to the majestic, grace to the truthful and truth to the gracious, until it can be said of each of us as was said of the Stranger of Galilee by one who knew Him so well, "And we be- held His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14) Dr. Jack Hyles Pastor, First Baptist Church, Hammond, Indiana Founder, Hyles-Anderson College, Schererville, Indiana TABLE OF CONTENTS I Be A Childish, Juvenile Adult 2 Don't Rush the Washing Machine 3 How Not to Change 4. Be Sure Your Sin Will Find You Out 5 How Not to Be Offended 6 Hear and Do 7 His Name Is jealous 8 Little Things 9 Keeping Buzzards Away 10 Is Teenage Love Real Love? 11 The Hair of His Head Began to Grow 12 The First Step to Getting 13 On Being a Man 14 Give Me Thy Heart 15 Do It with Jesus 16 The Simple Place 17 The Shadow of the Almighty 18 The Christian's Hate Life 19 When Leadership Is Weaker Than Followship 20 How Long Did She Live? 21 Accreditation 22 The Teacher or the "Teacher-Type 23 Discipline and Punishment 24 When the Student Fails 25 The Basis of Loyalty to Superiors . 26 Counseling with Students 27 The Teacher's Relationship to the Parent 28 Satan's Bid for Your Child 29 Sex Education Program Our Public Schools 30 Jesus Had Short Hair 31 A Warning to the Christian School ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jack Hyles began preaching at the age of 19 and has pastored for over 25 years. These pastorates include churches that varied in membership from 19 to over 30,000. All of these pastorates, other than the present one, were in the state of Texas: First, the Marris Chapel Baptist Church of Bogata, Texas; then to the Grange Hall Baptist Church in Marshall, Texas; from there to the,Southside Baptist Church of Henderson, Texas; and then to the Miller Road Baptist Church of Garland, Texas. He pastored the Miller Road Baptist Church for 7 years and saw this church, under the Lord, grow from a membership of 92 to over 4,000. It was from the Miller Road Baptist Church that he was called to his present pastorate at the First Baptist Church in Hammond, Indiana. Dr. Hyles has been Pastor of the First Baptist Church since August, 1959. This church has a membership of over 30,000 and during the past year (1973) had 25,044 conversions and additions and baptized 8,044. The church now operates 226 buses and has recently been acclaimed to have the "World's Largest Sunday School." During Dr. Hyles' ministry the First Baptist Church has increased in property evaluation to over $12,000,000. Besides his position as Pastor, Dr. Hyles is Superintendent of Hammond Baptist Schools-Hammond Baptist Grade School and Hammond Baptist High School-and Founder of Hyles-Anderson College. The college, now in its third year, will matriculate over a thousand students this year. It is housed in a beautiful 71-acre campus with buildings valued at $5,000,000. (All of the schools are operated by the First Baptist Church and are housed in separate facilities away from the church property.) Dr. Hyles has served as President of the Baptist Bible College in Denver, Colorado. He is now Assistant Editor-Conference Director of the SWORD OF THE LORD, America's foremost Christian weekly. He also serves as a Vice-President of the Sword of the Lord Foundation. Dr. Hyles is heard weekly on the nationwide broadcast, "Let's Go Soul Winning with Jack Hyles." This program is heard on a network of stations covering much of the United States. He is the author of 22 books and pamphlets exceeding over four million copies in sales. One long-play record by Dr. Hyles is also available, LET'S GO SOUL WINNING (awarded by the Evangelical Film Foundation an Oscar as the outstanding talk record of 1967), as well as many taperecorded sermons. Dr. Hyles' experience covers numerous evangelistic campaigns, Bible conferences, etc. He is in constant demand as a speaker for many of the major denominations in the United States. He has preached in virtually every state of the Union and in many foreign countries. His annual Pastors' School attracts preachers from every state and many foreign countries. More than 2,350 registrants attend each year. Chapter 1 A CHILDISH, JUVENILE ADULT A child is not a complete person. He cannot enjoy many things that maturity will allow him to enjoy. tor him many wonderful, enriching experiences yet wait that he cannot enjoy until he reaches adolesconce and adulthood. The adolescent is not a complete person, for there Ve many rich and satisfying endeavors that can be OWoyed only by adults. 7be adult may or may not be a complete person; that choice is up to him. The child-adolescent-adult is a complete person. This is a person who, when he became an adolescent did not substitute adolescence for childhood, but ADDED adolescence to childhood. Then when adulthood came, he did not substitute adulthood for adolacence but rather added adulthood to adolescence and childhood. He retained his childhood enjoyment and added to it the enjoyments of adolescence. He then retained his childhood and adolescent enjoyMents and added to them adult enjoyments. He then became the complete person with a complete set of appetites, delights and fulfillments. Why riot make a list of all the enjoyments unique to childhood. Have you retained them, or did you trade Grace and Truth them for the enjoyments of youth? Everyone enjoys a teenager who, while possessing the maturity of youth, still possesses the excitement, exuberance and warmth of a child. We all know of adults who have added adolescence to childhood and adulthood to adolescence. This may be what charisma really is. There is a bit of little boy in every attractive adult male personality. There is an obvious pleasance or a bit of adolesence in every adult male personality. Likewise the attractive woman has a bit of little girl in her. She also has retained the flavor of adolescence in her mature, adult personality. In many of our schools the best teaching is done in the lower grades. Such teachers can appeal to a child because they have retained a bit of childhood in their personalities. The same is true with a youth worker. Perhaps a youth worker is one who has kept his youth while becoming an adult. He was not willing to sacrifice youth for maturity and adulthood, but rather chose to retain his youth while adding the maturity of adulthood. Think for a moment of some people whose presence you enjoy the most. Notice carefully and you will see that these people are childish, juvenile adults. This is why little children enjoy their presence. This is the reason that young people love to be with them and that other childish, juvenile adults enjoy their company. To be sure, such a person may draw criticism from incomplete people. The suave teenager may not like the teenager who has retained a touch of childhood. The drab adult may not enjoy the presence of the childish, juvenile adult. Perhaps the incomplete man will even develop a jealousy for the complete man. This perhaps is prompted by envy 2 Be a Childish, juvenile Adult and covetousness. All of us know of a young person who has gone off to college and has come home a different person, much to the dismay and disappointment of his parents. We also know of a young person who has gone off to college to return the same person who is just ghore mature and able to enjoy more of life. Such Ipeople bring delight and satisfaction to their parents. A fitrmer worked hard to send his son to the state Wversity. While working in the field one day a neighbor asked him if he had noticed any difference ih his son since he had been to the university for a fear The farmer replied, "Yep. You ain't never seen i6- much change in one young'in'. Before he went to %e university, when he would plow, he would say to &e mule at the end of the row, 'Whoa, Reb. Turn Atund and giddup.' Now that he has been to the 69versity for a year he says, 'Halt, Rebecca, pivot "d proceed."' Ot is the opinion of this author that K 1he mule walked on.") The childish, juvenile adult enlarges his potential fbr service to mankind. He is not a specialist able to *Ork just with children, nor is he a specialist able to *Ork Just with teenagers, nor is he limited to working only with adults. He has enough child in him to work with children, enough youth in him to work with Oung people and enough maturity to work with Oults. Fortunate is such a person and fortunate are those Privileged to be near him. I am thinking now of a great preacher whom I found one day playing hopscotch with some children. I think Of another great man of God whom I found One day Playing marbles with some junior boys. Such IL Person makes a better pastor, for he can appeal to Grace and Truth all ages. He makes a better parent, for he can have the proper rapport with his children at every stage of development. He will have a richer life, for he will be able to enjoy the company of any age. He will be a better leader, for he will know the heartbeat of each follower. He will be a more desirable person, for all ages will enjoy his presence. He will be more versatile in that his appeal will span all of life. He will never really grow old, for even in his senior years, he will still in some ways be a little boy and a young man. I think of my mother, who at this writing is 86 years of age; yet every time I talk to her I see the twinkling eye of a child, the mischievousness of childhood, the optimism and expectancy of a teenager, the glamor of a young woman, the endurance of youth and the wisdom of adulthood wrapped up in one personality. This is why she, at the age of 86, attracts little children and teenagers as well as adults. There are people in their forties who are older than Mother. She is a childish, juvenile adult who refused to trade the joys of childhood for the joys of adolescence, or the joys of adolescence for the joys of adulthood. She has retained them all and in so doing has kept her appeal to others and her enjoyment of others regardless of the age. In 11 Peter 3:18 we are admonished to grow in grace. The word "grow" could be better translated "increase." It means to keep what you have and add more. It is like a growing tree. While the tree adds branches, it keeps its trunk. While it adds leaves, it keeps its branches. It is like an army which takes ground. It does not give up what it had; it adds new land to the land that already has been conquered. In 4 Be a Childish, juvenile Adult other words, growing in grace is "adding to," not ik ': "substituting for." 1. Do not exchange poverty for riches, The wise -11Z11' person will add riches to poverty. There are some Owoyments; that are unique to poverty. How tragic it is when one gives up these enjoyments that are so rich that they cannot be bought with money in order to exchange them for things less valuable which can be bought with money. Such a person becomes povqrty-stricken because of his riches and trades that vdiich cannot be bought by money for that which can u by money. This type of individual can be the poor rich man or the rich poor man. I think of my good friend, Russell Anderson, from ti, Michigan. Though his wealth enables him purchase whatever he would want, his wife ,,'4&'xine still sews for the children and makes their Wothes. She often trades at discount stores where the Vommon person trades. They often raise a garden. In other words, because they were once poor they 'Aftmed the enjoyments of the poor. Now that they 'I" wealthy they have kept their poverty and have AOUbled their enjoyment rather than substituted one for another. 2. Do not trade simplicity for profundity. Though 'OverY Person should strive to become as profound in Profe&sion and field as he possibly can, he should not with the acquiring of profundity discard the pleasUres of simplicity. In reality no one can be profound who has not retained his simplicity, for he will be completely unable to transfer his profundity to others. Simplicity is the tool with which profundity is transferred. Simplicity is the conveyer by which profunditY is transported. Without simplicity, profundity 5 Grace and Truth is a house built upon the sand. Our Lord was the master at adding profundity to simplicity. He could take the deepest and most profound truths and wrap them with the simplest of terms. The deepest of doctrines were conveyed to us by such stories as a boy running off from home, a lady losing a coin, a lamb getting lost from the flock, a man going out to plow, a farmer sowing in the field, etc. When one becomes profoundly simple, richly poor, simply complicated, discerningly naive, weakly strong, conservatively aggressive, excitedly serious, unpredictably stable and unknowingly educated, he has arrived at a place to where he can live the rich life of being a childish, juvenile adult. L_" DON'T RUSH THE WASHING MACHINE ntly I was looking at the washing machine in basement and noticed what an amazing piece of . ery it is. The thing is almost human! All you bin to do is turn it on; it does the rest. It fills, washes, refills, rinses and spins again. To miss any one means that the clothes will not be done properor example, suppose that after the clothes wash, F machine were to jump the rinse cycle. Then you n have soapy clothes to wear. Suppose it were to the refill cycle before rinsing. Then there be no water with which to rinse. The clothes vaWd Pmwt be their best unless they take the full time for 'Wh cycle. klAfe is that way. It is divided into cycles. There is *hncy, childhood, teenage, college age, young adultMod, adulthood, middle age and old age. For one to fftch out too soon and grasp one of those cycles or to *ach back too far for a missed cycle does not make for a complete, happy and fulfilling life. This is why Mom and Dad do not ride tricycles. This is why teenagers do not drink milk out of a bottle with a nipple. It is foolish for one who has passed a cycle to reach back to a former cycle. It is equally foolish for one who is not yet to a par- 7 Grace and Truth ticular cycle to reach far out and grasp it prematurely. For example, each young person has a right to receive the fullest of each part of life. Sometimes a teenager will want to marry prematurely. Perhaps a young lady will marry and in a year or so have a baby. She loves her husband and she loves her baby, but she should have waited a few years until the cycle for marriage came. While she should have been in college experiencing dormitory life and enjoying that part of life's cycle, she couldn't wait. She reached out and grabbed a part of life for which she wasn't ready, thereby missing a part of life that will cause her regrets as long as she lives. Life is short, but it can be enjoyed to its fullest only when we five it as it comes to us as God planned it. Of course, young people should look forward with anticipation to marriage, but they should remember they are now living in days to which they looked a few years ago. They should enjoy the present. We should all let life's cycle give its fullest at every position. Don't grasp prematurely the next stage in life. Live this one until it has run its course, and then the next one can be enjoyed to its fullest. We can all take a lesson from the washing machine. If we want to turn out to be our best, our cleanest, and our most useful, we must take life as it comes, not reaching forward to that for which we are not ready, not reaching backward to that which we have passed, but living today as God planned it for us. There are several dangers involved here. Of course, one is jumping over a cycle or shortening it by marrying too soon, by quitting school and getting a job, etc. This is caused by an intense desire to grab the future rather than enjoy the present. The type 8 Don't Rush the Washing Machine n that does this seldom enjoys any phase of life, lwso he is so desirous to reach out and grab the next that he does not enjoy the present one. e Still another danger is causing one's mate to miss Cne of the cycles of life. Sometimes a young man, i.lecause he has improper counsel and because he ts to marry prematurely, will marry a younger causing her to miss some of the most wonderful of life. Of course, the young lady must also share responsibility of the mistake, but whatever the she still misses all or a portion of a vital part of re is still another danger, that of holding off a A young person may decide to put off college a year so he can work for money with which to his college tuition. This is also dangerous. In most this person never gets to college. He becomes torned to a certain life-style from which he must if he goes to college. More often than not he Wver enrolls in college. There is also the danger of going too fast in one Male and too slow in another. A teenage couple may 'dW too close too soon so that their romance will ripen Jpfore they are ready for marriage. The wise young e AMPI will prepare to marry at the end of their col)Age training. They will, therefore, pace their degree qf.closeness according to the number of years that will elapse before college graduation. This means that their love will ripen so as to reach its peak on their wedding day. If this is not the case, one of three things will happen. (1) They will break up because they have gone too far too fast and are emotionally and physically ready for marriage at a time that is premature. (2) They will do wrong because they have 9 Grace and Truth not saved anything for the remaining days before marriage. (3) They will marry prematurely cheating themselves of both the enjoyment of the present phase of fife and the proper preparation for the next phase. The Boy-Girl Relationship Cycle There is another of life's cycles which deals with human relationships. For a girl it is as follows: parents, girls, girls and boys, boys, a boy. For a boy it is as follows: parents, boys, boys and girls, girls, a girl. As a child, one is occupied primarily with his parents. He then comes to the next phase of his life where he is occupied basically with members of his same sex. Boys have their clubs and circle of friends. Girls have the same. At this time in life all boys plan to live a life that is single and each boy covets the presidency of the girl-haters club and all girls think that every boy is a nuisance and a bad invention. In a few years, however, something begins to happen. Nature does its work and there is a period when boys become attractive to girls and girls to boys. This is the boys and girls cycle. During this cycle the normal girl will retain her closeness with her girl friends and yet will begin to show an interest in boys in general. Boys, likewise, continue to spend time with each other but also become involved with girls. It isn't long until another cycle is reached. Girls like to be around boys and boys like to be around girls. During this stage it is unwise for one to settle down with one member of the opposite sex. Soon, however, the normal young person will find the one for him and enter into what for a girl is the boy stage 10 Don't Rush the Washing Machine A, 'and for a boy is the girl stage. When the right one is 41mmd, then the romance must be paced according to number of years between the finding of the right and college graduation or the suitable wedding Now it is important for the happy, well-rounded to enjoy each phase of life in its completeness. All usknow some who have missed a phase or have too long in a phase. For example, we all know people who have stayed tied to Mama's apron We know other young people who dated too and settled down with one member of the opposex too soon, etc. The wise young person will enach stage to its fullest while readily accepting .. liew one when it is time for it to come. cycle is for a purpose. If followed carefully it make it much easier for a young person to find "right one." If these cycles are abbreviated, it leads young people to become so emotionally prematurely that they will have to do get married or break up. This is sad, for in cases the two would have married and should married, but had to break up because of premaemotional involvement and forfeited each other 11-Ar life. MW wise young person will accept life's cycles as 4:. OW come, not prolonging one or reaching out to 041P one prematurely, but will accept each one as it COmes, elljoying it to its fullest and happily going to %e next. Chapter 3 HOW NOT TO CHANGE Several times in the Bible we are admonished not to remove the ancient landmarks which our fathers have set. The Psalmist said, "I shall not be moved." All of us know institutions such as churches and schools that have changed and deteriorated with the passing of the years. The sad thing is that this deterioration takes place unknowingly. The Bible says that Samson did not know his power was gone from him. The reason for this is that Satan does not change us suddenly or dramatically. He moves the landmarks a little at a time until we change unknowingly. As slow as the hands move on a clock so Satan leads us to deterioration and apostasy. If we do not succumb to his tactics, it will be because we have a carefully planned program of resistance. Many things should be a part of that program. 1. Analyze and know ingredients. When a victory is won, carefully relive the ingredients of victory. When a defeat is suffered, carefully analyze the ingredients of defeat. When a person has a good day he may or may not 12 How Not to Change f. why he had a good day. All of us have come ...'4mow Aome at night living on top. Before retiring it would wise for us to analyze the day. If the ingredients of day made for a good today, they will no doubt for a good tomorrow. -When one has a bad day he should not just mark it until he analyzes carefully what he did, how he it, where he went, with whom he was, etc. He can by avoid such a combination of ingredients toand all the tomorrows. n we know the ingredients of both success and we will be able to place together the proper If this recipe is used regularly, victory can be regularly. Institutions as well as individutds reexamine and investigate the means and cirs that led to success and plan the future 9 Y. now your pattern of behavior. Usually we react vame way to the same stimulus. There are certain that make us mad; there are certain things that us sad; there are certain things that make us If we can intelligently relive our sadness, our and our gladness, we can utilize the stimuli us to react with some degree of consistency. enable us to continue using the same stimu- just as we continue using the aforementioned recThe individual or the institution thereby besomewhat predictable because he has learned Y to arrive at a desired end. To be sure, we are --human, and human beings do not always react to the skme stimulus the same way. However, there are basic stimuli that will usually cause the same '4eaction and the same response. We should know these and avoid those that cause us to change for the 13 Grace and Truth bad. We should make friends with those which have done us good before. 3. Do notjudge by the changing of others. Far too many of us judge right or wrong on the basis of our distance from wrongdoers. Hence, as the world changes we change, staying exactly the same distance behind the world, for to us right and wrong is a relative thing in comparison with those who do wrong and with those who do right. For example, it is sad to see the skirt lengths of Christian young ladies rising just because the skirt lengths of the world are rising. We are very careful, however, not to be like the world. We just want to stay the same distance behind them. In doing so we change! As the world gets worse and worse we can find ourselves the same distance from the world and yet be worse now than the world was before. If it was wrong for young ladies to show their thighs 10 years ago, it is wrong today. This is only an example. There are many others. Because of this philosophy, we change and don't know we are changing, because we are judging ourselves by the distance we keep from the world's standards and not by what is right and what is wrong to do. 4. One should not expect to change. Do not accept the philosophy that it must be done in these days and that since it is harder to live right, we cannot live as we always lived. The very fact that one expects to change is a part of the changing. 5. One should know the difference between improvement and change. Improvement comes on purpose; change usually comes unknowingly. Improvement is usually enjoyed by the careful whereas change is enjoyed by the careless. Institutions do not deteriorate because they plan to deteriorate. They 14 How Not to Change orate without realizing that the process is tak- are like a boat without an anchor. It place. They not appear to be moving until we find it far from shore. There are certain anchors that the tian institution should lower. The anchor of the the anchor of the deity of Christ, the anchor of will of God, the anchor of soul winning and other :anchors will help to keep us from drifting. vement comes by making a habit of the Change and deterioration come by just suppost everything must be all right. should weigh himself every day. The clock s a minute a day will in 60 days lose an hour not set daily. The individual or institution -is not weighed daily and whose compass is not daily will soon find itself way off course and spiritual health. One should check his position to be sure that he is not off course. the sad things about the Christian life is that not become dissatisfied with a little bit of The best housewife hates a speck of dirt. The hanic hates a spot of grease. The best hushates one locust. The best preacher hates The best judge hates one crime. The best ates one defeat. The best doctor hates one e best botanist hates one weed. The best hates one unharmonious note. The best tes one grammatical error, and the most ent Christian hates to veer one degree off Because of this, the land must be surveyed Overy day. Our spiritual height must be measured ev- day. Our course must be charted every day. of a the things the Apostle Paul did daily. He Abd daily, and he buffeted his body daily. The wise 15 Grace and Truth Christian will make a daily check on his position. The wise Christian institution will check its position every day, not in its relation to other institutions, but in its relation to what it was when God blessed it most and to its nearness to the purpose of its founders. Look at the great liberal universities which were founded by fundamental people and financed by fundamental dollars. Their change did not come dramatically. It was a slow, gradual evolution. Even the most astute of its leaders did not realize a change was taking place. The landmark was moved so slowly it could not be seen, and yet one day the institution awakened to find itself asleep, came alive to find itself dead, found enough fight to find itself in darkness, walked straight enough to find itself crooked, had just enough health to find itself incurably diseased and had just enough strength to find itself too weak to recover. Beloved, let us not let Satan do this to our institutions. Let each of us that is connected with a Christian school or church check itself constantly to see if just a little deterioration has set in. Let us go to the doctor before we get cancer. Let us cure its pimple when it first begins and not lament its death later. All of this is to say that we should hate mistakes; we should hate wrong. Clean the garment the moment it is spotted. See the doctor at the first sign of temperature in order that we may avoid following the path of institutions who were founded as we were founded and who one day held the exact position that we now hold and yet who gradually and unknowingly died. 7. Before eliminating a weakness one should see what is on the other side connected to it. It may be that the very weakness which we eliminate is not a weakness at all, but rather a necessary part of 16 How Not to Change For example, one who is tenacious may ap- to be stubborn. One who is confident may apto be cocky. One who is zealous may appear to d. One who has conviction may appear to be . So often in our sincere desire to improve IV es we roH into spiritual surgery to remove thing that appears to be bad but which is conto the very thing that makes us unique and . This is often caused by egocentricity and is spection. Many institutions and individuals t because they become disenchanted with qualities that are necessary for success. Let with the Psalmist, "I shall not be moved," and g=d daily the landmarks lest they be moved so gradually by the enemy. 17 Chapter 4 BE SURE YOUR SIN WILL FIND YOU OUT Numbers 32:23, "But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out." Most preachers with evangelistic fervor have preached from this text. The normal interpretation is that overt sins will be found out and that the day will come when sins will be uncovered. This is a Bible truth, but it is not the primary teaching of this passage. The Israelites were about to cross over Jordan and enter into the Promised Land. The tribes of Rueben and Gad came to Moses and asked special permission. They asked if they could stay on the east side of the Jordan where the land was fertile and was very suitable for the cattle and sheep possessed by these two tribes. They said, "Bring us not over Jordan." Moses realizing that God had commanded them to drive out the enemy from Canaan refused to grant this permission. He said, "Shall your brethren go to war and ye sit here?" He would not let them avoid the battles on the west side of the Jordan in order to enjoy the luxury of the fertile land on the east side of the Jordan. The problem was resolved by the men agreeing to 18 Be Sure Your Sin Will Find You Out a over Jordan and fight. They would build sheepL-q for their cattle and cities for their families. The Os, children and cattle would remain on the east K of the Jordan while the men crossed the Jordan Ot the battle. The agreement was that when the Oe was over the men would return to their famiAnd cattle. Moses accepted this plan but warned 0 that if they did not go forth to battle, if they did prnis the Jordan River, if they did not fight, God punish them. He said, "Be sure your sin will. out." of the members of the tribes of Gad and are still alive today. In fact, America is full of k)2C ers who say, "We are tired of fighting. Let our victories in the wilderness. It is time for and enjoy the fertile plains on the east side ." Oh, these people still go to church. don't want to fight. To be sure, on Sunday be fed. They want sermons to feed their y eat the fat and drink the sweet. They .1he table for the best wine. They tuck their napkins around their necks and say, "Feed I Feed me! Feed mel" but they do not want The battle rages on the other side of the and while the fighting is going on they want kW on the east side and "feed the sheep." They ktheir conferences, their worship services, their MfOld amen and their anthems. They even love t Bible studies and deeper-fife conferences, yet Fnever turn a hand to do anything in the battle. Y gird no armor, grasp no sword, hurl no spear, W no stones, shed no blood, render no sweat and 9 no tears. a church has no invitation, they shriek in horror, 19 Grace and Truth yet if all the converts who came forward were theirs, there would be no need for an invitation. If the church cancelled all its visitation program, they would be angry, but they never show up for one. If the church never baptized any converts, they would classify the church as being dead, but they never lead a convert to the baptistry. These goldbricks talk about being crucified with Christ, yet they have no scars in their hands, no spear in their side, no jeering mob, no angry critics, no thorns on their brow. They have no pain. They suffer no heartache. They do not want to be called fanatics, and yet they glibly talk about being crucified with Christ. This crowd of deserters often know much about the Bible. They often know truths that God doesn't even know, and they find things in the Bible that God didn't put there. They can tell you all the types concerning what the beasts stand for; they can tell you the symbolic meanings of the leg on the beast, the foot on the leg, the toe on the foot, the nail on the toe and the polish on the nail. They want victories with no battles and crucifixion with no pain. One of these AWOL's came to me in Toccoa, Georgia, one time, looked at me through spooky eyes and said, "Dr. Hyles, you strike me as being a very deep Bible teacher. Do you know what 'the horse' in Revelation 19 stands for?" I said, "Yes, I do." She excitedly asked, "What?" I replied, "A horse." She looked through dejected eyes and said, "It mentions that the horse is a white horse. Do you know what the spiritual significance of that color 20 Be Sure Your Sin Will Find You Out P" Ite is?99 W !4 4ve lied, "Yes." -e excitedly said, "I knew you would! I knew you S70 j1dj I knew you would! What does the word 'white' '"plied, "That's the color of the horse." across America these loafers are causing trouble X11-winning churches. Practically every faithful, 4-winning, Bible preacher is hounded by these JL They gravitate to committees and shun soul as though it were a plague. If a preacher t _sin, he is a legalist. If he leads as Moses did, he is "RIAN I :.,.tor. If he loves souls, he is shallow. If he has 40. Se possesses wild fire. ,,,,Ve Monday-morning quarterbacks never make le, never complete a pass, never kick a field '40ever block a kick, never make a first down and win a game. They simply sit in the stands and those who run off sides, are guilty of unnecesess and boo the one who makes the own. These modern Korahs would think the of the Red Sea too spectacular. They would ihe sensationalism of Joshua making the sun still. They would suggest that the feeding of 15,000 was carnal and certainly would classify AACOst as an emotional experience not worthy of -'4r=9 worship service. These Diotrophes grow qr,41 .- Mes 0t weeds, sow spiritual crab grass in the Of all the soul-winning churches in America. ,,,,,-:.y are watch-gazers during the invitation. They "'notoriously against the bus ministry. They oppose scattered abroad everywhere, and if 3,000 got today, it would be no Pentecost, it would be a K 21 Grace and Truth They are termites who eat away at the foundations c.' our churches. They are buzzards circling the field to pull at the carcass of new converts. They are parasites who live on other's toil. They are polecats who spray their odor on every church member who gets close to them. They are serpents who shoot deadly venom at every soul-winning church and pastor in America and cockroaches who infest every member of the church on whom they can crawl. The truth is no Christian has a right to be at peace during the war. No Christian has a right to stay on the east side of Jordan and enjoy the luxury of the fertile plains while the rest are fighting on the west side. Should I be carried to the skies, On flowery beds of ease, While others fight to win the prize, And sail through bloody seas? No, I must fight if I would gain, Increase my courage, Lord! I'll bear the toil, endure the pain, Supported by Thy Word. Am I to receive and never give? Am I to eat and never feed? Am I to wear and never clothe? Am I to drink and never offer a cup? Ladies and gentlemen, there is a war on! On which side of the Jordan do you dwell? We, like the Israelites, are to cross the Jordan and fight the battles until the battle is over and we can return to our families and see the face of our Saviour and hear Him say, "Well done." 22 hapter 5 W NOT TO BE OFFENDED 119:165, "Great peace have they which love and nothing shall offend them." churches and schools are plagued with and by who are easily offended. Each of us should be on guard against this deadly enemy of , the school, the Christian and the Saviour. V in the Word of God. Psalm 119:165 teaches there is a way that we can rise above being Notice the words, "nothing shall offend Read the Word, memorize the Word, love the Meditate upon the Word, live in the Word and can be had over this adversary. not look at criticism as being personal. Years ed a little exercise that has helped me treusly. I decided to look upon my critics as bro- r than as bad. When my watch breaks I do Aght back and throw it against the wall. When *S&O breaks I do not become angry at it. I deridthat when people criticize me, it is not because y are bad; it is because there is a broken part. This 6 not mean that they should be discarded any re than the radio should be discarded. They need fixed. 23 Grace and Truth Then I also realized that I too sometimes am broken. 3. Do not love because of the object. Love should be caused by the condition of the heart of the lover, not the attributes of the loved. God does not love us because of what we are; He loves us because of what He is. May He help us to be like Him in this respect. Being human, it may be somewhat difficult for us to love the unlovely as much as we love the lovely, and the degree of our love may be determined by the degree of loveliness. However, the presence of our love should not be so determined. 4. Do not want things or position. Most of our hurt feelings are caused by disappointments in not receiving things, acclaim or position that we had wanted or craved. The less one wants the less he will be offended. The more one wants for others, the less he will be offended. The only real want or craving a Christian should have toward others is an intense desire to help others. Remember, Christ has no alternative but to love the unlovely, the unloving and often the unloved. 5. If your critic is your inferior, allow that he has not been privileged to know what you know. Give him some leeway. I am a very criticized man, probably one of the most criticized preachers of this generation. I try to allow that a person can dislike me and still not be bad. We are so constructed that a person could be mean to the rest of the world and good to us and we think he is good, or he could be good to the rest of the world and mean to us and we would think he is bad. There are many people who have not had the teachings that you and I have had. They do not even know the truths that we are now sharing. No one criticizes 24 How Not to Be Offended because he cannot ride a bicycle or a child he doesn't know trigonometry. Why should our feelings hurt by those who have not eged to learn not to be critical? not have a lot of unplanned fellowship. Do sit around and talk. Soon it will lead to talking people. Someone has said that great minds talk ideas, good minds talk about things, and weak talk about people. When planning to get to-with other Christians, plan the activities. Do Wy and talk idly. There is a grave temptation lboo much about people. Maybe this talk is not once we idly talk we are tempted to talk 1e, and once we start talking about people, pted to say bad things about them. not retaliate to those who try to offend you, unkind to you or who criticize you. I was in Morida, at the airport. I had a couple of hours to eat a bite. When I entered the coffee ess asked me if I wanted a booth. "'Yes, ma'am." me if I wanted a menu. "Yes, ma'am." e in a few minutes and asked me if I was order. "Yes, ma'am.,, looked at me, threw her pad down on the table , "Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, Don't you know any other words besides 'yes, 9?9P looked up and replied, "Yes, ma'am." She Ped off and from then on treated me as rudely as ve ever been treated. Finally she came back and UUY threw my bill at me. The bill, as I remember, Grace and Truth was nearly $2. In fact, I think it was $1.67. 1 left a $5 tip on the table. As I was paying my bill, the waitress came running with the $5 and said, "Mister, you dropped some money as you left." She handed me the $5 bill. I looked at her and said, "Dear lady, don't they tip at this restaurant?" Her lips quivered. Her eyes moistened as she said, "Do you mean, sir, that you left me a $5 tip after I had been so mean to you?" I said, "Little lady, you are not a bad woman. I can tell you have a burden, you have a heavy heart. I hoped that I could brighten your day." She began to weep and tell me a story of how her husband had left her. She had no money and had to go to work as a waitress to make ends meet and to feed the children. I told her of a Saviour Who loves her, and she received Him as her Saviour. About an hour later I was walking through the airport and happened to meet this waitress. She smiled and said, "Hello." I asked her, "Do you feel better now?" whereupon she said, "Yes, ma'am!" Memorize Psalm 119:165. Believe it. Practice it and let nothing offend you. 26 .epter 6 AND DO omy 30:11-14, "For this commandment and thee this day, it is not hidden from Colaull th er is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Nei- 6yond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who r the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that ar it, and do it? But the word is very nigh in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou it.99 2 closes with the words, "that we may hear it." Verse 13 closes with the words, "that hear it, and do it." Verse 14 ends with the t thou mayest do it." Notice that the hearoff there. Perhaps the dear Lord is saying to He has told us twice to hear and do and that Pnough hearing; it is now time to do! Inca is full of these who hear and never do. FWS of thousands of our church members have Until their ears must ache, but they do nothing )d- Beloved, the Gospel is not a treasure to be L but a treasure to be carried. The Gospel is not lor to hang in the boat house; it is an anchor to on the boat and be used. It is not food to st-)re 27 Grace and Truth in the cellar but food to share with others. It is not a garment to hang in the closet but rather a robe of righteousness to give to others. It is not a weapon to display in a museum; it is a sword to be used in battle. The Gospel is not a lagoon for the feeding of ducks; it is a river that is to flow to the entire world. It is not a relic to be examined; it is a redemption to be spread. It is not an ascetic experience to be enjoyed; it is an estatic experience to be shared. It is not a request to come, but a command to go. It is not a small reading light, but a bright headlight. Listen to the Word of God. Psalm 143:10, "Teach me to do Thy will, 0 God." Notice this does not say, "Teach me to be in Thy will, 0 God," but "Teach me to do Thy will, 0 God." Philippians 4:13 reminds us that we can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth us. The Apostle does not say, "I can bear all things through Christ." He did not say, "I can be all things through Christ," or "I can know all things through Christ." Certainly these are also true, but he carefully chose to say, "I can do all things through Christ." In Acts 9:6 the newly converted Saul of Tarsus, who is someday to become the great apostle Paul, asks, "What wilt Thou have me to do?" His first question was not, "What wilt Thou have me hear?" "What wilt Thou have me to learn?" or "What wilt Thou have me to be?" but "What wilt Thou have me to do?" In James 1:22 we are admonished to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. In James 4:17 we are told that to him who knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin. John 14:12 reminds us, "Verily, verily, I say unto 28 HearandDo e that beheveth on Me, the works that I do do also; and greater works than these shall he I go unto My Father." Note that we are works of Jesus. God's people are to do somee did not say the facts that He learned we are the teaching He taught we are to teach, the that He went we are to go. Now these are true t the great fact is that we are to do what He 1:1, "The former treatise have I made, 0 , of all that Jesus began both to do and Wotice that Jesus began to do and to teach. to do and to teach. Notice the do comes beteach. Beloved, the Word of God is not an be defended; it is a weapon to be used. enough great preachers; now we need doers. We have enough great teachers; d some great doers. We have enough s; now we need some great doers. Per- ought to change the ordination paper of a from "Ordained to preach" to "Ordained to many Christians whose favorite Scripture 23. Perhaps we need some whose favorite is Ecclesiastes 9:10, "Whatsoever thy hand do, do it with thy might; for there is no device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the .,*hither thou goest." many Christians whose life's verse is Ro'28. Maybe some ought to choose as their life's Matthew 28:19, 20. Perhaps we ought to life verses like Daniel 12:3; Proverbs 11:30 9:4, "1 must work the works of Him that Me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no Grace and Truth man can work." Maybe we have preached enough on the Sabbath Day, and it is time to emphasize the other six days. Perhaps we have stressed too much the day of rest when we ought to stress more the six days of work. Maybe our favorite song ought to be, "We'll Work 'Til Jesus Comes," instead of "Asleep in Jesus." Maybe we ought to sing less of "Sweet Peace, the Gift of God's Love," and more of "Sound the Battle Cry, See the Foe is Nigh, Raise the Standard High for the Lord." We have emphasized the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit, and well we should. Why doesn't somebody now emphasize the power of the Spirit! We have dwelt on the woman at the well. Now perhaps we ought to dwell on the woman in town who left the well and went soul winning. Maybe we have talked too much about David's harp and not enough about David's sling. Maybe we have emphasized to our young people too much the importance of making a straight "A" instead of making a straight way to tell sinners how to be saved. Maybe we have been holding the fort too long; we should take some forts. Maybe we have been gathering around the Word too much when we ought to get the Word and gather around sinners. We have heard and heard; row it is time to do. What are you doing for God? How long has it been since you won a soul to Christ? Do you teach a growing Sunday school class? Do you have a bus route? Do you go soul winning every week? We have heard. Now it is time to do. 30 apter 7 E IS JEALOUS .4hilian leaders once asked Leonardo daVinci to '46me drawings for a public building. They also g man TJ named Michaelangelo to do likeauthorities were pleased at the paintings -Wd by Leonardo daVinci. They were over- by the beauty of those presented by e lo. It is said that Leonardo daVinci beealous that it almost wrecked his Iffe. 61 ousy is not acceptable or admirable in the good Christian, it is, however, an attribute of us 34:14, "For thou shalt worship no other f6e Lord, Whose name is jealous, is a jealous V, times in the Scriptures we find that God is ',.,.'see Exodus 20:5; 34:14; Deuteronomy 4:24; and Joshua 24:19. God was constantly reHis people of His jealousy. He reminded Pilwy as they began their journeys to Canaan, a,they built God's house, as they prepared to enthe land of milk and honey, and when they the land. Nahum 1:2 reminds us that God is Zechariah 1:14 tells us that He is jealous for lq,Aem- Zechariah 8:2 reminds us that He is jeal'Ibr Zion. He is jealous when we give others His 31 Grace and Truth titles. Matthew 23:8-10. He is jealous as He sees idols, as He sees us counting beads, going to confessionals, kissing toes, climbing sacred stairs, bowing at worship centers, having formal services and putting other things and people in His place. He is jealous of other gods. Since He is the only God, the Creator of Heaven and earth, He cannot endure any creature to wear His crown, sit on His throne, hold His sceptre or wear His royal robe. Put yourself in His place. Suppose you made the heavens and the earth and then the creatures you made were more interested in worshipping dead wood or a frog or a beetle or the vermin of a muddy river than they were in worshipping you. God once saw such and with holy contempt said, "They have mouths but speak not. They have eyes but see not. They have ears but hear not. Noses have they but smell not. They have hands but handle not. They have feet but walk not, neither speak they through their throat." Do you wonder at His jealousy? Look at Dagon falling before the ark of the covenant. Look at the plagues of Egypt when God paralyzed the objects of their worship. Look at Baal being broken. See Jerusalem burning and people going to battle because of idolatry. See the walls of cities falling because God's people turned to other gods. Look at Ashtaroth being consumed by fire. See the temple being leveled and Mount Zion trodden under foot by the Gentiles because of idolatry. Search the ruins of Babylon and pagan Rome. Behold the heaps of Nineveh and stare at the broken temples of Greece. God is full of indignation when He sees relies, images and shrines. He is angry when He sees people bowing before images, 32 His Name Isjealous tag before a crucifix or adoring a rotten bone. of the world is a graveyard of temples, shrines "sterday's religions because God will not share kv= with another. (me does not have to go to far away pagan lands idols. The crib is made a shrine. A wife can goddess. A husband can wear God's crown. le can bow at the altar of pleasure. The can idolize his money. The athlete can his sports. Pagan universities can bow before i tic god of the mind. A preacher can bow denomination. that thing or that person in your life which jealous? Is it clothes? A girlfriend? Educa? Family? Church? Denomination? God of you, and He is jealous if He does not have God will not be "King for a day." He will hors d'oeuvres; He wants to be the entr6e. be the introduction: He must be the ent He will not be a vestibule; He wants to be He will not be an ornament; He wants wardrobe. God will not be a moon-lighting a part-time throne. His palace cannot be a ts us. Why He does only He knows. He e is jealous for us. Let us give Him our all. Chapter 8 LITTLE THINGS When I was a student at East Texas Baptist College, I took a course in Pastoral Theology taught by the President of the coLl-ege in the college chapel. It was basically for preache_-r boys. Every Monday rnc:Drning we would give a report of our activities for tiae weekend. On this particular Monday morning, I was as happy qs a young preacher can be. I had accepited my first pastorate the day before. It was the Nf arris Chapel Baptist Church of Bogata, Texas. It hati 19 members and my salary was $15 every two weeks. That particular Nf -onday morning I situated myself on the front row at the end of the row so I could be asked first for the weekend report. Sure enough, the teacher looked at rr3-e and said, "Mr. Hyles, what did you do over the wet:Aend?" I stood to my feet and said, "Dr. Bruce, yesterday I was called to pastc3r -a little church up in the country." Dr. Bruce said, "S.it down, Mr. Hyles!" I couldn't under-stand what I had done wrong. Each preacher w--_-ic had a report to give spoke until the reports were :D-,,er. With tears in my eyes I looked at Dr. Bruce and asl