The Proclaimer

PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST TO A LOST AND DYING WORLD

Edited and Published by Jack Critchfield

In This Issue:
Spiritual Casualties
Immodesty - A Reproach on the Church
Becoming Desensitized to Sin
Let the Dead Bury their Own
A New Year Begins
A Personal Note from the Editor

Spiritual Casualties
Jack Critchfield

What causes our young people to become spiritual casualties? Why is it that many of the churches young people leave the church once they are out on their own? Who is to blame? Unless parents and churches begin to seriously address this problem, this problem will only grow worse.

The Home Environment
The primary responsibility of raising children be-longs to the parents. The scrip-tures are very specific on this point. "And you, fathers, do not provoke your chil-dren to wrath, but bring them up in the training and ad-monition of the Lord" (Eph 6:4 NKJV). Sometimes par-ents forget that there is much more to conversion than just being baptized. Often, when a parent sees their child baptized, they give a big sigh of relief and think their job is over. That is a very big mistake! The teaching and the training must continue on until the child becomes an adult and leaves home.

Unfortunately, many young people do not receive the teaching and example setting they need while they are at home. At this time lets give some consideration to some of the problem areas some families experience.

INCONSISTENCY - This is perhaps one of the greatest failings parents often suffer from. They say one thing to their children, and then do something else. Many times children see their parents lie, cheat others and use vulgar language. Do you really think such behavior will result in a child wanting to aspire to be a faithful Christian their entire life? No way! I have heard parents say, "I don't know what I am going to do with my teenage son/daughter. It is a constant battle to get him/her to the services. He/she never wants to go." Is it any wonder? When these same parents use every excuse in the book to miss services. The problem is that children can see right through their parent's hypocrisy. In time, a child usually decides that they want no part in the religious farce of their parents.

CRITICISM - In many cases children are subjected to non-stop criticism s of the local church. Through out their childhood they constantly hear their parents expound upon what is wrong with the local congregation. Their parents are always ripping the preacher apart for something, ridiculing the Elders for their decisions and on and on. Children need to hear some positive things about the church. If they are constantly fed a steady diet of negativism, they will never develop into strong mature Christians.

ABUSE - In Col. 3:21 we can read, "Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discour-aged." Some parents are entirely too critical of their children. They are always trying to run their children in the ground. Nothing their children do is ever good enough. This develops into a low self-image and will result in a lack of confidence in parents. These negative feeling tend to carry over in the child's attitude toward God and get in the way of his/her future salvation. God did not intend for children to be the recipient of all of the parents pent up emotions and hostilities.

The congregational Environment
There are occasions when congregations must shoulder some of the responsibility of young people leaving the church. When congregations are always feuding and fighting about some trivial thing, children will often conclude that they want nothing to do with the church as an adult. When children are subjected to 16 years of Bible classes that are boring and dull, children will often conclude that the Bible can do them no good. When children observe Christians in the congregation doing things that are immoral, and nothing is ever said or done, they will conclude that immorality is no big deal.
In too many cases, parents and congregations place all the blame for a spiritual failure on to the young per-son that has left the church. Often, people will say such thing as, "They were never really converted"; "They are just to stubborn and willful"; "They got into the wrong crowd and were led astray". In some cases these observation may have some validity. Nevertheless, parents and congregations still need to shoulder some of the responsibility. Accepting responsibility is necessary so that in the future improvement can be made to prevent additional spiritual failures.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Immodesty - A Reproach on the Church
Keith Malone

From the beginning of history (Gen.1) to the close of revelation (Rev.16:15), nakedness and shame have always been linked. Since God's word is simply revelation - it reveals to us God's attitude toward nakedness. Christians, especially in today's society, must be on their guard and continually analyzing their dress and it's effect and influence upon their soul and the souls of others. My fear is that too many Christians are completely overlooking God's standard of dress and modesty to do that which is comfortable, popular and fashionable. Christians today even go as far to justify immodesty upon the grounds of what is functional (i.e. bathing suits, shorts for hot work etc.). A compounding problem is not only do these callused souls damn themselves but also they damage and hinder the influence, work and example of the Lord's church. When this happens they have become a reproach to the church.

"They go to your church?"
If you think the world doesn't see your actions and immodesty there is one of two possibilities: 1) the devil has you deceived (I Cor.15:33) 2) Your conscience is seared and your heart is hard (I Tim.4:2). Years ago, at the congregation I was attending, there was a young man who was rather rebellious. His sinful actions were for all the community to see - and this they did. In doing personal work, I got to know a young man who knew this rebellious member of the church. His response was "he goes to your church?" This young man's sinful display cast an attitude of doubt and negativism towards the Lord's church - he was a reproach. Anytime a Christian is dressed inappropriately - they sin. They sin not only because of their immodesty but also they have become a reproach against the church. The people beholding the immodesty of the supposed Christian are not thinking of their piety or modesty - they are thinking "they are just like me". Do we want to appear like the world? Do we want them to have a sense of belonging because we have come down to their immodest, immoral level? More likely what will transpire is people who see you will think - "and they say they are a Christian". The Apostle Paul rebuked the
Corinthians in this manner, "It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you". Would he rebuke this church by saying, "It is reported commonly that there is immodesty among you"?

Excuses of Immodesty
In the perennial battle against immodesty there is the usual gamut of excuses that the soldier of the cross must run. Listed are a few of the usual attempts to justify im-modesty with the rebuttal in parenthesis. "That's your opinion" - (No, modesty is a scriptural command - I Tim.2:9) "Everyone wears it/them" - (That's exactly why you shouldn't - James 4:4) "The sport I am in requires it" - (Don't play that sport - Matt.6:33) "I've always worn this" - (Repent and stop wearing it - Rev.3:18) "Other Christians wear them" - (Then they need to repent and stop wearing them as well. The bible is our standard and authority - II Cor.10:12) "You can't swim, boat, ski or play sports without wearing _____" - (Either find a way to do it modestly or don't do it - it's that simple. Let me issue a challenge - With any of the listed sports or any others for that matter, I will either show you or tell you how you can participate and be modest. If I can't tell you a way to do it modestly it probably doesn't need to be done! I Cor.9:27) "How can I sun bathe if I don't wear a bathing suit?" - (Don't sunbathe - it's vanity Ecc.1:4) "The Bible doesn't draw a line" - (Yes it does: Gen.3:7-10 - a loin cloth was ineffective against covering their nakedness. Ex.28:42 - Priests were covered but had to take extra precautions so their thighs were not exposed. Isa.47:2,3 - When the thigh is exposed - Scripture calls it "nakedness and shame."
No doubt there are many other excuses that are not listed. But that is all they are - excuses. Either we are properly covered or we are sinning and a reproach upon the church. Which are you?

Spouses and Parents - Reproach Preventers!
It is the role, duty and obligation of the parent to direct their children regarding modesty. If the excuse is given - "the Bible doesn't draw a line" and appropriate response would be - "yes it does and so do I". Fathers - draw a line and make it low on the bottom and high on top, make it "old fashioned" - make it modest! Husbands, when your wife wants to wear something immodest - say NO! It is your duty and obligation and you sin if you shirk it! Draw a line for your wife and resist pleas to change it. And remember husbands, if she is a reproach to the church - she's a reproach to you! Men, are members of the church embarrassed and upset by your wife or children's immodesty? Ladies - encourage your husbands to dress modestly - teach him that walking around with his shirt off in public is a sin and is behavior that does not become godliness. A gentle, loving rebuke can carry the weight of an atomic bomb if planted with care. Wives its your duty to help your husband see his sin so that he is not a reproach to the church.
My fear is, brethren, many Christians are going to spend an eternity in hell because they have succumbed to the dress of the world. One last excuse - "I don't want to be peculiar". Why not? Peter said we are to be "… a peculiar people: that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (I Pet.2:9).

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Becoming Desensitized To Sin
By Glen Young

A Native American explanation for a seared conscience goes like this. The conscience is a three cornered wheel inside the breast. When a person does something bad, it rotates and the sharp points cause pain. If a person continues to do those things, which cause the wheel to rotate, it will eventually round off the sharp points. When this happens, doing something bad that causes the wheel to rotate will no longer cause pain.

However we explain it, one thing is certain, a seared conscience is symptomatic of those who have departed the faith (1Timothy 4:1-3; Jude 3). At this juncture, the seared conscience cannot be pricked by the unrighteous acts of the person wherein it resides. Hence, all manner of wickedness is committed without remorse.

How does a person get to the stage, which psychologists call anti-social behavior? How is it that those who were once faithful Christians degrade into those who participate in all manner of false doctrines and overt sins? Does it happen all at once?
It happens through a gradual process of desensitiza-tion. When I was growing up in North Alabama, we worked hard in our gardens and cotton fields. Much of this work was done with a hoe. I remember that in the spring my hands would become blistered and sore from the friction of the hoe handle. This would continue until they developed calluses. When my hands grew accustomed to the abrasive hoe handle, they no longer blis-tered or became sore.

Desensitization can and does happen in the spiritual realm. This spiritual callousness is in response to the wicked world in which we live. Through television, radio and other media, we are constantly bombarded by evil of every kind. Our neighbors are involved in it. Officials in high office are engaged in it. In the words of an old Sonny & Cher song, "and the beat goes on!"

The problem Christians face is one of remaining righteously indignant toward evil. Peter described Lot as one who was, "... sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wicked (for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed (his) righteous soul from day to day with (their) lawless deeds):" 2 Peter 2:7-8. Initially, the evil of wicked men distresses us, vexes our righteous souls. Prolonged exposure to the lascivious life of the wicked causes our consciences to become callused.
Over time, we grow accustomed to the evil around us. We 'adjust' and there is no more adverse reaction. We can invite adultery, fornication, nakedness, cursing and blasphemy of God into our homes and are not shocked by it. We call it entertainment. We hear of a public official violating the public trust by overtly sinning and say, "Everybody is doing it." We allow the homosexual life style to go unchallenged and say, "If they want to live that way, it's no skin off my teeth." We have be-come 'street-wise' and speak of illicit sex, drug abuse and every sort of wickedness with ease. It is evident that Christians have become desensitized to sin.

The danger is in our inability to differentiate be-tween good and evil. Christians are to grow and mature having their senses exercised to know good from evil (2 Peter 3:18; Hebrews 5:12-14). Paul emphasizes this by writing, "... I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple unto that which is evil." (Romans 16:19) When Paul here speaks of being simple unto that which is evil, he is speaking of an innocence or naiveness toward evil. Children are subjected to sex education at ever-younger ages. The average first grader can tell you more about sex than you ever wanted to know. And that is just the Christian's child. The children of worldly parents can tell you things you don't even want to know.
Once in a conversation I was having over the need to be faithful in attendance, the individual with whom I was speaking introduced another preacher into the discussion by referring to his having committed adultery. He did it to chastise me for being so hard on his lack of attendance. The reason I know this is because of what he said. He said that the aforementioned preacher had become more compassionate toward others after his lapse into sin. He was more understanding of those who sin. Could it have been, and I believe it was, that his conscience had become desensitized to sin?

Sin is a horrible thing. It separates man from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). It robs man of the opportunity to be with the Lord Jesus Christ (John 8:21). It will cause the eternal soul of man to be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death (Revelation 20:14-15; 21:8).

Christians have no choice but to live in this evil world. We do have a choice of whether or not we will let the evil affect us. If we aren't vexed in our soul daily by what we observe, then we are doomed!

Are you keeping yourself "unspotted from the world?" (James 1:27)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Let The Dead
Bury Their Own
Clarence Johnson

In Matt. 8:21-22, as Jesus seeks to involve His disciples in complete commitment, to follow Him wholeheartedly, one of them said to Him, "'Lord, let me first go and bury my father.' But Jesus said to him, 'Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.'"

This is undoubtedly one of the most shocking and difficult statements in the Divine record of Jesus' teachings. Did our Lord forbid Christians' attending to the funerals of their loved ones? In the light of His own practice at the death of His friend Lazarus, John 11, and the practice of Simon Peter in Acts 9:36-43, we conclude that Jesus did not mean to imply that Christians must take no interest in the death and burial of their loved ones.

May we suggest consideration be given to this statement by scholar William Barclay: "The true explanation un-doubtedly lies in the way in which the Jews used the phrase -- "I must bury my father" -- and in the way it is still used in the east." Barclay tells of a Syrian missionary who urged a young Turk to make a tour of Europe at the close of his formal education, in order that his education would be complete and his mind broadened. "The Turk answered, 'I must first of all bury my father.' The missionary expressed his sympathy and sorrow that the young man's father had died. But the young Turk explained that his father was still very much alive, and that what he meant was that he must fulfill all his duties to his parents and to his relatives, before he could leave them to go on the suggested tour, that in fact, he could not leave home until after his father's death, which might not happen for many years." Then Barclay suggests that the reluctant disciple of Jesus may well have been im-plying, "I will follow You some day, when my father is dead, and when I am free to go."

Another writer, H.L. Ellison says that the very fact that this disciple was with Jesus at this moment is "sufficient proof that his father was not yet dead. He did not want to be too far away when death came, perhaps because he wanted to make sure of the inheritance."

Though, undoubtedly, the statement of Jesus in Matt. 8:21 is one His harder statements to fully grasp and digest, perhaps these suggestions are worthy of much consideration, and they may help us to understand the paradoxical statement our Lord made in this passage. And, remember, the primary thrust of the Lord's instruction to this disciple and to all disciples is, Jesus must have priority in our lives. He is first of all or not at all.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A New Year Begins
Tony Hudson

When I was a child attending elementary school at Athens Bible School in Athens, Alabama, Brother A.J. Rollings or Brother Don Osborne would recite the following poem to us at the beginning of each new calendar year. It always comes back to my mind with each new year. If you've heard it before, I hope it brings happy memories and hope for a bright tomorrow as it does for me. If you've never heard it, I'm glad I can share it with you.

I came to my teacher with quivering lips,
My task undone;
Teacher has thou another sheet for me?
I have spoiled this one.
She took the old sheet, stained and blotted,
And gave me a new one, clean, unspotted.
And into my glad face smiled,
"Do better this time, my child."

I came to the Father with a quivering heart,
The old year done;
Father has Thou another year for me?
I have spoiled this one.
He took the old year, stained and blotted,
And gave me a new one, clean, unspotted.
And into my glad heart smiled,
"Do better this time, My child."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A Personal Notice From The Editor

As we start into the New Year, we should all look forward to exciting and different times. The New Year always brings with it change of some kind. Unfortunately, for the Proclaimer, it will be the end of a weekly news-letter. With this issue, we will go to a once a month format. I will try to keep it at four or more pages so that we may continue to expound God's word. If you know of anyone who you think might enjoy receiving this newsletter, please send me their name and address and I will add them to the mailing list.

The change is brought about by the loss of $1500 per month in support that takes effect with this month. I publish and pay for the mailing of the proclaimer out of my own pocket and simply cannot afford to continue on a weekly basis. However, do not think that I am going to stop publication. God has always provided a way, and He will not abandon me in this endeavor either. We wish everyone the best for the upcoming year.

"...Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 1:1 NKJV)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jack Critchfield, Editor & Publisher
403 Coit Way, Salinas, Ca. 93907
jcritch@jps.net