Facing West
 

by James W. Adams

Apostasy is a peculiar creature. Like many things in nature, it can be stopped at its source before it has time to gain momentum or not at all. No fully developed apostasy in religion has ever been known to be stopped. An avalanche is often averted in the snow covered Alps by firing cannon shots into accumulations of snow and dissipating them before they join with other such accumulations and become a mighty, destructive avalanche crushing all in its path. Dams are constructed on the feeder streams of mighty rivers to control the water at its source in times of great precipitation. Once the great river is swollen by the waters of the flood, there is no escape from its devastation and ruin. A lighted match carelessly dropped in a wastebasket would do little harm if the resulting fire were put out then and there. A single bucket of water dashed upon it would quench it. However, allow it go to unopposed and it will become a raging, ravaging holocaust utterly impossible to control.

There are many preachers and teachers in the church of the Lord who profess to believe in and teach the authority of Christ, the inerrancy and infallibility of the Scriptures, the all-sufficiency of the church, and the absolute necessity of strict adherence to the Divine plan in all matters in religion. Yet, they effect to see nothing which is now being practiced by the churches at all antagonistic to these concepts. They continue to preach and teach the principles but refuse to make an application of them. We think these men are much like a man we heard about recently. He bragged that he arose the minute the first ray of sunshine touched his bedroom windowpane. Upon hearing him say this, a friend remarked, "That is terribly early to get up isn't it?" His classic reply was, "Not so early; you see my bedroom window faces west" We verily believe that the windows of many of the brethren face west. The day is going to be more than half gone before they awake to the realization that we are in the midst of a great apostasy. Then, it will be too late. The avalanche will be crushing down upon them. The angry waters of the flood will have leaped the levees. The tiny blaze of the lighted match will have become a leaping, roaring wall of flame searing all in its path. We remember how David Lipscomb was caricatured by our Digressive brethren a generation ago as an old man with a broom trying to sweep back the mighty tide of the ocean. The tide was the mighty wave of liberalism then sweeping the churches. The broom was the Gospel Advocate. The idea was that brother Lipscomb could as well sweep back the tide of the ocean with a broom as he could stop the tide of digression then sweeping the churches with the influence of the Gospel Advocate. That they were correct, history attests. Practically all the churches were swept into the tide of error. A new start had to be made. A remnant only was saved. So has it ever been. Present day Christians need to change their sleeping quarters from the west to the east side of the house. Should they do so, they would find the sun of digression and error already in their faces. Gospel Guardian - Sept 1, 1960

 

 

Other Articles by Robert Turner
Church Autonomy
The Last Fight
Toning It Down