Churches of Christ Salute You with a Herald of Truth

Abilene Christian University
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Herald of Truth Records
7-27-1952
Churches of Christ Salute You with a Herald of
Truth
James Willeford
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Willeford, James, "Churches of Christ Salute You with a Herald of Truth" (1952). Herald of Truth Audio. Paper 198.
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N E: T WORK
James
D. Williford
James
D. Williford
July 27, 1952
Gibbon, the great histor ia n who wrote, "The Rise and
Fall of the RomanEmpire," gave five reasons for the fall
of the Romannation , and those five rea~ons may be SU!!Vlled
up in one word, Sin. Centuries before its fall, a colony of
people settled
at t he mouth of the Tiber river,
and their
industry and faith enabled them to build one of the mightiest empi res that ever graced the earth. But as time passed
th es P. people drifted into the most horrible sins ever committed by a people, and after this t heir downfall was but a
matter of time.
And what i s true of a nation is true of an individual.
The Bibl e says t he way of the transgresser
is hard.
In
Is aia h 57:20 the Lord s ays "the wicked are like the troubled
sea, when it cannot rest,
whose waters cast up mire and
di rt."
In t he book of Job we are told that "Terrors shall
make t he wicked afraid
on every side,
and shall drive him
t o his feet.
His strength shall be hungerbitten,
and destruction shall be ready at his side."
There can never be
peace or quiet in the soul of the wicked but the Lord says,
"he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger."
Sins have separated us from God. In Isa. 59il,2 the
Bible says, "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that
it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear;
but, your iniquities
have separated
between you and your
God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will
not hear." The Lord wants to be near us all, but in sinning
we erect a barrier
and Separate ourselves
from Him. God
will not dwell with sin any more than we will dwell with a
dangerous criminal.
We put such characters
behind prison
walls for safe keeping and for the protection of others and
Christ says in Matthew 25 that God made hell for the devil,
and his angels.
The Lord separates
the wicked from the
righteous and some charge Him with being unjust and unkind.
We do the same thing in this life, and yet feel we are acting honorably toward all.
God is righteous,
and He cannot tolerate sin in His
presence.
For that reason, our sins separate us from Him.
But the Lord loves us, and He provided a way whereby the
barrier that separates us from Him . can be broken down. In
Eph. lH, - Paul says we:;have redemption through the blood of
Christ,
even the forgiveness
of sins.
We are redeemed
through the blood of .Christ.
The word ."redeem" means "to
buyback."
Mterwe have sold ourselves into sinful slavery andspiritual
poverty, . the Lord bought us back, or re_de'emed us. The price He paid was His own blood. The price
indicates the evil of sin and the preciousness
of redemption.
When we re al ize what a penal ty God exacts for sin, we
come to see i ts enor mi ty .
The penal t y for sin i s et ernal
punishment. And s i nce this is t he penalty , the gr eat questi on i s , "How can we es cape it?" As sin s ar e acts committe d
in t he past, they cannot be undone.
A man may as well attempt to snatch the sun out of the sky, as to undo a single
act, good or bad, t hat he has ever done. Men commit cri mes
against human law, and es cape the punishment by outrunning
the sheriff, by bribing the jur y or by break ing jail~t here
is no similar wayof escapin g the penalties assessed against
our sins by the Lord. The Lord earnestl y desires to cancel
these penalties.
The Bible says He is lo ngsuffering to usward; not willing th at any should perish,
but that all
should come to repentance.
Though the spring of life has
come and summer has gone, His hand is stretched out st il l.
We do not have to persuade God to save us, for He stands at
the door of our heart and knocks for an opportunity to help
us. He will cancel the penalty for sin, but not in the way
that some people think.
Some speak flip pantl y of our being educated out of sin.
This is not possible;
but even if we were educated out of
the practice of sin, the sins of our past would still be
writt en agaihst us. The stain i s sti ll upon our soul. The
guilt is still with us.
.If a man who has been a thief for
ten years has good in flu ence br ought to bear upon him, and
he· quits st eal i ng, will the gran d j ur y spare him because he
has qui t ste aU.ng? .v,lill he . not be punfshed for the thefts
The same prin cipl e i s t r ue of sin.
of which he i s . guilty?
Even if we should quit st ealin g, th e sins of the past will
be punished unles s the penalty i s cance l led by the Lord. I
want to t ell you of th e Lord's way by which sins can be cancelled later in this lesson.
Some men of our day minimize s i n and refer t o it as
they_would a mere scr atch upon t he hand.
When a terrible
wrong has been committed, they refer to it as a mistake.
All of thi s is an eff ort to whitewash sin and to remove its
ugli ness .
But the Lord i s unsparing i n his description of
i t, and He s ays th ose who commit it shall never enter t he
kingdom of heaven.
The Lor d says that t hose who commit it
shall dwell in outer darkness where the re i s weepin g and
gnashing of t eeth. Another figure used is th at of a lak e of
fire whi ch i s th e second death.
And some men even deny the existence of si n! But t he
Lord says that all have sinned and come short of the glor y
of God. We are too short-sighted
to properl y ass ess t he
dreadfulness of sin. We cannot fully see the consequences,
but God can.
God knows man and He knows the eff ect of sin
upon us.
He knows what i t does to our soul, and He knows
the punishment it deserves.
Who will say that the greates t
minds among men may pass judgment upon what the Lord says
shall be done with the sinner?
Since all men are sinners,
YOU MAY HEAR THE HERALD OF TRUTH OVER THESE STATIONS
I
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Alabama, Anniston
WHMA
Auburn
WAUD
Birmingham
WSGN
Florence
WJOI
Gadsden
WGAD
Huntsvlle
WHBS
Marion
WJAM
Mobile
WABB
Montgomery
WAPX
Selma
WGWC
Tuscaloosa
WJRD
Arizona, Phoenix
KOY
Tucson
KCNA
Arkansas, Eldorado
KSDM
Ft. Smith
KFSA
Hot Springs
KTHS
Little Rock
KGHI
Springd ale
KBRS
Calif., Bakersfield
KPMC
Blythe
KYOR
Brawley
KROP
Eureka
KIEM
Fresno
KARM
Indio
KREO
L os Angeles
KECA
San Francisco
KGO
San Luis Obispo KATY
Colorado, Craig
KRAi
Denver
KVOD
Conn., Bridgeport
WNAB
Hartford
WTHT
Delaware, Wilmington
WILM
Florida, Gainesville
WGGG
Jacksonville
WPDQ
Miami
WQAM
Pensacola
WEAR
Tallahassee
WTNT
Tampa, St . Pete WSUN
Georgia, Atlanta
WGST
Augusta
WGAC
Brun swi ck
WGIG
Columb us
WGB A
Macon
WNEX
Rome
WLAQ
Savann a h
WDAR
Valdo sta
WGAF
Idaho, Boise
KGEM
Poca tello
KELO
Illinois, Chicago
WENR-WLS
Quincy
WGEM
Indiana, And erson
WHBU
Bloomington
WTTS
Evansv!lle
WJPS
Ft . Wayne
WGL
Iowa , Cedar Rapids
WMT
Des Moines
KSO
Sioux City
KSCJ
Waterloo
KXEL
KGGF
Kansas, Coffeyvme
Topeka
WREN
KWBB
Wichita
Ken,. Bowling Green
WKCT
WHLN
tlarlan
Louisv!lle
WKLO
Mayfield
WKTM
Newport
WNOP
Louisiana, Baton Rouge WLCS
Monroe
KMLB
1450
1230
610
1340
1350
1490
1310
1480
1600
1340
1150
550
1340
1290
950
1090
1250
1340
1560
1450
1300
1480
1430
1400
790
610
1340
1230
630
1450
1230
1450
1230
600
560
1230
1450
620
92~
58G
1440
1460
1400
670
1400
910
1140
1440
890
1440
1240
1370
1330
1250
600
1460
1360
1540
690
1250
1410
930
1230
1080
1050
740
910
1440
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New Orleans
WDSU 1280
Shreveport
KRMD 1340
Maine, Bangor
WABI
910
Portland
WPOR 1450
Maryland, Baltimore
WF BR 1300
Cumberland
WD YK 1230
Mass., Gardn er
WHOB 1490
Lawrence
WLAW
680
Springtield
WSPR
1270
Worcester
WAAB 1440
Michigan, Battle Creek WELL 1400
Bay City
WBCM 1440
Detroit
1270
Flint
FOF
910
Lansing
1320
Ludington
!LS LA 1450
Muskegon
KBZ
850
Minn., Minn.-St. Paul
TCN 1280
WNPA 1240
Miss., Aberdeen
WGLC 1580
Centerville
Columbus
W CBI 1340
Jackson
WSLI
930
Laurel
WLAV 1490
Miuourl, Kansa11 City
KCMO
810
Rolla
KTTR 1490
St. Louis
KXOK
630
Springfield
660
KWTO
Montana, Butte
580
KO P R
Great Falls
560
KMON
Nebraska, Lin coln
KF OR 1240
Omaha
K OIL 1290
Sidney
K SID 1540
N. Hamp., Claremont
W TS V 1230
Lebanon
W T SL 1400
Manchaster
610
WMUR
N. Mexico, Albuquerque
KOAT 1450
Carlsbad
KP MB
740
Clovis
K CLV 1240
Los Alamos
KRSN 1490
Santa Fe
KT RC 1400
850
New York, Albany
WX KW
New York
W JZ
770
Olean
WHD L 1450
Ro chester
WARC
950
Saranac Lake
WE AV
960
Sy r acuse
WAGE
620
N. Carolina, Ashvllle
WLDS 1380
Charlotte
W AYS
610
Durham
WTIK 1310
Fayettev!lle (Sat.) WFLB 1490
Salisbury
WSAT 1280
Wilmington
WGNI 1340
Winston-Salem
WAIR 1340
N. Dakota, Fargo
KFGO
790
Ohio, Cleveland
WJW
850
Columbus
WHKC
610
Lima
WIMA 1150
Youngstown
WBBW 1240
KADA 1230
Oklahoma, Ada
KCRC 1390
Enid
1400
McAlester
IX 1490
Muskogee
Oklahoma City
OK iOOO
K MG
740
Tulsa
' SH
Oregon, Eugene
590
K LW 1450
Klamath Falls
KMED 1440
Medford
·AU times are Sunday unless otherwise
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Portland
Penn., Johnstown
Philadelphia
Pittsburg
Wilkes-Barre
R. Island, Providence
s. Carolina, Florence
S. Dakota, Aberdeen
Tenn., Chattanooga
Jackson
Johnson
City
Knoxville
Memphis
Morristown
Nashville
Texas, Abilene
Amarillo
Austin
Beaumont
Big Spring
Brownfield
Brownsville
Corpus Christi
El Paso
Ft . Worth
Graham
Houston
Longview
Lubbock
Midland
P a ris
San Angelo
San Antonio
Texarkana
Wichita Falls
Utah, Provo
Salt Lake City
Vermont, Brattleboro
Burlington
Montp eli er -Barr e
Virg in ia, Ch arlottesville
Fre d erick s bu rg
Norfolk
Ri chmond
Washington, Aberde en
Pas co
Seattle
Spokane
Washington,
0. c.
W. Virginia, Beckley
Huntington
Parkersburg, Sat.
Wheeling
Wisconsin, Green Bay
LaCrossfil
Madison
Milwaukee
Neenah
Wyoming, Casper
Cheyenne
Cody
Rawlins
Riverton
Torrington
Worland
Canada, Trail, B.C.
Toronto, Ont.
KEX
WCRO
WFIL
WCAE
WILK
WPJB
WJMX
KSDN
WDEF
WTJS
WJHL
WBIR
WMPS
WCRK
WSIX
KRBC
KFDA
KNOW
KFDM
KBST
KTFY
KVAL
KEYS
KEPO
WBAP
KSWA
KXYZ
KFRO
KFYO
KCRS
KPLT
KGKL
KMAC
KCMC
KFDX
KCSU
KUTA
WTSA
WJOY
WSKI
WINA
WFVA
WG H
WRNL
KB KW
K P KW
KJR
KGA
WMAL
WWNR
WHTN
WCOM
WKWK
WDUZ
WKTY
WIBA
WCAN
WNAM
KSPR
KFBC
KODI
KRAL
KWRL
KGOS
KWOR
CJAT
CKEY
1190
1230
660
1250
980
U20
970
930
1370
1390
910
lUO
660
1450
980
1470
1440
1490
660
1490
1050
1490
1440
690
670
1330
1320
1370
1340
550
14~0
960
630
1230
990
1490
570
1450
1230
1240
1280
1230
1310
910
1450
1340
950
1510
630
620
800
1230
1400
1400
580
1320
1250
1280
1470
710
1400
1240
1450
1490
1490
610
680
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I
they do not approve of the punishment v.hich God has decr eed
for sin.
"No rogue e'er felt
the halter draw, With good
opinion of the law. " But denyi ng sin does not prove its
non-exis te nce and denying it does not free us from the penalty God will exact for it.
There is a way by which we may be released
from the
penalty of our sin s, and that is through the forgiveness of
God. If our sins are forgiven,
they will not be punished.
I f they are unforgiven, there is no esc ape from the punishment. The Lord promises to red eem us, to remit our sins ,
and to forg ive us freely.
To redeem is to buy back; to remit is to throw our sins away; and to forgive is to hold no
resentment toward us.
All t his the Lord is anxious to do.
But He will not save us unconditi onally. To forgive without
man havi ng anything to do is but to encourage sin.
A sinner would sa y, "I'll sin as I please because God will forgive me without any effort
on my part, · and so I have nothing t o los e."
Some abuse the word "redeem" because it
means t o "buy back," and they think Christ paid it all and
we are relie ved of any· obligation.
But v.hen we remember
that the penalty for s in is everlasting punishment, we know
Christ did not pay it all.
Did Christ suffer
everlasting
punishment for us?
Another element in t he punishment ·of si n is remorse of
conscie nce. Did Chris t suffer torture with in His conscie nce?
If Christ paid i t ill,
v.hat becomes of . the mercy of God of .,
which we read so much in the Bible?
If you o'M:!da man a
debt and a friend of yours paid it, could it be said the
creditor showed mercy to you? Certainly not, because the
Now--if man owed God a debt because
debt was pai d in full.
of his sin and Christ paid it, where di d God show any mercy
whatsoever?
Christ did not suffer the penalty due to our
sins, but thr ough His blood He provided a way of redemption
and forgivenes s.
In Romans 3125,26 Paul says Christ died
that the Fath er might be ju st in justi fying the s inn er. God
found no way to be just to ward sin, and at the same time to
save the Sinner except through th e death of His own Son. In
except
other words, God could not be just and merciful
throu gh the sacrifice of Christ .
What ef fe ct did God's pl an of forgiveness
have upon
men? It inspired th e sweetest song the angels ever sang.
John heard that song in Rev. 5 and said,
"I heard a voice
of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders;
and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousa nd, and thousands of thousands, saying
with a great voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that hath been slain
to rece ive the power, and riches,
and wisdom, and might,
and glo ry t and bl essing!'" This is the view the angels took
of God's plan of redempti on. And when one looks at men they
have accepted with pr ofoundest fai th that t~eir redemption
is t hr ough the blood of Christ, he sees the men who are the
farthest removed from sin of all that dwell upon the earth
God's plan does not encourage sin, neither does it disheart:
en men. ~tis the greatest power to turn sinners away from
sin, and bring them to righteousness.
So when men speak
flippantly
of the necessity
of Christ's death, they are
criticizing
something that is practical
and that
ll
works.
rea Y
The Bible says all spiritual blessings are in Christ
The Lord says wear~
Eph. 113. This includes forgiveness.
new creatures in Christ. To the man who believes the Bihl
the only question that remains is how to get into Him A~d
that question is answered clearly in Gal. 3127.
The;e the
In Rom. 614 Paul
Bible says we are -baptized into Christ.
reminded the RomanChribtians that they had come into Christ
by baptism. This was the baptism Christ conmanded the apostles to teach and practice in every nation till the end of
the world, Matt. 28118-20.
In Eph. 4, Paul said there was
one baptism, and since this was the one performed by the apostles, we know it was water baptism, for they could perform no other.
Preceding scriptural
baptism, we must believe in Christ and repent of our s i ns. These are all conditions of pardon, and God will not pardon us without them.
If we are saved by the blood of Christ apart from anything
that we must do, all men are saved, for He died for all
But the Bible says clearly
that all will not be saved. It
then follows that we must obey the gospel to be saved.
The Lord's -invitation
is extended to men of all races
and colors.
Wemight well imagine the surprise of the Apostle Peter whenChrist conmanded that the gospel be preached to every creature under heaven. Perhaps Peter asked, "To
the men who crucified you?I', to which Jesus may have replied, "Yes, Peter - to everybody. Proclaim salvation even
to the men who crucified me. Peter, I'd like to find that
man who put the crown of thorns on my head. Tell him he may
have a crown of glory from me, and there shall not be a
Look up that Roman soldier
who thrust that
thorn ~nit.
spear into my side, to my very heart,
and tell him there's
~ heart is full of
a nearer way to my heart than that.
love for his soul.
Proclaim salvation to him.
Go to the
whole world and say, 'The spirit and the bride say Come
And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will lei
him take the waters of life freely. •"
'
Today as you hear the voice of the Lord, accept and obey His will, and be assured
"There is a fountain filled with blood
· Drawn from -Inmanuel's veins;
·
'
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains."
· ·