[Biblemat] A) CONSPIRACY THEORISTS

[J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com]

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  A very good Tuesday
morning to each and everyone.  May God bless you and yours.
Here is an article from my files:

CONSPIRACY THEORISTS

     "Richard Nixon is a communist!" the man told me with cert-
ainty.  "Why do you say that" I asked.  "He went to China to 
talk to them.  Must be one of 'em," was the response.

     Another man told me something to the effect that all politic-
ians, except for George Wallace, were either communists or
communist sympathizers, and sometimes he wondered about
Geoge.

     I remember hearing from many conspiracy theorists dur-
ing my teenage years in north Alabama.  They were certain
that communists from the Soviet Union wre about to take over America with the 
willing complicity of most politicians.
Those politicians were attacked with all kinds of exaggeration
innuendo, and quotes out of context.  Thousands were con-
vinced that Nixon, Kissinger, and other politicians of the 70's
must at least have been fellow travelers.

"Conspiracy Theorists" In The Bible: -- Some tried to paint
the apostle Paul as advocating, "let us do evil that good may
abound" (Rom. 3:8).  Paul was no softy, but his teaching on
God's grace and his efforts to humble himself and avoid a 
harsh presence made him the object of unfair attacks, 2 Cor.
11:7-15.  Many were sure that Paul was the leader of a great
conspiracy against truth.  He was the subject of personal
attacks on his physical presence and speech, 2 Cor. 10:10.

     Diotrephes could find fault in almost everyone, including
the apostle John.  He prated against John and other faithful
brethren with "malicious words" (3 Jno. 9,10).

The Difference Between Vigilance And Unfair Fault-Finding: --
Aren't we to be vigilant and watch for signs of apostasy?  Ab-
solutely!  "The devil walks about as a roaring lion seeking 
whom he may devour" (1 Pet. 5:8).  Some arise from within
the ranks of Christians "speaking perverse things to draw
away disciples after themselves" (Acts 20:30).  Immodest
clothing, ungodly entertainment, looseness on divorce, alco-
hol, dancing and other worldly practices are eating away at
the moral fiber of the saints.

     And yet in this battle it is possible to do more harm than
good with reckless cries of wolf.  Wild, unchecked and undoc-
umented accusations distract the focus from the real enemy
and cause brethren to "bite and devour one another" (Gal. 5:
15), rather than directing their energies against Satan.

     How can we distinguish between the vigilance that God
commands and the ungodly fault-finders:  Love for truth, fair-
ness, and love for brethren.

     The vigilant lover of truth will check out facts before rush-
ing to judgment.  If possible, he will contact a brother whose
teaching is being questioned before launching a broadside.
He realizes that he must understand a position before he can
deal with it properly.  If he feels he must expose compromis-
ing doctrine, he will present that doctrine accurately without
trying to embellish it.

     The fault-finder will pass along rumors.  I once heard from
a young Christian that a godly Texas preacher "believed in
abortion."  Of course the young Christian hadn't contacted
the preacher, but I did.  The preacher was aghast that such
rumors were being circulated against him and sent me a cass-
ette tape to pass on to the young man in which he plainly pre-
sented Bible teaching against abortion.

     An older preacher harshly accused a group of editors of 
not wanting many scriptures quoted.  If he had taken the trou-
ble to look at the most recent copy of the magazine they pub-
lish, he would have seen over 200 scriptures referenced in
just that one issue.  However, fault-finders are seldom inter-
ested in facts or in fairly representing those who are the obj-
ects of their attacks.  If they read their writings or listen to their 
preaching it is simply to find fault, and not to under-
stand objectively what is being said.  They pass along rumors
and hearsay, which they may sincerely believe.  However, the
bottom line is that they don't have enough love for the truth
or their brethren to check out facts.  They stir up those inclin-
ed to be suspicious, but actually are very ineffective in fight-
ing worldliness and loose thinking.

     While brethren bite and devour one another, Satan contin-
ues to sweep away disciples into the world.  To fight him, God needs 
vigilant, sober, and loving servants -- not hypercri-
tical, fault-finding and unfair conspiracy theorists.   ------------
Gardner Hall via. Gospel Power, Vol. 14, No. 36, Sept. 9, 2007.   </HTML>
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