TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
84
dom to worship” and “freedom to propagate the Faith.” The Soviet Con stitution containsva provision guaran teeing “freedom of religious belief.” But there is no guarantee of freedom to propágate religious belief. Under the Soviet system, n e a r l y everything is a state monopoly. The government has a monopoly of fac tories, tools — and printing presses. Only the government may manufac ture motor cars—or books. Neither in dividuals nor private corporations majr operate commercial businesses. Since' the government owns and operates all printing presses, a Soviet citizen has no opportunity to print trácts or to otherwise propagate his religious be-# lief. A man mighff be “free to eat,” but if he had no access fo food he would still starve to death. A man may be “free to believe,” but if he has no ac cess to the Bread of Life he will still be lost. The formal statement of a fifth free dom would clarify the subject by de claring, “Evangelists and missionaries of all faiths shall be safeguarded in full freedom of movement and activity throughout the post-war world.” It may be that Messrs. Roosevelt and Churchill had this principle in mind in formulating the “four freedoms,” but around a conference table and afterwards there are those who may seek to distort and limit the meaning of general terms. Theodore Roosevelt used to speak of “weasel words”— words used by politicians as empty terms, after the essential meaning had been taken from them, as a weasel takes the contents of an egg, leaving the shell intact. Modernists are masters at the use of “weasel words.” They speak of thé “ deity of Jesus,” even after deny ing that He was God incarnate. Those who champion the idea of “religious monopolies” speak of their system as one based on “religious liberty.” The Christian is concerned, not so much about generalized reli gious liberty, as he is about the spe cial liberty to make the gospel known. The Bible directs that there shall be liberty to make Christ known to all men everywhere. It says n o t h i n g about a “liberty” to keep men in su perstition and ignorance. CHRISTIANS AND THE COMING PEACE: • There is little point in Christians’ entering into the involved disputes as to how boundary lines shall be read justed after the war, or how' the world shall be policed, or what shall be done with conquered countries. But every believer who wishes to see the w o r l d speedily evangelized s h o u l d be interested -in mobilizing public opinion in support of such a fifth freedom as is outlined above.
Behind the News By DAN GILBERT
Christ has nothing further to say to unregenerate men. He Has given them His Word. He has shed for them His blood. When He returns, He will not come to give good advice, He will not come to offer new ideas on the con duct of human governments. He will come to establish His righteous rule. THE BIBLE AND THE COMING PEACE CONFERENCE: • There is a strong suspicion of in sincerity in many of these' imagina tive dramatic sketches of how Christ should have a place at the peace con ference and What He would say, were He there. If men and nations reallyi want to know what Divine Wisdom dictates on the subject of war and peace, they need only consult God’s own inspired Book.' It is strange that those who propose to tell us what Christ would say if He were back on earth, seldom consult, let alone follow, what He- said when He • The “four freedoms,” promulgated by Messrs. Roosevelt and Churchill, h ive not been ratified formally by Joseph Stalin. But even if they were, they would not adequately meet the condition of an actual guarantee of liberty to carry out the Great Com mission. “Freedom of worship” is' one thing; freedom to carry on evangelistic enter prises. is something additional. The heathen has freedom to worship ac cording, to /his own conscience, but he does not have access to the Word of God. His need is not a guarantee of mere religious liberty, but a guarantee that those who wish to bring him the Bible may have an opportunity to do so. Generally speaking, there is con siderable confusion of the terms “free was here the first time. THE FOUR FREEDOMS:
CHRIST AND THE COMING PEACE CONFERENCE: • • Radio commentators, together with newspaper cartoonists, have given con siderable attention to the theme: "Christ should have a place at the coming peace conference, following the war.” Whffe the wide publicizing of such a slogan may evidence an incipient Christ-consciousness on the part of certain secular writers, the whole idea appears to be the product of modern istic and humanistic attitudes, toward the Lord Jesus Christ. The slogan it self signifies a s t a t e of mind and heart which refuses to accept Christ as Lord, which regards the Son pf God as a Counselor rather than as Saviour. Christ is to have “ a place” at the peace conference, but politicians and diplo mats will have other places! Instead of being an exaltation of the Lord, the slogan has the spirit of condescension toward Him. The more imaginative of the com mentators have been offering “opin ions” as to what Jesus would have to say, were He afforded a seat at the table around which the peace is to be formulated. Shortly before the war, an eminent modernistic minister wrote a magazine article on the subject^ “What Jesus Would Do if He Were Now on Earth.” The writer suggested that Jesus Christ would ask the ruleri of the nations to give Him a world-wide radio hook-up, in order that He might plead with all peoples to abstain from further bloodshed. Christ is coming back—but not to occupy a seat at a peace conference arranged by politicians and diplomats. He is not coming back to collaborate with worldly governments and .their officials. He is coming back to estab lish the government of His righteous ness.
Confess your sins “If we confess our sins, he is faith ful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unright eousness” (1 John 1:9). “If thou s h a l t confess with thy mouth the Lord JesUs, and shalt be lieve in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Rom. 10:9). Confess the Lord
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker