February, 1942
THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S
50
as "worldly.” For while other Chris- tians may be impressed, by the fact that we do not go to the movies, un saved men and women may be im pressed in quite another way by our scsfhdalous or unkind remarks. It is the law of society that the deeds of the disciple are placed to the account of his teacher (cf. Matt. 12:1, 2; Mk. 7:1, 2, 5). Thus our own in consistencies as Christians reflect; in the world’s judgment, upon the Sav iour. Let us, therefore, be careful of our daily walk, that it shall be in the Spirit in . truth. ■and not ac cording to the lusts of the flesh. III. Daily Witnessing While in the great family of the redeemed there are many who áre faithfully witnessing to óur blessed Lord, by their lives as' well ás- by their lips, and we thank God for them, it is to be feared that there are many others of us-whose obedi ence to our Lord’s command is want in g /’Yes, we do speak to an individ ual now and then—but how many do we fail to speak to in the course of the day, in office, in school, in church, in the home, and in the neighborhood! If we should go back oyer the past, week and ask ourselves how many souls we have tried to win for Christ in all our contacts, what would the count be? And even among those of us who teach Sunday-school classes,, or are on the mission field, or who have platform ministry, it is to be feared that we may fall into a lethargy of fruitlessness at times. We are inclined to become very professional in .our witness—much repetition of the same messages, prayerless preparation and speaking, the desire to please our au diences with lightness or to impress them with our eloquence. .Instead of drawing upon the power of God by prayer, instead of being burdened in soul for the needs of a sleepy church and a sin-si.ck world, we take our task in a careless way. Oh, that we might be on fire for the Lord! That we might be willing to pay the price of worn-out knees, of.yearning hearts and truly separated living for the sake of the Saviour and the message of His saving and enabling grace! We need to be stirred in our daily witness. Yes, dear Christian friend, it Is time for judgment to begin, at the house of God. It is time that there should be self-judgment, beginning at the sanctuary. Let us be entirely sepa rated from darkness and walk stead fast in the Light, that our fellowship with Christ may be perfect, and ¿hat, cleansed by His blood and' by the daily washing, our, walk and witness may redound to His honor and glory alone, to the winning of souls from death to life, and to the praise of His unending glory.
more clear than' that our reasonable service is that we should present our bodies living sacrifices unto Him, con: formed not to this world, but trans formed by His grace and in His strength. We are not even to touch the unclean thing, lest we be defiled. And while -.the body of Christ as a whole is v^ell aware of the demands for holy living, there is a tendency to denote as things “worldly” only those amusements and habits of the flesh in which the world indulges so freely—moving pictures, the theater, dancing, and the using of liquor and tobacco. - ■ , Yes, these things are worldly, it is true. But the world doe's other things than these. A critical spirit is “world ly” ; and so are such practices as slothfulness in business, and shady business practices. Lying is a sin of the world, and has no place in the Christian life. Slander and uri- kindness certainly cannot be classed as Christian virtues; they belong to the world—yet how. often these very sins are found to be part and parcel of the daily conduct of the Chris tian! Indeed, much more could be said —of pride, of vaiii conversation, of uncleanness, of deceit, of self-center- edness, and so on. If we are truly separated people, let us remember that we must be free from all the practices of the world, and not only from the few outward habits which aré popularly classified "All My Springs Are in Thee" l*salin 87:7 By MILDRED JEFFERY Lord of life, and of well-being. Great physician of the soul— "All my springs are in thee," Saviour; Surge through me and make me whole! Fountainhead of every blessing. Surge through me, and over flow— Cause Thy fruitfulness to spring forth ,i Everywhere Thy waters go. I the channel cleansed and emp tied. Thou the flood of love and Joy: "All my springs are in thee," Jesus, All my life at Thy employ! " O Gad, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsieth for thee, ftiy flesh long- eth for thee in a, dry and thirsty land, where no water is;. "T o see thy power and (hy glory, so as 1 have seen thee in the sanctuary” (Psa. 63:1, 2 ).
BEGINNING AT THE SANCTUARY .[Continued from Page 45] by the washing of water by the Word. It is not to the study of the Bible for- examination or for message pre paration that I refer, but to the de votional reading day by day. We can become so occupied in service’ that we. fail to meditate upon the Word, .and to let the Spirit speak to our hearts through the Word for our own reproof and cleansing and growth. As the child needs to feed on strengthen ing food for normal development, so the child of God must feed upon Him. As the natural being must be cleansed if the individual is to be healthy, so the supernstturally born needs cleans ing for spiritual health and strength. How can we hope to live lives of holiness in this evil world if we neg lect the source of all purity and power? How can we expect that Christ shall be seen in us if we fail to feed upon Him? How can we Show forth the quiet peaceableness of the Lord unless we are saturated- with the counsel of His will? It is through His Word -that God speaks to us; in it He points to our shortcomings and sins; through it He cleansgs us; by it He makes us strong in Himself and leads us on in the way of holiness. The daily washing—how we need it! How often we fail Him — in 'f: thought, by our lips, and through our acts! The unholy thought, the unkind or critical word, the un-Christlike act —it is through the Word that these are revealed to our souls in their true light, so that we need to fall once more at the feet of our blessed Lord and claim once again the Cleans ing power of the blood ~of Calvary. No Christian, no matter how prom inent his place of testimony may be, can neglect the daily washing without having his witness stifled. II. Daily Walking When the Scripture speaks of our walk, it refers, of course, to our con duct. And if our lives are to count for the Lord, how careful we must be that our conduct shall be consist ent with our profession! The reader who does not find that the Bible teaches that God demands separation - __ of His people does not understand the Word of God. For from its beginning to its end, the Book declares that God’s own are a separated people. Before He first said, “Be fruitful, and rpulti- ply,” God separated the light from the darkness — and we might well realize that before we can expect much fruit in our lives and testimony, this separation must be complete. The mark of circumcision upon the Israelite, and his keeping of the Sab- bath—these were signs to the, outside world that God’s people were differ ent, a separated people. And^ for the child of God today, nothing could be ;T'•
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