WHERE CAN A JEW FIND CHRIST?
T he C h r is t ia n ’s P o p u la r ity by Dr. Vance Havner
On street corners, in homes, in shops, and in our witnessing* cen ters, our workers faith fully proclaim the story of redemption 'accord ing to Moses and the prophets, and the gos pel message from the New Testament, and Jews are finding the Saviour. For help in witnessing, or for your own spiritual need, write to: Rev. A. A. MacKinney General Director American Messianic Fellowship 7448 N. Damen Avenue, Chicago, III. 60645
A Jewish boy accepted a tract, "Isaiah's Por- trait-of Messiah" and immediately asked, "Can you tell me more about this?" There on a street corner in Chicago a 12 year old boy listened intently to the skillful presentation of the Scriptures and ac cepted Jesus Christ as his Messiah and Sav iour. A middle-aged Jew ess, after hearing the gospel for several years at Miami Beach called and said, "I am terribly distressed. Please come over. I must find the Lord today."
I N T H E P L A IN L I G H T of the New Testament and past Christian experience, it seems un thinkable that it should be nec essary to discuss such a question. But so hazy is the moral twilight and so dense is the spiritual fog these days that, believe it or not, we need to assert what should be perfectly obvious. Can a Christian be popular with this world? Let us under stand what we mean by "Chris tian” and “popular” and “ this world” . What is in mind is a normal New Testament Christian, a heart believer in the Lord Je sus Christ, walking with Him in faith and obedience. A mere pro fessing Christian or a backslider may be popular and often is. By “ popular” we mean approved and well-liked. By “this world” we mean the people o f this present age living by the standards of unregenerate humanity. “ This present world” is not an abstrac tion. Only people can love and hate and we mean just about what is called “ society” , people at home down here living by the code of this age. It is possible for a Christian to be respected by people in this world. They may sense that he has “ something” and they may have regard for his character and integrity. But that is not popu larity. No true Christian can be received gladly into standing and fellowship with a world that knows not God. He belongs to the new race of the second Adam; he belongs to a holy nation (I Peter 2 :9 ), and his citizenship is in heaven. He has been chosen out of this world, in it but not of it, that he may go back into it to win others out o f it, as our Lord
made clear in the seventeenth chapter of John. But he cannot possibly be popular with a world that crucified his Lord. Our Sav iour Himself made that so clear that we wonder how anyone can ever imagine popular Christian ity. He said: “ I f the world hate, you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have cho sen you out of the world, THERE FORE THE WORLD HATETH YOU” (John 15:18, 19). If that does not mean what it says, what can it mean? In this connection, Dr. A. T. Robertson asked, “Does the world hate us? I f not, why not? Has the world become more Christian or Christians more worldly?” Dr. G. Campbell Mor gan declared, “ The world hates Christian people, that is, if they see Christ in them. The measure in which the world agrees with us and says we are really a fine type of Christian, we are so en tirely broad, is the measure in which we are unlike Christ.” Gyp sy Smith said, “ I f you are in with Christ, you are out with the world.” Alexander McLaren put it this way: “ The measure of our discord with the world is the measure of our accord with the Saviour.” Our Lord’s words to His disci ples suggest anything else but popularity. He prepared them to expect persecution, reproach, rid icule, even death. “ALL that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (II Tim. 3: 12). We are to go unto Him with out the camp bearing His re proach, not enjoying His popu larity. We are to share the fellow- THE KING'S BUSINESS
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