365
T h e K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s
August 1932
Sn ilie JEWISH WORLD . . . B y J. A. V aus
T he J ew without the gospel is lost! In consequence o f this, the Jewish Department o f the Bible Institute not only conducts a theoretical course of training in Jewish Missions, but also en gages in varied Jewish missionary activi ties as well, thus giving opportunity to the student in training to secure a practical knowledge o f all forms of Jewish mission ary service. It is the policy and practice o f this de partment to reach as many as possible of the 75,000 Jews o f Los Angeles with the saving message o f the gospel. T o this end, our workers visit constantly in Jewish homes and places o f business, conduct open-air meetings in the heart o f the largest Jewish district o f our city, hold regular classes for Jewish women, carry on open forum meetings among the Jews o f Hollywood, entertain scores o f visitors at our Mission Home, hold Jewish Fellow ship Meetings on Sunday afternoons, and carry on during the vacation season a form o f seaside Jewish evangelism, consisting o f special open-air services and personal work for Jews right on the ocean front. Our Jewish missionary work, as the following incidents would indicate, has been peculiarly blessed o f God during the past two months, in which time, eight Jews and Jewesses have professed conversion. W e covet the earnest prayers o f the Lord’s people everywhere in the furtherance of the worthy and much-needed work o f Jew ish evangelism. Black or White Magic During the past year, with the assistance of Bible Institute students, the writer has held weekly street meetings in the most densely populated Jewish district of our city. With the aid of a little folding organ, other instruments of music, gospel hymns, and large Bible text cards in Hebrew, we soon succeed in attracting the attention o f a large number of Jews, both young and old. These crowds are made up o f Jews representing every shade o f religious opin ion; some are strictly Orthodox Jews; some are Reformed Jews; others are Na tionalists who profess no religious loyalty; still others are extreme radicals in both religion and politics; many are free think ers, communists, or socialists. Here men with long beards, representing the older generation and type, and women wearing the sheitel rub elbows with mod ern young Jewish men and women fresh from college and young Jewish boys and girls from the Cheder. The Pharisee, the Sadducee, and the Publican types are all here in evidence, reflecting the same reli gious views as their forbears. Always there is a large crowd, and usu ally the feeling is very tense. Frequently our messages, which are given in Yiddish, Hebrew, and English, are heard almost without interruption. At other times, much opposition results, and interruptions are frequent. Some openly scoff and ridicule, some become very argumentative, while many listen with a look of deep interest
tiiat term one meant the magic power of the W ord o f God to transform a human life through faith in Christ the Messiah of Israel. A long and interesting discussion follow ed. Jewish doubt and difficulties were an alyzed and explained to the great satisfac tion o f our visitor. She left with her face radiant with hope though at times clouded with concern as she faced the consequences in the way of Jewish opposition to her con fession o f Christ. She has since attended other meetings, and we anticipate her early public acknowledgment o f faith in Christ. A Jewish Daughter’s Appeal I t was the day o f our Jewish mothers’ Bible class. About thirty women were present, most of them Hebrew Christians, but among the number present were four or five unconverted Jewesses. A picnic luncheon was being served on the lawn of the Mission Home. A fter the luncheon, and while the guests were still seated about the tables, a letter was read from a Jewish girl in a distant city. This girl, whose mother was present at the luncheon, had been recently convert ed and was writing to her mother urging the mother’s acceptance o f Christ. Tears flowed down the cheeks o f the girl’s mother as the letter was read; and all present, particularly the unconverted Jewish women, were profoundly moved by its heart-stirring appeal. Space forbids our giving the letter in full, but the following excerpts will enable the reader to appre ciate the daughter’s heart cry. “Mother dear, you say that you have been attending a Bible class. My, but that’s nice! I am glad to hear o f it. Mother dear, when you go and hear these things about God, pray to God to give you light. He surely will hear you. Mother, you say they asked you to accept Christ, well, why don’t you? Then you will see the peace and the joy that will come into your heart and life. Mother, I have ac cepted Jesus Christ as my personal Sav iour, and my whole life has changed from the worse to the better. I’m living in a heaven on earth. Your friends can laugh you into hell, but they can’t laugh you out. “Mother, through Jesus Christ our Lord, you can enter heaven, without Him you cannot. Jesus shed His blood as an atone ment for our sin on the cross. Jesus is everything the Bible says He is. You pray to God about it and pray with an honest heart like I did, and God will give you the light.” Before the class session closed that day, another daughter of the same mother, who was deeply affected by the reading o f her sister’s letter, was also led to accept Christ and confess Him before others. Another Jewess present, a former news paper reporter and a regular attendant up on the class, was led by the Spirit o f God to end her long struggle with doubts and skepticism, with a definite decision for Christ. The latter has since burned all her bridges behind her by being publicly baptized.
Why Evangelize the Jews ? BECAUSE— They, in common with the Gentiles, are included in the Great Commission which applies to “all nations" and to “ every creature" (Matt. 28:19; Mk. 16: 15). BECAUSE— They have had in the past, and will again have in the future, an important place in the divine program o f redemption (Rom . 3:1, 2 ; Gen. 12:1-3; Isa. 66:19). BECAUSE— “Salvation is o f the- Jews,” and common gratitude de mands that the Jew in turn he evamgelized by the Gentile (John 4:22; Rom. 11:30, 31). BECAUSE— They are lost unless they accept Christ as their Mes siah, for Judaism cannot save them (Matt. 10:6; Acts 4:12). BECAUSE— They have given us the Bible and its Christ, the writ ten and the living Word o f God (Rom. 3:1, 2; 9 :5 ). BECAUSE— They are beloved for the Father’s sake (Rom. 11:28). BECAUSE— There is a veil over their eyes in the reading of. the Old Testament (2 Cor. 3:14). —J. A. V. and concern on their faces. Many ques tions are asked and answered, and many personal interviews follow the messages, while tracts and Gospels in Yiddish and English are distributed in large numbers. Names and addresses are frequently se cured, and individual cases are later fol lowed up with a personal visit o f the worker. Yiddish New Testaments, often supplied by Christian friends and bearing a personal message from the donor on the flyleaf, are placed in the hands o f those who appear to be deeply interested. The writer placed such a Testament in the hands o f a Jewish woman one night and exchanged names and addresses with her. Some time later, this Jewess sur prised us one evening with a visit to our home. She carried under her arm a large black book, elaborately engraven in gold with strange devices and marked “ Occult ism and Magic,” concerning which she wanted our opinion. She expressed her self as very happy to have found us and said, “If you don’t mind, I have many ques tions to ask you about the Bible, some o f which have troubled me since I was a little child. First o f all, I want to ask you, do you believe in black magic or white magic ?” While not quite clear as to what either black or white magic might be, we ac knowledged that we thought we rather fa vored “white magic,” particularly if by
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker