lanuary 4, 1948 FINDING ASSURANCE IN RELIGION 2 T im . 3 :14 -17 ; 2 P et . 1 :20
IT'S AN IDEA Rev. Carlton C. Buck
Idea 1. End your New Year Eve Watch Night Party on your knees. There is no better way to welcome in the New Year. Have your social time earlier, then the singing of hymns and gospel choruses, closing the s e r v i c e with devotions and prayers as the Old Year ends. Idea 2. Are you letting the other departments o f the church know what you are doing in youth meetings? Clever posters, announcements, invitations and handbills will get your activi ties before other young people and will aid in reaching them for Christ. Idea 3. Plan the work and worship o f your society three or six months in advance, that is: dates, topics and leaders. Details can be filled in later, but in the general sense you should know where you are going with the studies. The s e b r o a d pl ans s h o u l d be printed or mimeo graphed in attractive form and handed to members. Idea 4. Now is a good time to form Gospel Teams for youth evangelism. Young people are t u r n i n g t o Christ. Are your friends being saved? Have you witnessed to them? In order to win others, we must give our sel ves fully to Christ. Make youth evangelism a real mat ter of prayer and action in your group.
O UR Lord said that each men should be “ fully assured in his own mind” (Rom. 14:5 R .V .). One should have this assurance in regard to his soul’s wel fare and his position in Christ. Each per son should know definitely whether he is really saved, really born-again and real ly has eternal life dwelling in him. He should know whether he has received the g ift of the Holy Spirit. He should have evidence in his life that Christ has put away his sins and the Spirit has come to dwell in him. He should know that his Christian associations, affiliations, and activities are according to the Word of God. His W ord A ssures J ohn 5 :24 God has spoken plainly, clearly, and to the point. This ought to be enough for our hearts. Our attention is drawn to the Word o f God. We are not told to hear what men and women have to say in re gard to eternal matters. Frequently they lead astray. Many false religions have been promulgated by unsaved men and women, cults which lead away from the true faith. Christ is “ the author and the finisher o f our faith” (Heb. 12:2). It is the entrance of His Word that gives light. Let His Word assure you. The Saviour’s cry on Calvary, “ It is finished” should bring perfect rest to every seeking heart with respect to his salvation. Nothing is left for the sinner to do. The three words, It is finished, are one word in the Greek, meaning that there is nothing to be added. This, expres sion is used by the artist when he com pletes a painting, by the doctor when he has brought into the world a baby with a perfect body, by the baker when he has the wedding cake ready to be delivered. In the Scripture it is employed regarding the work o f salvation. The Saviour paid all the debt and endured all the suffering for sin. He “was made sin fo r us.” We cannot add anything to His finished work. His W ay A ssures , Ex. 3 3 :13 ,14 Moses wanted to know God’s way and this passage is the record o f his asking for it. The answer is most significant, delightful, and helpful. God’s way is to go along with His child, assume all the responsibility, and meet every need. This permits the Christian to rest in the midst o f his labors. It gives him the unutter able joy of seeing God working, remov ing difficulties, enriching the soul, and reaching men’s hearts. His way is so per fect that we rest assured that we shall be victors in the end. His W ork A ssures J ohn 19:30
Dr. Walter L. Wilson
I ! *
His W ill A ssures J ohn 6 :3 9 ,4 0
When once we know the. mind o f God, the heart rests in sweet assurance. God’s will is revealed in the above passage. From it we learn how safe we are in the Saviour’s hands and how certain is our future. It is His will that we behold our lovely Lord in every phase o f our life. It is His will that we walk with Him, serve Him, know Him, and love Him. He will take us to live with Him at the end of the journey.
January 11, 1948 HAVING DIRECT ACCESS TO GOD 1 P et . 2 :5 , 9, 10; R ev . 1 : 6 ; 22 :17
O NE o f the outstanding character istics o f true Christianity is person al fellowship with a personal God. All other religions conceive of God as only a leader or guide or someone to be feared. Catholicism puts every possible obstruc tion between the sinner and God. The sinner must get past the priest, the saints, Mary, the church fathers, and then at last be disappointed in never get ting to God. Christ calls us to come di rectly to Him. W e H ave A ccess B ecause W e A re C hildren G al . 4 :6 Christ suffered for us that He might bring.us to God (1 Pet. 3:18). He is the Way to get to the Father (John 14:6). Those who are saved by grace become
God’s children who feel at home in the Father’s presence. They love Him and look forward to living with Him. They have received His nature whicfi causes them to love the things that He loves. God’s children have a right to enter in and to feel at home in God’s house. They may come into the throne room with their petitions. They may commune with the Father and confide in Him. W e H ave A ccess B ecause W e A re P riests H eb . 4 :16 Everyone who is saved by grace is a priest of God. The priest has access into the holiest o f all where he receives in spiration and information f r o m G o d Himself and he may go out to the peo ple with these blessings, He dwells in Pag* Nineteen
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