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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
February, 1939
A Captivating Story for Young Folk*! C R U S A D E R S O N W H E E L S By Virginia Baker
but the purification by the Word needs to be repeated over and over, each time we sin. And this second cleansing is a very practical matter; we are purified by the Word as we obey the Word. This is what Peter means when he speaks of purifying “your souls in obeying the truth.” One last point should be noted: the cleansing from the guilt of sin through the blood is for all who will believe. But the cleansing by the Word is only for those already re deemed by blood. 2. "That y e should follow his steps” (2:21). This is one of the many misquoted passages of the Bible. How often have we heard people talk about following in His steps”! The preposition does not occur in the passage, nor in any other similar passage. After all, who could follow "in” the mighty steps of the Son of God, as He stepped from heaven’s glory to a manger in Bethlehem, from humanity to the death of the cross, and from the tomb to the throne of the universe? No, we cannot follow in His steps, but thank God, it is our unspeak able privilege and duty to “follow His steps,” to pause beside each one in ador ing wonder, to meditate upon the grace that led Him all the way, and as we consider those blessed steps, to become more and more like Him. Golden Text Illustration 1 P eter 3:18 In Arizona an Indian boy was plowing com. His little sister . . . turned over a stone, and there was a great rattlesnake. It coiled and struck her deep in the flesh of the leg. She screamed aloud; her brother heard in the field and rushed to her aid. Seeing at once what had happened, he killed the snake with the heel of his boot, then took his sister in his arms, and hold ing his two hands tightly about the wound, placed his lips to it, sucked out the deadly poison, and spit it out on the ground. He had saved her life, but he lost his own, for he had a sore in his mouth which the poison entered. In an infinitely greater res cue, the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son, when we all had been bitten by the old ser pent, heard the cry of need. He came down to us from heaven, dealt a blow to the “old serpent, . . . the devil,” and took the sin poison for us. And it was our sin that caused His death. —Adapted from the Wonderful Word. What Peter Remembered Best 1 P eter 1:17-23; 2:20-25 Memory Verse; “W e love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Approach: Last week we talked about Peter when he was an old man, and how he thought Christians ought to act. They were to be loving and tenderhearted and hum ble. They were to return good for evil.
can be applied either to God Himself or to His Word. In either case, there can be no ending of the life thus given. On the ground of being children of God, we are told to “love one another with a pure heart fervently" (v. 22). It is a love springing from the God who gave us birth, whose very nature is love. III. T he E xample (1 P et . 2:20-25) Some one has said truly that patience is the first sign of spiritual power. The only circumstance in which our Lord is said to be our example is in the matter of patiently enduring injustice and calumny. He was reviled and suffered injustice. He did not attempt to defend Himself, nor return ac cusation for accusation, but patiently en dured calmly, turning His cause over to the Supreme Judge. In this attitude He is our example. His endurance extended to His sufferings upon the cross, where He bore our sins in His own body. One of the results of His death is that the believer also is “dead unto sins” (Rom. 6 :11 ), and is therefore ex horted to live unto righteousness, by ex hibiting the patience that comes only from fellowship with the risen Lord. W e were as sheep going astray but are now returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. This is a highly significant name of our Lord. As to our faith, He is the Author and Finisher; as to our confes sion, He is the Apostle and High Priest; but when it is a question of provision and care for us, He is the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, and we are the sheep of His pasture. Points and Problems 1. "Seeing y e have purified your souls in obeying the truth” (1 Pet. 1:22). This passage does not teach the pagan and Roman Catholic notion that men can save themselves by obedience. To understand the passage, we must recall that there are two distinct cleansings in the work of Christ for His own. First, we are cleansed from the guilt of sin, something accom plished once for all by the blood of our Lord. This is the cleansing and redemp tion of which Peter speaks in verses 18 and 19, and which saves us forever when we believe. But after we are saved, as Chris tians we are universally conscious of the power and habit of sin. W e know that we have peace with God on the basis of His shed blood, that the guilt of sin—all sin— has been canceled forever, and there can be no condemnation. Yet we also know that we often stray from the Shepherd of our souls, that our feet become defiled in for bidden paths. When this happens we do not lose our souls afresh. That would be impossible, for the blood avails continu ously. But we lose something, namely, our fellowship and communion with Christ. How can we be cleansed from this de filement and be restored to fellowship? For this there is a second cleansing, a work of cleansing accomplished through the W ord o f God. Our Lord referred to this purifica tion when He prayed, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17). The purification by blood is done once for all and is never repeated.
All boys and girls love the ad venture and promise of surprise- experience associated with a trip away from home. Anticipate, prepare, and go on this delight ful, modem, trailer-trip' with Davie and Debbie, the Weath erby twins, and their jolly mis sionary uncle, Timothy Lake. Learn with them the joys of highway gospelizing, by becom ing acquainted with the tramp," "the runaway," the dear "old lady," the escapades of "G oliath," the dog, and fall in love with "M iss Mary Brown," who keeps "breaking down." „ , A Delightful Story for Juveniles!
\ ____ I ______ 5 0 © Bible Institute Colportage Association 92 pages, cloth, with tinted fly-leaves. 11 I illustrations, net..
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They were to live in peace. Now these were all important things for Christians to remember. They are important for Christians to remem ber now, too. But there is another and a more important thing which we must never forget.
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