S P E C I A L I S S U E This thing called Christianity
Cotton-picking Preacher —
This Greek Mother and children lost their home and all their possessions. Photograph was taken on the spot by Rev. Douglas G. Stewart at the time of the earthquakes. The people of Greece desperately need our help.
YOU CAN BRING JOY THIS WINTER TO A NEEDY FAMUY IN GREECE
• W ill you, as a token of your gratitude to God for the gift of His Son, help a destitute Greek family this Winter by sending your gift to: To avoid cutting cover you may use coupon on page 30. |----------- ------------- GREEK RELIEF F U N D ----- — --------------- : I I Rev. Douglas G. Stewart, F.R.G.S. | EUROPEAN EVANGELISTIC CRUSADE, INC. , Member Mission, I.F.M.A. i 811 Westview St., Dept. K3, Philadelphia 19, Pa. | Dear Sir: I enclose $........................................ as my iove 1 [ offering fo God to help meet the physical and spiritual needs I of the Greek believers.
• Evangelical believers suffer the loss of loved ones, homes and all their possessions in earthquakes.
• They have urgently appealed to us for immediate and continued assistance. It will take many months to relieve the suffering people.
• In cooperation with the “ CARE” organization, because of U.S. government food surpluses, we are able to send 20 pounds of much needed food fo i each $1.00 gift. Two thousand pounds can be sent for every $100.00.
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• A ll gifts will be sent directly to Greece to ad minister to the physical and spiritual welfare of the Greek Evangelical believers.
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Number one in a series of photo stories on education in California.
California Coed And Her Professors
Maggie Kraft is a pert 21-year-old coed from the Biola Bible College (a school of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Inc.). Maggie, whose favorite sport is water skiing, is an education major at Biola and wants to teach either here or on the mis sion field after graduation. Before transferring to Biola Maggie attended a secular col lege for two years. She decided on the transfer because she wanted a college that was solidly evangelical and one that had a superior academic standing. She found that Biola met both of these requirements. The three professors pictured below are the type of men that help give Biola Bible College high academic standing. Biola offers a Bible College granting B.A. degree with majors in Bible, Christian education, public school education, psy chology (with emphasis on guidance and counseling), music, philosophy, English, history. In addition to Biola Bible College there is Talbot Theological Seminary, School of Missionary Medicine and two year Bible Institute.
Maggie Kraft’s home church is the Christian and Missionary Alliance of Santa Ana where she leads junior church. An outdoor girl, she’s a cheerleader at Biola and her favorite sport is water skiing.
Biola graduates include: Donald G. Barnhouse
Percy Crawford Charles E. Fuller Irwin Moon Dawson Trotman
Davis, Ph.D., Edinburgh (Bible)
Robertson, Ph.D., Caltech (Science)
Moore, Ph.D., Iowa (Psychology)
16 -page picture-story booklet Write today for your free copy. of this beautiful 16-page picture-story booklet. Big 8 x 10 photos showing scenic and educational sites of Southern California. From rugged snow-covered mountains to lush orange groves. See for yourself why so many students are coming to sunny Southern California. Just ask for picture-story booklet. BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES, INC. 558 So. Hope St., Los Angeles 17,Calif.
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W AS A CHILD OF THE r t s t t i t NIGHT I
This is our annual issue in which we gather together a wide variety of material setting forth the workings of Christianity. You will notice that this material has been chosen to fit under two categories: 1) W hat Christianity is and 2) H ow Christianity works. The lead article, "This Thing Called Christianity,” (page 8) is by our managing editor. This article is an attempt to set forth in orderly fashion the framework of the Christian faith. It is suggested this article be read first in order that the rest of the magazine might fall into proper perspective. Should readers have questions that they care to submit each will receive a personal and confidential answer. Some of you will want additional copies of this special issue for friends. These copies are 25c each, or five for just $1. Each copy will be mailed flat, in a strong en velope for protection. You may use the order blank below.
S A N D Y 'S M O T H E R W A S D EA D.
H IS FA TH ER W A S A D R U N K A R D . His stepmother was too busy with younger children to worry about Sandy. When the American Sunday-School Union missionary first saw him, Sandy was sullen and unhappy. The missionary invited him to Sunday school, but Sandy had no shoes and his clothes were in tatters. He didn’t want to go. ' The missionary prayed about Sandy, and then the inspiration came! Maybe he could get Sandy to go to summer camp! A Christian friend, hearing about Sandy, volunteered to provide clothes and money. At first Sandy was dubious. But when he saw pictures of the camp, tried on the new clothes and got letters from regular campers, he couldn’t wait for camp to start. That week at camp was the happiest Sandy had ever known. He made new friends, played games in the sunshine with other boys and every night he lis tened to stories about Jesus. The climax of the whole week came when, at the last service, Sandy went forward to accept the Lord Jesus as his Saviour. Sandy's is a true story. And there are many other boys and girls in rural America like Sandy — boys and girls waiting for a chance to hear about Jesus and His love. Your prayerful fellowship enables us to maintain Sunday schools and Bible Con ferences, and to send missionaries to these neglected children. Will you help? Write for a copy of our magazine, THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL MISSIONARY. Our missionaries are available for speaking
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King's Business
A VISIT WITH THE LIVING DEAD
THE KING'S BUSINESS Official publication of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Inc. Louis T. Talbot, Chancellor S. H. Sutherland, President • Ray A. Myers, Chairman of the Board
"W ith great grief of heart I write of my visit to the leper colony of Athens, where some of the inmates have been confined for a period of 15, 20 or even 30 years. Some go about with their noses eaten away, others with their fingers wasted to mere stubs or blistered and deformed as though by scalding water, some with their ears or an eye missing, many totally blind. Their plight is so tragic that it was quite a while before I could bring myself to attempt a few words of comfort, to distribute New Testaments to some and speak of the love of Christ to others. The children are es pecially pitiful, running away if you attempt to approach them. "Many of these people have no one in this world, and some who do are rarely visited because of their tragic disease. One sight I shall never forget — the ward of the seriously ill. There I saw men and women lying with closed eyes, and if it were not for the slight move ment of the bedclothes caused by their breathing I would have thought them dead. Their faces were pale and their bones protruded through their skin. These were the silent living dead. "I would like to ask you to pray for all of these unfortunate sufferers and to give whatever the Lord may lead you to, for their help. The only relief which we can give them is the comfort of our visits and those of our missionaries, the Word of God and our financial assistance to meet some of their most desperate needs. "H ow I wish you could have seen the joy on their faces when I gave some of them small sums of money froth the Am erican Mission to Greeks. How I wished I had enough to give to all and to supply each one with a Bible or a New Testa ment. Only the love of God and the com passion of Christians can make this pos sible. It may be that you can help me to return to them with the evidences of your love.” How can we close our hearts to these destitute and forgotten outcasts o f earth? Is the Lord laying them upon your heart now, as you read this letter? You can help them through the American Mission to Greeks, Inc., P.O. Box 423, Dept. K, New York 36, N .Y ., Rev. Spiros Zodhi- ates, General Secretary. (In Canada, 90 Duplex Ave., Toronto 7, Ont.) Major Constantine Kalonaros Director of Relief, A.M.G.
MARCH In the year of our Saviour Nineteen Hundred and Fifty-six
Vol. 47, No. 3
Established 1910
Dedicated to the spiritual development of the Christian home
ARTICLES ABOUT TH IS SPECIAL ISSUE .................................................. 4 TH IS TH ING CALLED CH R IST IAN IT Y — Lloyd Hamill .............. 8 THE BENT OF REGENERATION — Oswald Chambers ................. 10 THE W O M A N AT THE WELL — From the Bible ....................... 12 ENTERTAINER A N D CHRIST — How Christianity Works — Stan Freberg ........................ 13 A V IC T IM OF EXCUSES— Richard C. Halverson ....................... 16 THE BUSINESSMAN A N D CHRIST — How Christianity Works — Bruce Bare .......................... 17 REALITY A N D CHRIST — Timothy Fetler ................................ 19 THE C LA IM S OF JESUS CHRIST — Robert Boyd Munger .......... 23 COTTON-PICKING PREACHER — How Christianity Works (photo story) — Lloyd Hamill ...... 36 FEATURES UNDER THE PARSONAGE ROOF — Althea S. Miller ................. 6 LETTERS .................................................. 7 ADVERTISERS' INDEX ........................................................... 42 COVER Migrant Missionary Leon Day (left) listens to the story of an Ala bama man who has brought his family to California to pick cotton. For a six-page photo story on how Christianity works in a migrant camp see pages 36-41. — Design & Photo : Lloyd Hamill
S. H. SUTHERLAND: editor
LLOYD HAMILL: managing editor LUCY BARAJIKIAN: editorial assistant STELLA KINTER: circulation manager
ROSE HARDIE: copy editor
MILTON R. SUE: advertising manager J. RUSSELL ALLDER: business manager
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION — "The King's Business" is published monthly: $2.50, one year; $1.25, six months; 25 cents, single copy. Clubs of three or more at special rates. Write for details. Canadian and foreign subscriptions 25 cents extra. It requires one month for a change of address to become effective. Please send both old and new addresses. REMITTANCES — Payable in advance, should be made by bank draft, express, or post office money order payable^ to "The King's Business." Date of expira tion will show plainly on outside of wrapper or cover of magazine. ADVERTISING — For information address the Advertising Manager, 558 South Hope Street, Los Angeles 17, California. THE KING 'S BUSINESS
MANUSCRIPTS — "The King's Business" cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to manuscripts mailed to us for consideration. Entered as second-class matter November 7, 1938, at the Post Office of Los An geles. California, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in the Act of February 28, 1925, em bodied in paragraph 4, section 538, P.L. and R., authorized October 1, 1918, and November 13, 1938. Printed in U.S.A. by Church Press, Glendale, California. ADDRESS: The King's Business, 558 S. Hope St., Los Angeles 17, California.
Show Your Pupils C fm ts T fA w rr //V ACTfOtf with These Three Sunday School Papers Looking for practical applications of the Bible truths you teach? Want to show your pupils how Christ changes the life of the person who believes and receives Him? How He blesses the
Under the Parsonage Roof by Althea S. Miller PRAYER
M other, will you ask Daddy for that billfold I loaned him?” Bill inquired. “You ask him, son. He’s your Dad. He doesn’t bite.” “You ask him,” the 17-year-old insisted with a shy smile. “He’s your husband.” “Yes, you ask him, Mama,” the voice of eight-year-old Kent waft ed from the living room where he was coloring pictures. “You can do more with him than we can.” Mother and her older son about collapsed as they stood in the kitchen laughing at the wee wis dom which emanated from the small fry. “ If I can, I hadn’t noticed it,” Mother wryly commented. “The trouble with you youngsters is you try to ask things of Dad when he is on the run, or has a thousand other things on his mind.” “The trouble is, Dad’s free time (if any) and our free time never coincide. It’s hard for us to know when the right time is to ap proach him,” Bill concluded thoughtfully as he went to look for Daddy. Bill’s provocative statement brought into sharp focus a prob lem which is common in most preachers’ families. The pastor has so many problems and burdens to carry and deal with among his parishioners, he has little time or strength to be the devoted daddy or husband he desires to be. In fact, most pastors’ wives try to shield their husbands from the small irritations of the home, knowing as perhaps no other per son can know, the drain on the re sources of their husbands as they cope with the heartaches and foibles of man. But preachers’ families, and all God’s children have a source of power, refreshment and renewal in prayer. The failure of prayer lies not in God Who said: “Call unto me, and I will answer thee . . . ” (Jer. 33:3), but in His children who fail to obey. We have power at our disposal which will move the arm of God in our behalf. God help us to tap this source of Un touched Power and do great things —for Him by prayer.
• THE ABC NETWORK 9 a.m. Mountain Time 8 a.m. in all other time zones • THE MUTUAL NETWORK
10 a.m. Eastern Time 9 a.m. Central Time 8 a.m. Mountain Time 9 a.m. Pacific Time Subject for March:
Power (pocket-sized, for teen-agers and young adults) and My Counsellor (for 9- to 13-year-olds) are designed for just this purpose. They specialize in colorful stories of today’s outstand ing Christians, both the known and unknown, and further capture interest with action-filled fiction and faith building short features.
THE SINS OF THE SAINTS Write today jor your FREE radio log THE RADIO BIBLE CLASS P.O. Box 22 Grand Rapids, Michigan C O Ä ST T O C O A S T O V E R T H E A B C AND M U TU A L N ETW O R K S 8 STOP'lflMHl “Vbtfffc ontheMARCH” PERCY CRAWFORD KTLA Los Angeles, California WPFH Wilmington, Delaware WBKB Chicago, Illinois CKLW-TV Detroit, Michigan WABC-TV New York, N.Y. WFPG-TV Altoona, Pennsylvania WSEE-TV Erie, Pennsylvania WENS Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania WSBA-TV York, Pennsylvania KTVW Seattle, Washington KREM-TV Spokane, Washington For time of day and day of week, check your local newspaper For a list of additional television stations carrying the program write: YOUTH ON THE MARCH P.O. Box 1 Philadelphia, Pa. THE KING 'S BUSINESS Reaching w ith the Youth | with the Truth D R . P E R C Y C R A W F O R D
p r / m a r Y P A Y S
The third paper, Primary Days, con tains easy-to-read Bible stories and in triguing conduct fiction that make Bible truths understandable and attractive to 6- to 8-year-olds. (Conduct story is correlated with the weekly Scripture Press Primary lesson.) Provide your pupils every week with concrete examples of the dynamic Christianity you teach. Send coupon for copies of these stimulating papers. Please send me immediately FREE samples of your Sunday School papers checked below: □ Power □ My Counsellor □ Primary Days Name____________________________________ _— Address_____________________________________ City_________________Zone___ State___________ Church______________________________________ S.S. Position_________________________________ Dept. KBP 36 S C R IP T U R E PRESS 434 SOUTH WABASH AVENUE • CHICAGO 5, ILLINOIS 6
Cowboy Preacher
Sirs: We thoroughly en joyed your photo story on Leonard Eilers, the
Cowboy Evangelist Eilers cowboy evangelist. Some of us at our church have been wondering if it would be possible to have Mr. Eilers for a series of meetings. Detroit, Mich. Will Carlson Evangelist Leonard Eilers, who is a graduate of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, is available for evan g e lis tic m eetin g s and may be reached either through the school or this magazine. The address is the same for both: 55 8 South Hope, Los Angeles 17, Calif. — ED. Sirs: We want 15 copies of the issue with the article, “ If You Are A Sunday School Teacher.” It is just what we were looking for. Lucerne Valley, Calif. C. E. Halts This article by Gospel Light Press Associate Editor Esther Ellinghusen has been so popular with our read ers that we have had a reprint made. Copies are Aow available at five cents each postpaid. — ED. Sirs: I am a Marine in Japan. One of my buddies (a sailor) had one of your magazines lying on his desk. I picked it up and read it. I can truthfully say I have never read anything like it since I have been in the service. It meets up to all the expectations that a Christian de sires in a magazine of this type. Sunday School Teacher All The Expectations
R e m e m b e r your own last birthday? That fine feeling of peace and well being as you enjoyed the love of family and friends? The fre quency with which birthdays occur seems to speed up with passing time. But, when your financial security has been assured by Moody Annuities, your happi ness in them increases a little each year. Moody Annuity checks come as regularly as the yearly anniversary of your birth. For more than 47 years, Moody has never missed or been late with an annuity payment. Your Moody Annuity is a gift unto the Lord . .. through Moody Bible Insti tute and its many ministries. And, in a sense, it is also a gift to yourself. It pro vides a generous, unchanging income for the rest of your life. The satisfaction that comes from sharing in the work of Moody means a lot to your peace of mind, too. Your gift to the Institute is directly instrumental in the saving of many souls. It makes possible the tuition-free training of dedicated young men and women for Christian service. It supports gospel literature work, radio station WMBI, the film ministry of Moody Institute of Science, and Bible teachers and evangelists in the field. A Moody Annuity provides you with “double dividends” on your savings. It pays an annual return of up to 8 y4% and also enables you to share in the eternal rewards for the souls won through MBI and its students.
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Thing Callet I t was Augustine who said, "O God, Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.” This is a basic truth that 9 out of 10 of us recognize when we take time to quietly think about life.
This
The average person believes in God. But there is this restlessness. It isn’t because the restless person is more evil or sinful than his fellow man. It is simply because his relationship with God isn’t what it should be. And when our relationship with God isn’t what it should be there is restlessness and an infinite loneliness at the very center of life. Because this loneliness is at the hidden center of life it is a difficult thing to bring out into the open and talk about. We know there is something wrong. We hear ideas from friends and ministers and organi zations on how to come to God for peace. But often these well-meant ideas seem to have little bearing on our problem. And in the end we simply push aside these formulas on how to come to God for peace, and proceed with our quest according to the best knowledge we have. But I submit for your consideration this basic truth. God being God we must come to Him on His terms. This vastly simplifies our quest. It does not leave us at the mercy of a multitude of theories or to our own searching. Aside from the brashness of man dictating his terms for coming to God, consider the impossibility of it. We cannot understand that which lies outside the periphery of our own knowl edge. And God is outside. I realize some people act as if they know all about God. I recall a quote from one of my philosophy professors at the Uni versity of California: "God created man in His own image and man has returned the compliment.” That’S a superbly accurate description of mankind. We have made God in our image. But the honest seeker soon realizes that a God in his own image is no God, and is no help. And we are driven back at last to coming to God on His terms. And we find His way to Himself is delight fully uncomplicated. Let’s look at it briefly. What sin is The Bible tells us that when God created man
Perhaps
you ’ve never
had the
opportun ity
to consider the simple, basic claims
o f Christianity
by LLOYD HAMILL
THE KING'S BUSINESS
and placed him on this earth that there was a warm, intimate relationship between man and his creator. The rules were few. "And the L o r d God command ed the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowl edge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.’’ Then man was told by Satan: "Ye shall not surely die.” Man was now faced with his first and most im portant decision. Some have objected that God made man with the ability to disobey Him. But this objection has never been seriously considered by thinking men and women. If man had no freedom of choice then he would be nothing but a puppet. Freedom of choice places him "a little lower than the angels.” We all know the decision our first parents made. They deliberately, with full knowl edge of the consequences chose to disobey God. This disobedience was what brought sin into the world. In a sense, goodness and badness as we define them have nothing to do with our basic relationship with God. We can be morally correct and yet stand condemned in God’s sight. We read in the Bible, "Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obey ing the voice of the L o r d ? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stub bornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the L o r d , he hath also rejected thee . . .” The day man rejected God’s clear-cut command, that day man died spiritually. Before man sinned he had warm fellowship with God. After he sinned man instinctively knew he was alienated from God. The Bible says, "And they heard the voice of the L o r d God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the L o r d God amongst the trees of the garden. And the L o r d God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid.” Need we wonder why our hearts are infinitely lonely when we do not have a right relationship
with God? Can any of us say, "I have no sin” ? Has a single one of us never disobeyed God ?» Listen to what the Bible says again. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” We have seen that according to the Bible sin is disobedience to God’s commands. We’ve seen that sin separates man from God. We've seen that sin is universal. None of us dares go around with a holier-than-thou attitude. In God’s sight all are equal. When we acknowledge that we are sinful in God’s sight we are not placing ourselves in a special cate gory. We’re merely being honest and doing some thing that only pride keeps every man from doing. All have sinned and the wages of that sin is spir itual death and this death is separation from God. How can man be right with God? Since sin is universal how can man become right with God? Excepting Judaism and Christianity, the religions of the world are all attempts of man to reach God. Judaism and Christianity are unique in that God comes to man instead of man to God. God- is the initiator here. In the Bible the prophet Isaiah records God’s call, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the L o r d : though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Again we read: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever be- lieveth in him should not perish, but have everlast ing life.” "But as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” To gome to God on His terms is to merely ac cept His provision for salvation. That’s why God came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ. He came to explain to man about God in a way man could readily understand. And He came to die on the cross. The Crucifixion wasn’t an accident or a defeat. This was God’s supreme plan of redemption. Man is not saved by self-denial or good works or CONTINUED
THE KING 'S BUSINESS
Christianity continued
•
the
bent , of \ regeneration
William James, his "live option"
by imitating the life of Jesus. Man is saved through faith in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Here was God doing something for man. And this something was so infinitely great and perfect that man dare not add to it or neglect to accept it as the sole price for his sin. The Bible says: "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation.” Man's responsibility We have just touched the last phase of this thing called Christianity. It is man’s responsibility. Now I realize that it is a popular thing to hold the philos ophy of "I do my best and what more can God expect of me?” Most of us, even though we out wardly hold this philosophy, will candidly admit it's a pretty thin smoke screen. Suppose we applied it to other areas of life. I develop a cancer on the lip. I go to a leading cancer expert like Dr. Ralph Byron, chief of surgeons at California’s world-famous City of Hope. His verdict: an immediate operation. I go home to think about it. Is an operation really necessary? I’m really not in pain. The spot is so little few people will ever notice it. Should it get worse in the future immediate action can be taken. From my thoughts on the matter I decide on a practical course of action. I’m going to start taking care of my body. I’ll get plenty of sleep. I’ll get the best dietitian in the city to work out a healthy, body-building diet rich in vitamins and minerals. I’ll get plenty of fresh air • and sunshine and the proper amount of exercise. I’m confident now that since I’m doing the very best I know how, that everything will come out all right. And underneath, the cancer spreads until death swiftly strikes. You say, "How stupid. You knew you were in trouble, you went to an expert for confirmation and prescription. And then you deliberately set about to effect your own cure.” i I don’t think we need push the point further. You and I know that there are absolute laws that work day and night for all time, and our coming along at one small pin-point in the vastness of time and attempting to change these laws is nothing short of sheer stupidity. When God prescribed the way to come to Himself it became an absolute law. We have the option of obeying Him, but we do not
If Jesus Christ is to regenerate me, what is the problem He is up against? I have a heredity I had no say in; I am not holy, nor likely to be; and if all Jesus Christ can do is to tell me I must be holy, His teaching plants despair. But if Jesus Christ is a regenerator, One Who can put into me His own heredity of holiness, then I begin to see what He is driving at when He says that I have to be holy. Redemption means that Jesus Christ can put into any man the hereditary disposi tion that was in Himself, and all the stand ards He gives are based on that disposition: His teaching is fo r the life H e puts in. The moral transaction on my part is agreement with God’s verdict on sin in the cross of Jesus. The New Testament teaching about regen eration is that when a man is struck by a sense of need, God will put the Holy Spirit into his spirit, and his personal spirit will be energized by the Spirit of the Son of God, "until Christ be formed in you.” The moral miracle of redemption is that God can put into me a new disposition whereby I can live a totally new life. When I reach the frontier of need and know my limitations, Jesus says — "Blessed are you.” But I have to get there. God cannot put into me, a responsible moral being, the disposition that was in Jesus Christ unless I am conscious I need it. Just as the disposition of sin entered into the human race by one man, so the Holy Spirit entered the human race by another Man; and redemption means that I can be delivered from the heredity of sin and through Jesus Christ can receive an unsullied heredity, viz., the Holy Spirit. (Included in "M y U t most fo r His H ighest ,” Dodd, Mead & Co., N ew Y o rk .) — Oswald Chambers
10
THE KING 'S BUSINESS
and Christianity as related in a practical way to your life today
have the option of changing His law for coming to Him. This matter of option is interesting. You recall William James’ live option. He said a live option involves three things: 1) alternatives, 2) choice, 3) consequences. Example: Your car stalls on a railroad crossing. The live option now comes into play. The alternatives are either to remain in the car or get out. You make your choice. And the consequences follow. If you stay it means death. If you leave it means life. This is a live option. And our having a right relationship with God is also a live option. Involved are alternatives, choice and eternal consequences. No one else can face the al ternatives for you. No one else can make the choice for you. And only you can undergo the conse quences. The Bible says in John 17:7: "If anyone wills to do His will he shall understand the teaching” (Berkeley). The option is ours. God has provided the way and the way becomes plain as we will to do His will. Christ said, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him . . . ” You open your heart by an act of your will. Indecision is actually decision against Christ. Indifference means a closed heart. Recently I sat in on a talk-session of some Holly wood people in the home of a well-known actress. These folks were discussing the claims of Jesus Christ. It was a cold windy night and a fire in the big stone fireplace cast a warm glow over the room. Through the haze of cigarette smoke the man near est the fireplace stared moodily into the red embers. Finally he looked up and said, "This business about Christ knocking at a person’s heart door . . . I don t know. I’ve never asked Him not to come in. Why doesn’t He?” Why doesn’t He? Because indecision is actual ly decision against Christ. Indifference means a closed heart. Christ will not violate the will of any man. We must be willing to heed His knock__ whether it is a thunderous pounding against the stony bastions of our heart, or a quiet, gentle tapping. The how of the matter Now let’s tie the threads together. If you’ve
read this far I think we can safely say that at this point in your life you have a desire to have a right relationship with God. We might call it the good season of your soul. Today you are willing to try the experiment of trusting God’s own provided way to Himself. Today can be the springtime of your soul when it is born anew in Jesus Christ. Tomorrow the drought of the cares of this world may change this springtime into empty parchedness. And today’s tender opportunity may forever be lost. But the option is yours. You don’t become a Christian through the persuasion of a powerful sermon, although the Lord can use this; you don’t become a Christian through a mother’s prayers, although the Lord can use this; you don’t become a Christian through reading a magazine article, al though the Lord can use this. You become a Chris tian when you recognize your need for forgiveness of the terrible sin of rejecting Jesus Christ as God’s way of salvation. You recognize your need. You’ve tried to do something about it yourself and the failure has been staggering. You recognize that God being God can do all things. When you recognize this and Jesus Christ calls, you cannot help but heed that call. You know deep in your heart you cannot be neutral. You know He is calling and you must answer. And when you do, His forgiveness, that was secured by His death on the cross, engulfs you. For you it is a simple transaction of your will. He has done all. He has called you. And only you can let Him in. Few people when faced with such an option care to reject God’s plan for their personal salvation. "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him . . .” O God, 1 want to come to Thee and have my past blotted out and know of a certainty that 1 am Thy child. I do not fully understand how to come or what 1 should do. How to receive Christ and believe on Him with a saving faith seems a mystery. But I am willing to receive Him and to believe, and l humbly ask Thee to accept me right now, fust as I am. Cause me to turn my eyes away from my lack of faith, and to trust in Thy faithfulness and Thy mercy and Thy grace. This I ask through the merits of Jesus Christ Thy Son. Amen. END.
THE KING 'S BUSINESS
11
The Woman at the Well
From the Bible, John Chapter Four
K hen cometh he to a city of Sa maria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. 7 There cometh a woman of Sa maria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. 8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) 9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Sa maria? for the Jews have no deal ings with the Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou would- est have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? 12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13 Jesus answered and said'unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall he in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. 16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
this the Christ? 30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. 31 In the mean while his dis ciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. 32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. 33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? 34 Jesus saith unto them, M y meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. 35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh har vest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to har vest. 36 And he that reapeth'receiv- eth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that sow- eth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. 37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reap eth. 38 I sent you to reap that where on ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours. 39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testi fied, He told me all that ever I did. 40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. 41 And many more believed be cause of his own word; 42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him our selves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: 18 For thou hast had five hus bands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. 19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. 21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. 26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. 27 And upon this came his dis ciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, W hy talkest thou with her? 28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, 29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not
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HOW CHRISTIANITY WORKS
Entertainer and Christ
I t was a typical Hollywood party. Big and noisy. I remember Lana Turner was there. And a fellow I’d recently met. He was a real comer. Just before the party he’d bought the biggest and flashiest Cadillac GMC turns out. During the party he asked me to come outside to look the car over. It was raining hard and in the soft light from the house the car was one long, graceful shimmer. This was success. A good many drinks later he left. The next morning I read the story in the Los Angeles Times. Young Actor Drowns. It was my successful young friend. On his way home from the party he had driven his shimmering new Cadil lac into a flooded storm drain. His death really shook me up. I got to thinking. What would hap pen if I should die? And suddenly I knew my little world— a rather
by STAN FREBERG as told to Lloyd Homlll
In a studio at Capitol Records, Stan Freberg is interviewed by Al Sanders, the director of the Mutual network Bible Institute Hour.
THE KING 'S BUSINESS
Stan Freberg
continued
Freberg is as demonstrative in talking about his faith (above) as he is when he’s recording one o f
successful one—was coming un glued. M y segment of success in the entertainment world just wasn’t producing solid happiness for me. It wasn’t that I didn’t like the en tertainment world. I’d heen in radio since I was 17 and at A l hambra High, where I graduated in 1944, I majored in dramatics and journalism. M y break into ra dio came through a guest spot with Stuart Hamblen and his Lucky Stars. I met Cliffie Stone there. Cliffie had an early morning radio show where he interviewed out-of- town guests. Well, it was so early there were no guests so I did the voices for the whole show. Then .1 moved to CBS and later to War ner Brothers where I did the voices for 40 cartoons. I can do 100 com
pletely separate voices. I did from 50 to 60 for the Beany show alone. Dining my army hitch I wrote and produced shows for the Armed Forces. By the time I left the Beany show my records were doing pretty good. But it was at this point that I knew my little world was coming apart. I was raised in a Christian home. M y dad was a Baptist min ister (he graduated from the Bible Institute of Los Angeles the same year that Dr. Charles E. Fuller did). But I had no personal rela tionship with Christ. About four months after my friend was drowned I was in Port land, Ore. to promote a new record. Five of us were in a hotel room when the chambermaid came in. I found out later her name was
Grace Robbins. She stood there leaning on her carpet sweeper and started talking to me. She talked about Jesus Christ in a very sim ple and positive way. She seemed to believe it was a foregone con clusion that someday I’d become a Christian. She kept repeating the phrase, “ When you do become a Christian . . .” And then she’d follow it up with a description of the good things Christ would bring into a believer’s life. She asked me if I would read the New Testa ment. I told her I would and gave her my California address. A few days later the New Testa ment arrived. Alone in my room I read it completely through. And for the first time I heard the clear call of Jesus Christ. I got down on my knees and asked Christ to for-
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his m u ltip le-voice song take-offs like the one on the " D ragnet” theme or ” Y ellow Rose o f Texas.”
give my past and enter my heart. That was Friday night. Sunday I went to the Eagle Rock Baptist Church in Los Angeles and made a public confession of my commit ment and was baptized. It’s been nearly four years now since I became a Christian. Aside from the fact that I know my re lationship with God is eternally secure through Jesus Christ, I find I now have a day-by-day security that I never knew before. It’s the kind of security that money and popularity can’t buy. “ And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out o f my hand .. . . And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Between recording sessions Freberg can often be found in an empty studio meditating on a portion of the Scriptures.
THE K IN G 'S BUSINESS
15
victim of excuses
HOW CHRISTIANITY WORKS
by R i c h a r d C. H a l v e r s o n
The H ere is an intimate and frank look
"For the first time in 25 years I woke up with a clear head . . . and I took a look at myself honestly . . . without any excuse!” Thus spoke a man who at 43 was at the end o f his rope. According to his words he was a total failure as a business man — as a husband — as a father. He was even a failure as a drunk! His wife had sued for divorce. His children would not even look at him — let alone speak to him. His boss threatened to throw him out bodily if he ever set foot back in the office. "Always before that,” he said, "when I looked at my self I saw my mother-in-law or I saw my boss. I could always blame them for my condition. My mother-in-law was living with us and spending all my money. My boss wasn’t any smarter than I. I could handle the business as well as he. Why should he be running things?” For 25 years this man had been blaming someone else —- something else for his failure. It was either circumstances or people — never himself — that was at fault. He almost destroyed himself by hiding behind excuses. Then for the first time he took a good, straight, honest look at himself. And that was the beginning of a miracle! Ten years later this same man is a success in business. His family is back with him. His wife and children love and respect him. He holds a responsible place in the com munity. He is no longer the victim of excuses! No man can grow who refuses to admit his failure! The fellow who covers up every mistake with an excuse is through before he starts. There’s no hope for the man who blames someone else — or something else for every thing that goes wrong. No hope for the man who finds his circumstances rather than himself the root of his failure. Even God can do nothing for such a man! Someone has said, "The blood of Jesus Christ cannot cleanse excuses . . . it cleanses only sin!” Christ can no more help a man who refuses to admit his sin than a physi cian can help a man who refuses to admit a disease! " I f we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1 :9 ). (From " P e r s p e c t i v e a pastor’s new sletter to businessmen.) ' , 16
t a Ihese thoughts could be titled, “ This I Believe.” What I have to say is an effort to discover the basic philosophy which under girds my. whole life and the struc ture of my thoughts. I do not wish to imply, when I have done this, that copying these principles will of itself guarantee financial success, nor do I wish to suggest that the failure to use them presumes that you can never suc ceed financially. The absence of some will obviously militate against success because they are commonly recognized as human ingredients which are essential generally to success. Others, some of you will feel, have no necessary or valid framework of reference to success on the human level. And in this you may be right. But the follow ing things I do believe. First of all I believe that we live in a moral universe, and that this universe was created by a sover eign, moral Intelligence with per sonality, Whom we call God. This universe is governed by laws which spring from the being of God and these laws have a way of operating inexorably so that ultimately no man is able to escape the conse quences either of obedience or dis obedience to these laws. Further more I cannot help believing that the laws of God do not cease with the laws of nature in which you and I have confidence and which we use without thinking every day. Thus you and I can know with certainty what time each month the moon will be full, wh'at time of month the tides will be high, and exactly what spot in the heavens we can find a given star any night. These are physical laws which gov-
THE KING 'S BUSINESS
Businessman & Christ at one man’s formula fo r being a successful businessman
by BRUCE BARE
intelligence we have is a gift from life. Little can be done to alter the gift itself. Its level remains rela tively stable throughout life. Thus the lad with an IQ of 150 will man ifest this approximate IQ all of his days. The man with a subnormal IQ may struggle persistently but he will not rise above the intellectual potential which lies within him as a gift. The man who is a moron will not become a physician — and if it were somehow possible, we would not want him to operate on us or on our children. So also health is more frequently a given quality than not. And physiologists tell us that the size of our frames, and the distribution of our weight, and the amount of our weight are related to the question whether we are intro verts or extraverts. All of these and other factors are beyond the control of man, and they are made a part of him as a gift when he is born. With them he must live and die, and he must make the best of what he cannot change. Now,- so far, I have mentioned elements over which man has little or no control. Perhaps you have concluded that I am a determinist or that I am making man an au tomaton whose destiny is controlled without reference to himself at all. But such is not the case. For I hasten to add that when a child has been born with whatever gifts lie buried deep within him, there still remain those aspects of life which are acquired. Many times there are environmental factors which condi tion men and which mold and make them into what they ulti mately become. Some characteris tics we acquire by being taught them; some we acquire by social CONTINUED
by which men must live. The second premise which has guided my life is that which recog nizes that there are tangible and in tangible human (not divine) fac tors which go to make up the man who succeeds. That this premise is amazingly complex and that I will not be able to unfold all of its mys teries I acknowledge candidly. That it may, in some cases, be almost im possible to distinguish between the tangible and the intangible factors I also recognize. But however diffi cult the job of making the evalu ation it must still be attempted. In a rough fashion we may divide the human factors or gifts in a man into two categories — those gifts or factors which are given or implant ed in him at birth and those which are acquired by him during the course of life. Immediately I confess that qualities which are given must be developed and used or they are useless, but they must exist first be fore they can either be developed or used. Among the “ given” or “ implant ed” qualities may be included the following. First, intelligence. Now neither you nor I can govern our basic intelligence unless we are careful to select the right parents. And this we cannot do. But what About the Author Bruce Bare was born and raised in Iowa and is a graduate of Grinnell College. A fter graduation in 193S he joined the New England Mutual Life Insurance Co. in Omaha. He is now president of the Los Angeles General Agents and M an agers Association and vice president of the General Agents Association of the New England Mutual Life Insurance Co.
ern the universe and the same God Who ordained these physical laws has also ordained other laws which pertain to the physical body of man, to the intellectual and to the moral nature of man. The man who defies the law of gravity by jumping off a 200 foot cliff is no less a fool than the man who defies the moral and spiritual laws of God. Both operate and both do so inexorably. I am not now concerned with the laws which govern the physical universe but I am interested in those laws which deal with man kind in his physical, social, national and moral environment. I am con vinced that the laws of God which govern our relationships inter-pen- etrate all areas of life. Thus the laws of morality which govern my personal life are equally applicable to my life as a citizen of this coun try, and to my business life and to my personal and home life. What I am on Sunday or what I am at my best at home is what I must be in business and as a citizen. If it is wrong for me to steal from my children, it is wrong for me to steal from my customers and to defraud the government on my income tax. If it is wrong for me to lie to my wife, it is equally wrong for me to lie to my business friends, my cus tomers or to a court as a witness in a legal trial. All morality is one. There are not two standards, but one. This, then, has been the first premise of my life and it has been the guiding principle which under: lies my thinking and conduct — that there is a God Who has created and Who sustains a moral universe and Who has made known the laws
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