M A JO R QU ESTION S OF LIFE
by Dr. John Hunter
H ow often have uncertainties robbed you of your joy and fel lowship with God? Recently, as I had the privilege of speaking in several American confer ences, I met many college young peo ple. One boy came to me and said, “Do you remember speaking to us at Mt. Hermon last year about the Word of God? I felt deeply moved and it started me thinking. I am a member and hold an office in my church. Although I am only twenty years of age, I consider myself a useful worker. I have served here on the conference grounds as a counsellor. Something you said to me, however, made me uneasy in my think ing. I have been uncertain ever since. I am not sure about my own personal faith. Hearing an evangelist give an appeal recently, I realized that I had never personally asked the Lord Jesus into my heart to be my Saviour. You may think it strange. I have known the terms of the Gospel. I have even been teaching younger children in Sunday School. But somehow I have never honestly gotten on my knees and made a personal decision to receive Jesus Christ into my heart and life. Just two days ago I went to the front, and I can’t tell you what joy there is that fills my heart. This sense of un certainty has all gone.” Praise God for such a decision in
this young man’s life. There is no magic in going down an aisle, or get ting on one’s knees, it is a heart in the proper attitude and perspective to ward God. The condition of this young man, however, is the situation with many people who have been brought up in good churches, where they have heard the Word of God, and where they have assumed that because they know the Bible that was enough. If you forget e v e ry th in g else, remember this: knowing is not believing. To further illustrate this point, I want to read part of an essay written by a young man who attended a Christian school. It is on the subject of the union of believers with Christ. In part he pens, “Before we consider the basis and existence of the union with Christ with His believers, we want to see whether this union is neces sary as the goal to which God ori ginally called man out of chaos. We need to see whether it is a condition of human nature or whether man can bring it about by himself. When we look at history, mankind’s great teach er, we find that some nations have achieved the highest level of culture and given birth to the greatest men. They have allowed their art to flour ish in full sunshine and have developed a science that solves the most diffi- 16
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