March 1932
114
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
C R I M E C r ime comes from the heart. It may be somewhat restrained by environment, but it is like a tiger which is chained, and, therefore, seems harmless. Remove the chain,.and the fierceness of its wild nature asserts itself. What is needed for the solution of the crime situ ation is the education of the heart, which will bring it to God who alone can change a sinful heart . The solving of the crime situation is largely in the hands of the church, but the church will have to awake from its indifference, if it accomplishes this much desired end. —T h e P resbyterian of th e S outh .
eginmng
By ROY TALMAGE BRUMBAUGH Tacoma, Wash.
v
REL I GI ON AND CRIME
innocent. Cain and Abel were born in sin. The brothers were born with consciences. They knew good and evil and naturally did that which was evil. They both had to work. They were dead in sin. The faith of Adam was not im parted to either Cain or Abel. They were his sons accord ing to the flesh. There is a teaching today which would make all chil dren who come into the world sons of God. That spark of deity has never been found in the natural man. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” Children are not born sons of God; they are born sons of man. All must con fess their sins, repent, and turn to God through faith in Christ, otherwise they shall surely be lost. If children die in infancy, the grace of God covers their sins. The brothers were alike, but they were also different. One was a shepherd, the other one was a farmer. Ac cording to the flesh, they were the same,- but in spirit they were very different. The difference between them was manifested in worship. W orship We learn from verse three that there was a definite time when they were expected to worship God. There were also times for worship under the Jewish economy, as there were set times for worship in the early church. Most of us gather together for worship three times a week, twice on Sunday, and at least once between Sundays. Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel, were to worship at the times set by God. There was also a place of worship, perhaps immediately outside the gates of the Garden of Eden. Abraham, the nomad, worshiped God wherever tl^e Lord directed him to worship. Wherever he pitched his tent, there he erected an altar. He thus witnessed to the fact-that God is, and that God is One. The tent testified that he Iwas a stranger and a
A dam and E ve were outside the Garden. They had been driven out by Qod Himself. The cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every way kept them away from the tree of life. What price unbelief ! T he F irst C hildren C hildren were born. The first one was called Cain. Eve thought that the promised Deliverer (cf. Gen. 3:15) had been born. She said, “I have gotten a man, even Je hovah.” However, instead of the Deliverer, she had given birth to an antichrist. Who knows the possibilities latent in an infant’s breast ? It seems that, as the days went by, she realized that this boy was not the Deliverer; and hope languished. When the second son was born, she called him Abel—“vanity,” or “transitoriness.” She evidently did not esteem the second son highly. Consider the poor judg ment of the fallen sinner: Eve thought that the worst one was the better, and the better son she disesteemed. Thus it was that Isaac esteemed Esau above Jacob, although Jacob was the one appointed by God to receive the promises. Jesse did not think much of his youngest son, yet God selected David to be the most illustrious king that Israel ever had. The world would not have chosen disciples from among the fishermen; mankind would have gone to the Sanhedrin or the Forum for apostles and prophets. Christ, however, called men of humble position. “The last shall be first, and the first last.” God does not look upon men as men look upon one another: “Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh upon the heart.” A like The brothers were alike in that both were born out of Eden. Neither one was born innocent. Adam and Eve were created innocent, but since that time, no one has been Fourth in a series.
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