King's Business - 1946-01

16

T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S

a?, ‘what shall it profit a man, If he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?’ (Mark 8:36); ‘The Son of; man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born’ (Mark 14:21); ‘Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, pre­ pared for the devil and his angels . . . And- these shall go away into ever­ lasting punishment’ (Matt. 25:41, 46). A philosophy which rejects such state­ ments of Jesus will also nullify the effects of all of His instructions and principles of life. Such repudiation results in inestimable loss to the indi­ vidual as well as to society in gen­ eral. It brings catastrophic loss to mankind. Genuine Christians take Jesus’ statements in the Bible as those of their Creator, Saviour and God, and thus of irrevocable and eternal au­ thority. The divine inspiration and authority of Scripture, the deity of Christ, the reality of salvation of the soul through Christ, Christianity with all its attendant blessings, rest upon the reliability of the unequivocal ut­ terances in regard to life beyond the grave.” Effective in Soul-Winning There is increasing tendency on the part of those who call themselves Christians to pass by the clear Bibli­ cal statements ort judgment for sin after death and the eternal state of the lost. There is an inclination to hope that those dying without Christ as Saviour will be in some way taken care of so as to escape the eternal punishment for sin. Some have re­ sorted to unreliable claims with re­ gard to the original Greek and He­ brew of certain Biblical texts. These attempts to evade the “ acid truth” of an everlasting hell for the unsaved have led to the establishment of vast systems of error. Indifference to this truth increases worldliness among Christians, hinders missionary work, and encourages sinful living. Since Jesus Himself emphasized God’s judg­ ment for sin and the sad fate of the lost more fully than anyone who ever lived on earth, Christians should resist every denial of this truth and every subtle suggestion of improving the message and methods of Jesus. Two blocks in Chicago were nick­ named “Whiskey Row.” Eternity alone will reveal the fearful record of de­ bauchery and crime which character­ ized this particular area. A holdup man who was considered the worst drunkard in “Whiskey Row” received Christ as his Saviour under the writ­ er’s ministry and evidenced a remark­ able change of heart and life. After his salvation, he related that, pre­ vious to his conversion, he had con­ templated suicide. He had again and again visited public libraries to secure all the reading matter possible on

the subject of life after death in an endeavor to decide whether or not there was a hell. Fear of eternal punishment prevented his suicide un­ til salvation through Christ cured him of that desire. God gave His children this founda­ tional Bible truth in order to spur them on in their efforts to lead souls to Christ. It worked in the early days of the church. It always will be the acid test truth. LIVING THREE DAYS IN ONE By G. H. Clement TyTany books are being written to- day on the subject of desirable liv­ ing, but the child of God needs only one Book on that theme. This is the old-fashioned, but n e v er outdated Bible. If he daily meditates upon the Scriptures, and is a doer of the Word, his life will be full-orbed, and he will not need the advice of the psychol­ ogist nor the counsel of the psychia­ trist. One of the most common causes of nervous exhaustion and breakdown is the attempt on the part of men and women to live three days in one. When a person lives in a state of constant remorse, because of past sins of omis­ sion and commission; and at the same time perpetually worries about the trials and responsibilities that may come tomorrow; and then finds that the tasks and obligations of today must be discharged, the natural re­ sult is a mind overwrought. But when that one, with a heart willing to be taught God’s way of life, opens the Bible, relief is sure and speedy. Let us consider what its pages unfold in this connection. Yesterday First, what does the Word advise about that unworthy past? God tells us to bring to Him all of our sins, to confess them, and to ask His for­ giveness (1 John 1:9; Isa. 1:18). If possible, we must make restitution to any whom we have wronged or defrauded (Luke 19:8; 2 Cor. 8:12). It is not sufficient to end the day by singing: “If I have wounded any soul today, dear Lord, forgive” ; we must go to that wounded one and frankly con­ fess our fault (Jas. 5:16) and seek his pardon. Then, having been for­ given by God, and having made things right with our fellowman, we are to forget the past. We are to stop looking back. Paul exhorts: “Forget­ ting those things which are behind ... press toward the mark” (Phil 3:13, 14). When God pardons for sins of the past, He also forgets them; forgive­ ness that does not forget is only a counterfeit. G o d assures those to whom He has been merciful: “Their sins and their inquities will I re­ member no more” (Heb. 8:12; note

also Isa. 43:25; Micah 7:19; Psa. 103:12). O u r scarlet and crimson sins have been made as white as snow and wool (Isa. 1:18). When one looks at a red stain through a red glass the stain looks white. So God looks at the repentant sinner’s heart through the blood of His Son, and the heart is made white in His sight. So do not continue to try to live yesterday, to­ day. Tomorrow What instructions for tomorrow do the Scriptures contain? Here are Jesus’ own words: “Take t h e r e f o r e no thought for the morrow: for the mor­ row shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matt. 6:34, margin). It has been stated: “Today is the to­ morrow you worried about yesterday, and all is well.” God does not give grace for three days in one, but only for today. He makes no provision for unbelief. He “holds the key of all unknown” ; so wait until He opens the door of tomorrow. He will be there to go with you, and to guide you in all your ways, as you commit every­ thing to Him. David said: “My times are in thy hand” (Psa. 31:15). The palmist, and other prognosticators, would tell us that our times are in our hands, in our teacups, and other such foolishness, but the child of God may rest content in the knowledge that his future is in his Saviour’s lov­ ing, skillful, all-powerful hand. Not only that: He goes before us down the pathway of each new day, and all we have to do is to follow Him (John 10:4). So let us not try any longer to live tomorrow, today. Today “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” As each new day dawns, with its tasks, responsibilities, and trials, we may, with quietness and confidence, go step by step down its untrodden path; for He goeth before. The Lord will remove from that daily path that which would harm us; and whatever He leaves to test and de­ velop our faith and patience, and to purify and purge us (Rom. 5:3-5; Heb. 12:11-13; Jas. 1:2-4), He will supply us with grace to bear triumphantly. His grace is sufficient for us (2 Cor. 12:9, 10). As we keep close to Him, casting all our care upon Him, trust­ ing His Word, and doing His will, we shall never find our daily allotment of work and trials too much to en­ dure. Instead, we shall daily glorify Him in sunshine and shade, and our testimony will be continually: “For to me to live is Christ.” So, may we never attempt to live three days in one. If we but live “moment by moment, kept in His love; moment by moment, life from above,” we shall never fail to be more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

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