August, 1939
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
297
dent,” clearly indicate that she is not destitute of the powers of rebirth. China’s hidden secret in the past has been her moral precepts and laws, many of which are not unlike the Deuterono- mic precepts. And in these shadows she has through the millenniums been clinging to a sense of racial unity and belief in a supreme God, though far distant from Him who is our Light and Truth. And now in this twentieth cen tury, China's social structure has met with grievous intrusions from Western ideas and modern science. China is con fused. In the present deification of man, with dictators asserting a superhuman control over large portions of the earth, China is 'groping for a real distinction between the spiritual forces and the forces material. For, and not to dis credit the missionary body for a mo ment, even after a century of concerted missionary effort, of evangelism, of Bible conferences, of building hospitals and forming educational organizations, the light of the glory of Christ has yet but seen the blush of dawn in China. The old and gentle China has become a turbulent sea of peoples. To those Who have learned to lean heavily on human effort in their endeavor to real ize the kingdom of God in China, the present “Incident” has come as a rude interference. For we must be fully awake to the fact that in this crisis China is not calling for mere social adjustment or a moral uplift by the way. She is more than capable of help ing herself in that quarter, but she is calling for spiritual help, for a Saviour who will remit her sins! Recently I sat in a company around a table in a Chinese restaurant in Hong kong. We were a small group of eight Chinese and two missionaries. My Chinese host was a medical doctor, a graduate of both an American and an E n g l i s h medical school. His Chi nese guests were also men of position and influence. Some of them had lost practically all they possessed in some inlands city, either by bombing or inva sion. But we were all Christians, and in the course of the conversation one note was struck again and again. It Was th is:, There is no hope in the present world situation except as Jesus Christ returns to rule the passions of men with that authority which He has received from the Father. And our mutual cry is, “How long, O-Lord?” Those of you Who have watched the rising tide of opposition to the gospel in the Far Eastern lands during the past decade will do well to continue to watch and also to pray. The times are not boding us good. The conflict will become clearer as times goes on—not “Whither China?” but “Can Christian ity survive in Asia?” Christianity and anti-Christianity have now met in open conflict.
Present Gospel Opportunities Our immediate concern, however, is the preaching of the Gospel! Our task is to work, to watch, and to pray. And within the province of Hunan we are doing just that. Our Biola Evangelistic Bands, four in number, have had an ex cellent half year. Statistics are always cold, but they lend imagination to those who wish to know progress and results. During the half year of .work from October to March, the following figures have been recorded: Homes visited by Band No. 2: 5,222. Tracts and Scrip ture portions distributed, 12,515. Gospel posters placed in prominent places, 950. Band No. 3: Homes visited, 5,567. Tracts and Scripture portions, 11,109. Gospel posters, 417. Band No. 4: Homes visited, 7,414. Tracts and Scripture por tions, 12,386. Gospel posters, 442. Band No. 5: Homes visited, 2,853. Tracts and Scripture portions, 12,515. Gospel posters, 848. In addition to these'figures are the numerous meetings which have been held for adults 'Snd children. Many pages of intensely interesting incidents are recorded monthly in the Word from the China Depart ment of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles Though the specific bombing which' Mr. Roberts relates in opening t h i s article occurred in the spring, the pic ture he draws is still typical of that found In many mission centers in China today. Mr. Roberts is Superintendent of the Hunan Bible Institute, the China De partment of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. The evangelistic b a n d s to which he refers are groups of conse crated Chinese men who for many years have gone out in gospel teams. They hold evangelistic meetings and do house- i>o-house visitation under the supervi sion of the Hunan Bible Institute. The beloved Dr. Frank A. Heller, who, some time ago, earnestly requested that he be relieved of the strenuous duties in connection with the superintendency of this work in China, has more recent ly been known as Superintendent Emeri tus of the Hunan Bible Institute. He is at present on his way to America, with Mrs. Keller. \For their many years of faithful service in China one must eve'r praise God! In a letter received in Los Angeles in June, Mr. Roberts said: “Tile Kellers are still in a small town In southern Hunan, only a day’s journey away from us [that is, from Changsha], waiting for a foreign business truck to arrive and get them to the coast. They have been waiting there for just about six weeks.” Please pray for the Kellers, for Mr. and Mrs. Roberts, and for their Chinese fellow workers in the work of making Christ known.
diaries sent in by the band leaders. A striking instance of how God’s Spirit strives with man is recorded by Band leader No. 2. He tells of Mrs. L. H. Chang, a bright young woman whose husband holds an important position in the Government. She, with her small children, had trekked all the way from Peking to Hankow, and after staying there for a short time decided, because of the continual air-raids in that city, to move to her ancestral home in Hunan. In this particular district Band No. 2 is now working. After making a contact with the leader, Mrs. Chang accepted Christ. Said Mrs. Chang: “When I was in Peking I enjoyed the gay life there, but I was never fully satisfied, and occasionally I went to church. But I understood very little of the gospel, for it was not carefully explained. However, I always left the church with a feeling of conviction. Later on when I arrived in Hankow, I again at tended a church, but the minister spoke much about the necessity of a reformation and of using Jesus as our great Example. I found no sat isfaction, for I was a sinner and needed salvation. 1 1had to come all the way to my old home and meet with a Biola Band to learn that Jesus died for me and that through His sacrifice on the cross I have the forgiveness of my sins. It is wonderful!” Now not only Mrs. Chang but also her mother and sister have accepted Christ. And as Band-leader Hsiao in terpreted Christ to these dear souls using such passages as John 1:12; 3:16-18; 5:24; 17:3 and Romans 10:9, 10, Mrs. Chang exclaimed: “It is tru y wonderful. I never heard the gospel presented in such a simple way. I KNOW, now, that I am saved!” When 288 Christians from the United .States, interested in bringing the gospel to Mexico, sat down to a picnic lunch at Agua Caliente, Mexico, on July 7, a new thing in international relations and in Christian friendship was demon strated. The guest of ho ->r was Presi dent Lazaro Cardenas of Mexico, and with him were eight members of his cabinet and the Governor of Lower California. In charge of the occasion was W. Cameron Townsend, whose work in Mexico as a linguist has been most gra ciously blessed of God. “Three years ago,” Mr. Townsend explained, "Presi dent Cardenas gave a banquet in Mex ico City for a group of Christian lin- \Continued on Page 325] PRESIDENT CARDENAS WELCOMES CHRISTIAN FRIENDSHIP By W illiam G. N yman
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