Gi\)e trie Gospel a Cnance Bj) REV. ALEX R. SAUNDERS, China
banner, ^.nd we again dedicate our selves to uphold th e old gospel and to contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the. saints. Our com mission from th e Lord of glory makes no provision for compromise. We need no new message, b u t th e same old gospel preached in the same old way in the power of th e same Holy Spirit does give life to dead sinners ju st as in the- days of th e Apostle Paul, and we are prepared to dem onstrate th is by actual facts. No discordant note is .ever heard in the Yangchow Central Gospel H all; it is the gospel as described in 1 Cor. 15:1-4 th a t is preached, and nothing else. No educational classes; no popular lec tu res; no entertainm ents of any kind, though one visiting m issionary did have th e tem erity to suggest th a t the hall would be suitable for th e Cinema. There are snares laid for unwary feet all around us. Mission schools have th e at ricals and other plans for amusement, one school going so far as having demons impersonated on th e stage, but we have determ ined not to know any th ing among men save Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and God has honored His own Word.
E have remained passive too long; we have kept too much in the background; we have allowed th e enemy, through
th e agency of those who deny th e funda mentals, to advance too far, and many of our' Chinese b reth ren are now in serious danger of making shipwreck of faith. The tendency today is to sub stitu te for th e gospel, Christianity or Christianizing methods, and th e appeal made is for th e increase of church mem bership instead, of for th e acceptance of our Lord Jesus Christ as a personal and living Saviour. It is comparatively seldom nowadays th a t we h ear preached the old gospel of salvation through the precious blood of Christ, and th is is an appeal for a re tu rn to the old evangel. In the “Message of the Church” as presented at th e National Christian Con- , ference search will be made in vain for any clear statem en t of th e way of salvation. But, nevertheless, a t the tim e of w riting th is appeal, efforts are being m ade to pu t into circulation among th e ncyi-Christian population of all China one million copies of th a t portion of The Message' of th e Church addressed to non-Christians, bu t while th is may do something for th e advance of th e much spoken-about uplift of China it cannot give life to dead sinners as th e gospel does. The danger signal is in sight, and it becomes the duty of all to pause and consider w hither we are drifting. We h ear on all sides th a t w hat was good enough in th e days of the Apostle Paul will not do in th is day of progress. We need a new message and new methods th a t are up to date, bu t is it so? The g aun tlet h a s ' been throw n down, and th e challenge is accepted. In th e name of the Lord Jesus Christ we set up our
During the th ree years since the Yangchow C entral Gospel H all was opened for th e preaching of th e gospel, 320 individuals have made an open con fession of our Lord Jesus Christ, and have signed decision cards bearing the following s ta te m e n t:'“ Cl) I know th a t I am a sinner; (2) I believe th a t Jesus- died for my sins; (3) I now accept the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour and my Lord.” Of th a t number 84 have been baptized to d ate; and of th e others •i few have died, some have left this neighborhood, others have been con fronted w ith such obstacles in their ENEMIES OF TRUTH! WHO ARE THEY?
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