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T HE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
th e consequences of th e ir folly is to fill the world w ith fools.” The next step is self-discovery. When he saw himself, he came to himself. He had been beside himself. Sin is dementia as well as obliquity. The way of the sinner is progressive lunacy and hell is a lunatic asylum. It is also a penitentiary and its inmates are th e In curably and crim inally insane. The next step is self-recovery.. This is involved in his self-surrender. “ I will arise and go to my fath e r.” This resolve was th e tu rn in g point resulting in corresponding action. “He arose and came to his fath e r.” H is first statem ent was a confession of guilt. Seven men in Scriptures sa id ,t|“ I have sinned.” Pharaoh, Balaam , Saul, Achan, David, Judas and th e Prodigal. While the outcome is no t in every case salvation, nevertheless salvation has its beginning in repentance and th is confession is p ertin en t and proper on th e lips of every hum an being. Had th is la st step no t been taken, the alternativ e would have been self- destraction. Sin is slow suicide. No angel from heaven, or man on earth or devil from hell can destroy a single soul. “Cast thyself down,” is all th a t can be said. God said to Israel, “O Israel, thou h ast destroyed thyself, bu t in me is thy help.” Hosea 13:9. It was not th e Egyptians, nor the Assyrians nor the Babylonians th a t de stroyed Israel. It was not th e Huns, Goths or Vandals th a t destroyed Rome. It will not be th e Russians, Germans or Japanese th a t will destroy America. v. 12. The younger said, Give me th e portion of goods. The desire to be in dependent is th e essence of sin.— Ben n ett. This young man sta rted wrong. He was like thou- OOMMENTS FROM sands of young MANY SOURCES men in our days, K eith L. B rooks who have a false idea of life, and when a man has a false idea of life it is
(5 ) W hat is th e cause of th e Chris tia n ’s backsliding? (1 John 2:15, 16) (6) Do Christians have two na tu res? (Gal. 5:16, 17) (7 ) How can they have victory over th e flesh? (Rom. 13:14) (8 ) When they sin w hat should they do? (1 John 1:8, 9) The th ree parables in Luke 15 are a t one in setting fo rth th e measureless love of God for lost men and the yearn ing desire in th e Divine h ea rt for the resto ration of those DEVOTIONAL who have g o n e COMMENT astray. The course Dr. F . W. F a rr. of th e prodigal son may be expressed in four words, “to hell and back.” The first step is self-will. W illful ness or insubordination is the root of sin. Some have censured th e fath er for g ran ting his request b u t it would have profited little to have kept the boy a t home when his h ea rt was already in the far country. A sinful demand for separation started him upon his downward career. The second step is self-indulgence. Sin is wastefulness. A man’s substance is his capital to do business in life. His resources are lim ited. How shall they be replenished if thrown away? Physical vitality, men ta l clarity, sp iritu al purity, these are all impaired and reduced by th e ravages of sin. The th ird step is self-degradation. The misery of a low environment may be a blessing in disguise. It is th e same boy sitting ragged and hungry by the swine trough th a t left his fa th e r’s house well-dressed and well supplied w ith money. No man gave unto him, and in th a t respect the swine were b etter off th an he. God intends th a t th e way of the transgressor shall be hard. A modern philosopher has said, “To save men from
SECURITY. (Inside Back Cover)
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