June, 1938
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
236
Table
Around the King's By PAUL W. ROOD
God help us all to live as if this were our last year upon earth!
or visit her to explain out of the W ord of God and personal, actual experience— that only Christ can give true satisfaction and happiness both in this life and in the life to come ? May we all pray that this doomed soul may hear the gospel with understand ing and may accept Christ before the year is over. There are many who share the views of this young woman, and there are many more who live as if this life were all. The Lord Jesus Christ had people of this opinion in mind when He told the parable of the rich landowner who said to himself: “ Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry” (Lk. 12:19). After quoting this rich man, Christ tells us what God said to him: “ Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee.” In this con nection we remember the solemn words of Hebrews 9 :27: “ It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.’*; What would you do if you had only one year to live? First of all, it would be imperative for you to ascertain that you were prepared to meet God. You would need to examine yourself to find out whether you were truly saved. There are many who are self-deceived. They are trusting in human philosophy, church membership, ordinances, or mere orthodox mews. These deluded ones will find eventually that they are building on sand and that utter ruin is their only prospect. W e cannot afford to make a mistake about our eternal welfare; we must have a Scriptural basis for sal vation and a Scriptural experience of re- . generation. Christian, what if there is only one year left of your life? You certainly will not choose to live for your own enjoyment. You realize that the purpose of life is to glorify God and to serve men for His sake. Only those who are seeking to exalt Christ and to live for others can be truly happy. We must not be self-centered. “ For to me to live is Christ,” said Paul. By the grace of God, let this be our life purpose. If you have only one year to live, prayer and Bible study will have a prominent place in your life during the next twelve months. You will want to live in unbroken fellow ship with the Lord, and you will desire to grow in grace. The passion of your life will be to help other Christians and to win the unsaved for Christ. You will be kind and considerate to those who are about you, and you will be Christlike in all your relationships. One year to live! Certainly that is true of some one who is reading these lines. It may be true o f many of us. If Christ comes for His church within a year, every Christian will be removed from this world.
Commencement at Biola As commencement week approaches, it is with thankfulness to God that we look back upon the past school year in the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. A wonderful school spirit has been developed— a spirit that reflects the zest the students find in the fellowship of training for the service of Christ. They have been working on such projects as a school paper and a year book, and much initiative and enthusiasm have been revealed. The annual banquet of the Student Missionary Union was far more like a revival meeting than a social ban quet. Days and nights of prayer as well as regular prayer meetings have been sup ported whole-heartedly by the students. These young people have revealed also an unusual sacrificial spirit in their giving to Biola. The men’s and women’s choruses have had successful tours, and pastors have written most enthusiastically about the spiritual influence as well as the musical ability of these student groups. Among the events of commencement week which are of special interest to the general public are the baccalaureate service on Sunday evening, June 5, and the commence ment exercises on Thursday evening, June 9. Henry E. Burke, pastor of the Melrose Baptist Church in Oakland, Calif., will preach the baccalaureate sermon, and How ard Fagan, minister of the Wilshire Chris tian Church of Los Angelas, Calif., will give the commencement address. Both of these men are stanch evangelicals and able preachers, and they will give challenging messages. The Bible Institute of Los An geles cordially invites its friends to join in the services of the coming commencement season. One Year to Live An anonymous writer in a well-known secular magazine relates her reaction to her doctor’s declaration that she, a young wom an of thirty-five, has but one year to live. Surprisingly enough, she has found relief in the doctor’s dictum. Formerly she was dominated by fear of the future. Now this fear is gone because there is to be no future. From now on she is going to live for today. T o her, the purpose of life is enjoyment. She sums up her philosophy in the sentence: “ T o be completely happy, a person must abandon himself absolutely, unrestrainedly, to enjoyment.” Evidently the writer of that article is a materialist. Like the Sadducees of our Lord’s time, she is a nonbeliever in the res urrection. She does not seem to be concerned about eternity. Christians reading the ar ticle will wish that the writer had not remained anonymous. Is there not some one that can ascertain her name and can write
The Wrecking Crew Tw o classes of people manifest themselves in almost every church. Some are construe1 tive and others are destructive. Some are positive and others are negative. And what a difference their attitudes make in the work of Christ! The immediate occasion of this homily is the following which has just come to my attention: “ A good thing to remember And a better thing to do, Is to work with the construction gang And not the wrecking crew.” The wrecking crew is usually present in church business meetings. If a proposal is made by the board or by an individual, the members o f the wrecking crew are on their feet to oppose the measure. They never analyze a proposition constructively, but simply assume that the plan is to be resisted. They are “born in the objective case and kickative mpod.” They are like the deaf brother who used to cup his ear in a busi ness meeting and call out, “ I didn’t hear what the brother said, but I’m against it.” In fact, they remind one most keenly of Deacon Jones on the occasion when his fellow deacons visited him and remon strated with him because of his stubborn ness. A t last the senior deacon suggested that they all kneel in prayer. The brother who led prayed as follows: “ Oh, God, take the stubbornness out of Deacon Jones or take him home to heaven.” “ I won’t g o !” cried Jones as he pounded the chair with his fist. T o be sure, there are times in which we must oppose propositions and resist indi viduals on Scriptural grounds, but there is no necessity for opposing everything and resisting everybody. Why is it that it is almost impossible to secure a hundred per cent affirmative vote on a church building program? While it is true that occasionally a ■church launches out on an unnecessary or too ambitious building project, it is also true that occa sionally a church has to build or remodel in order to do effective work. The major ity of the members may have vision enough to realize the need, but one obstructionist can carry on a program of agitation that makes it needful either to give up the project or to wage a battle that should be unnecessary. The wrecking crew sometimes engages in propaganda to destroy the morale and eventually the usefulness of a Christian leader. Instead of considering the welfare [Continued on Page 277]
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