VICTORIOUS LIFE from page 14 thought that is untrue, put it out in stantly. If it is dishonest, if it is im pure, if it is not of good report, put it out. Do not let it stay a moment. Th ink on “ these” pure and holy “ things” of which Paul writes, and only these things. You and I should cooperate with the Holy Spirit in this
IN CHRIST IS LIFE
■ ■ I Can I Be Forgiven ? I t is somewhat of a comfort when we take an overall view of our fellow men to know that they have all sinned. When we view things in this perspective it doesn’t set us apart as some strange creature who alone is too weak to resist temptation. But somehow the comfort is shortlived when we no longer consider mankind in general but come right down to ourselves. Each of us in the secret depths of our own heart wants forgiveness. W e know ourselves. We can fool our friends but we can never fool ourselves. W e can seek to change our situa tion by traveling, by seeking new friends, by moving to a new city, by getting a different job. But everything is just the same. W e can’t escape self. Down in our heart the cry for forgiveness is still there. Instinctively we know that we cannot be right with God when there’s unforgiven sin in our life. This is not unusual. Man is created that way. Two of the world’s greatest philosophers, Socrates and Plato, spent much time on this problem several hundred years before Christ. After years of searching and seeking they came to this con clusion that is now a classic in the field of philosophy: God may be able to forgive sin, but we do not see how. That state ment makes sense. It makes sense right here today. God being a perfectly just and righteous Being cannot overlook man’s sin. And yet we long for forgiveness. And God does not leave a lonely, longing heart empty. He has provided a way and that way is Christ. Christ said, “ I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” This is the answer for your seeking heart. Something had to be done about man’s sin, about your sin. Let your seeking heart cling to these words of scripture, “ And He personally bore our sins in His own body on the Cross, so that we might be dead to sin and be alive for all that is good. It was the suffering that He bore that has healed you. You had wandered away like so many sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guard ian of your souls.” And again these words, “ For you must realise all the time that you have been ransomed from the futile way of living passed on to you by your father’s tradi tions, not with some money payment of transient value, but by the costly shedding of blood. The price was in fact the life blood of Christ, the unblemished and unstained Lamb of Sacri fice. It is true that God chose Him to fulfill this part before the world was founded, but it was for your benefit that He was revealed in these last days— for you who found your faith in God through Christ. And God raised Him from the dead and gave Him unimaginable splendour, so that all your faith and hope might be centred in God.” There is forgiveness. There is forgiveness for you. Forgive ness this day, this hour, this minute, for you —rin Christ.— L. H. I lf you have found in this short article a way of life that you would like, we urge you now— this very moment— to yield your will to His will _ and in doing so find that in Christ is Life. If you want to make a decision for Christ please write us. Your letter will be held in the strictest confidence. We'll send you without charge a special Gospel of John and other helps. Address: The Editors, King's Business, 558 S. Hope, Los Angeles 17, Calif. 1 I 1 1 I 1
YOUR MINISTRY • Christ said, "Ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jeru salem, and in all Judaea, and Samaria, and unto the utter most part of the earth." This is God's program. You can be a witness today by giving or sending the In Christ Is Life column to an unsaved person.
matter of the objective of our think ing. How will He do this? He always uses the same instrument. It is the Word! He will lead us to the study of the Book, so that He can carry our minds to Christ, can fix our minds on Christ, can fill our minds with Christ and the things of Christ. And no person can be habitually spiritually minded except as he is feeding upon Christ through the Word. It will mean we must dig deep and dwell deep in this Book so that “ in Christ” will become the home of our thoughts and aspirations, our motives and desires. It means that in our leisure moments our mind will go back to Him and to this Book. Recently I was talking with a fac tory worker who had been a Chris tian only a year. He had been in a Bible class for that length of time. As we talked together, he said, “ I have never studied the Bible, and I do not know much about it. But now in the morning before I go to work, I am taking time for study, and I take two or three verses to learn. When I get over to the factory, my work is automatic and I do not have to keep my mind on it; so as I am working with my hands, I repeat those verses and I think of what they mean. Just the little while I have been doing this, it has enriched my life so much!” What will this life be at the end of a year? Outward Control: Walking "After The Spirit" Let us now consider the Holy Spir it’s control as manifested outwardly. Walk after the Sp irit—“ that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after CONTINUED ”► N O V E M B E R 1 9 5 3
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online