THE KIIIC’S BUSIIESS Official Organ of THE BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES, Incorporated
1943
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who knows his Bible After a full day at the office, the treas urer o f a W yom ing town finds time for personal Bible study through a Moody hom e study course. H e says . . . . . your course stands right by the Bible, with clear and definite inform a tion on how to handle G od ’s W ord in teaching all classes o f people!’ W ouldn’t you like a better understand ing o f how to present the Bible to others—in all its convincing power? T h e Teacher Training Course will help you. W rite for details. Address Dept. «-822 CO R R E S P OND E N C E SCHOOL
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Our government gives t h e m t h e b e s t in Food Equipment Training to ma k e p o s s i b l e their h i g h e s t efficiency in war. Will YOU help us make available to them The King's Business each month? Its straight forward articles and help ful departments will tend to f o r t i f y their Christian lives. $3.00 will place four copies in established and new camps being opened to accommo date Americas growing army. Yes, I want to share in placing THE KING’S BUSINESS In the army camps. Use the enclosed $ ..................... f o r .......................copies. Name ................................... ................... Address ........................................................ C it y .................................... .. ................ State .............................................................. 558 So. Hope St., Los Angeles, Calif.
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s f a a .S h a r e r £ & & / You can share the Word with others and re ceive an income for life for yourself—easily and simply through the Annuity Agreement plan of the American Bible Society. Why not join the thousands of grateful own ers of these Agreements—those who REGU LARLY receive their checks at stated inter vals—those who have that pleasant satisfaction of knowing that their agreement has almost 100 years o f success behind it. And, too, wouldn’t it give you a glow of satisfaction to know that you are sharing in the work of distributing the Scriptures to millions throughout the world? “ A Gift That Lives” tells you of this grand Plan and how it works. Will you not let us send you this booklet ? M_A l_L__THE_CO_UPO_N_TOD_AY American Bible Society, Bible House, New York, N. Y, i Please rend me, without obligation, your booklet IÇB-33 entitled “ A Gift That Lives!* Name Address !.. City.. ..State..
A clear and challenging presentation of vital issues today involved in Chris tian Education. The time has come to rethink Christian Education in terms o f the local church; and the author,James DeForest Murch, answers ev ery vital question with information thoroughly true to the Scriptures. Discussed under three heads: (1) History (2) Principles and (3) Practice. Compre hensive, scholarly, practical. A must book for min isters, superintendents, and all church school work ers, and a marvelous reference ¡.book. Be sure to get your copy o f Christian Education and the Local Church NOW! 416 pages, price $2.50.
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Motto: “ Unto him that loved vs, and washed iu from our sins in his own blood ” (Rev, 1:5). The K ing 's Business
"I MUST HELP THE JEWS"
"Everything I have seems going or gone—yet I Must Help the Jews.” ■ Thus wrote a child of God whose soul had been stirred to its depths be cause of the tragic condition of the Jews throughout the world. “I Must Help the Jews!” Dear child of God, they are still God’s people, beloved ,fo r the fathers’ sakes; and because you have been Ijom again, you love what He loves; and you know that He still ‘ loves Israel with an everlasting love. " “ I Must Help the Jews!” Driven like Cattle a n d h u n t e d animals, through the fields and forests of Europe; tortured, harassed,- brutally beaten, stumbling their way through the bloody attacks of Nazi, hate, seeking In vain a place of shelter— what a Christianity for the Jews to gaze upon! “I Must Help the Jews!” In the face of such a crisis, may God help His true Church to awake! May we who are truly His fill to the full our measure of duty in behalf of a peo ple now facing the spectacle of a world civilization organizing in solid mass for the greatest outburst of Jew-hate the world has ever known! Dear Reader, will you say “I, Too, Must Help the Jews” ? Help us to tell them “These things you have suf fered are not things which Christians do!” This is an S.O.S. It is Israel’s eleventh hour. So swiftly does the world cataclysm move, tips may be the last call before the trumpet blows, and you will be face to face with a Christ who may look into your eyes and ask, “What have you done for these, nay brethren ?” Matt. 25:40. Brooklyn. N. Y. I do want to help the Jews. Here Is $: ...S....... ........ ..... Use It as God directs, to make known the saving power of the Lord vJjesus Christ to Israel. Name .................- Vddress ..............................— ............. City _______,_____ _________.....State------------- AMERICAN BOARD OF MISSIONS TO THE, JEWS, INC. 31 Throop Avenue
Number 5
May, 1943
Volume XXXIV
The True-to-the-Bible Family Magazine
TABLE OF CONTENTS Ransom D. Marvin; <$/«// Artist
Cover Photograph by Ewing Galloway, N. Y. A Mother’s Prayer— B. Ryberg ...................——...... .............. ........ .....................162 Around the King’s Table — Louis T. Talbot ........................................................163 About Soldiers — Dan Gilbert ................................................... -...............*■..............163 What Can a Young Person Find in L ife ?— Dick Hillis ...................... -—-—r-164 Entanglements that Affect the Horn e^James Cuthbertson ................................166 Children for Hitler or for Christ?— W . Talbot Hindley ................................. 168 Winning American High-School Youth — Walden Howard..... ........................170 Dr. Talbot’s Question Box.................................................................. ...................171 Bible Institute Family Circle.............................................................................. —.174 Junior King’s Business —Martha S. Hooker — ................ ~.............................. 175 International Lesson Commentary.......... .......— ....... ..............-........................ 177 Notes on Christian Endeavor — Anne Hazelton, Paul R. Bauman, Lawrence E. Simpson, John F. MacArthur .................................................187 Daily Devotional Readings..—..................................................... -..........................192 Our Literature Table......................... -.......—........ - ............................-................... 198 The Official Organ of THE BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES, Inc. LOUIS T. TALBOT MILDRED M. COOK Editor-In-Chief Managing Editor INFORMATION FOR SUBSCRIBERS SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: “ The King's Business” is published monthly, $1.00—one year; $1.50—two years; 50 cents—six months; 10 cents—single copy. Clubs o f ‘three or more at special rates. Write for details. Canadian and foreign subscriptions 25 cents extra. It requires one month for a change of address to become effective. Please send both old and new addresses. REMITTANCE Payable in advance, should be made by bank draft, express or post office money order payable to “ The King’s Business.” Date of expiration* will show plainly each month on outside wrapper or cover^of magazine. ADVERTISING For information with reference to advertising in' “ The Kihg's Business,” address the Advertising Manager, 558 >South Hope Street, Los Angeles, Calif., or our eastern representative, Religious Press Association, 51 No. 52nd St., Philadelphia, Pa. MANUSCRIPTS— “ The King’s Business” cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to manuscripts sent in for consideration. Entered as second-class matter November 7. 1938, at the Post Office at Lbs Angeles, California, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in the Act of February 28. 1925, embodied in paragraph 4, section 538, P. L. and R., authorized October 1, 1918, and November 13. 1938. THE KING’ S BUSINESS, 558 So. Hope St., Los Angeles, Calif.
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I wash the dirt from little feet, and as I wash I pray, "Lord, keep them ever pure and true to walk the narrow way.*’ I wash the dirt from little hands, and earnestly I ask, "Lord, may they ever yielded be to do the humblest task.” I wash the dirt from little knees, and pray, “ Lord, may they be The place where victories are won, and orders sought from Thee.” I scrub the clothes that soil so soon, and pray, “ Lord, may her dress Throughout eternal ages be Thy robe of righteousness.” E’er many hours shall pass, I know, I’ll wash these hands again; And there’ll be dirt upon her dress before the day shall end. But as she journeys on through life and learns of want and pain, Lord, keep her precious little heart cleansed from all sin and stain; For soap and water cannot reach where Thou alone can’st see,. Her hands and feet, these I can wash— I trust her heart to Thee.
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first time—of One who loved them enough to die for them. Consider another opportunity which Biola students face. A group of forty or fifty young girls at Juvenile Hall— all under eighteen years of age, many of them beautiful, and all heartsick, sinstek and lonely—form the audience to whom Bible Institute students take the gospel on Sunday mornings. The girls under twelve are separated from the other inmates; they are there be cause of broken homes, rather than be cause of personal wrongdoing. Among the older girls, there is a keen con sciousness of a burden of sin, and the mention of sin will nearly always set them to weeping bitter tears; but not always are the convicted ones ready to accept Christ as Saviour. Some, however, have truly received Christ— their behavior demonstrating that the work has been genuine. Thus instances might be multiplied to show that Bible Institute young people are indeed finding in the Los Angeles area a needy mission field. Their Motto: "Chosen Vessels” To more than sixty young people, June 10 is to be a red-letter day. These are the men and women to receive diplomas at the thirty-third annual Commencement of the institute. Of that number, several have completed the prescribed courses entitling them to degrees: in Christian Education, in Theology, and in Sacred Music. Two members of this class are now in military service, in the Army Air Corps and in the Navy. One graduate is a Navajo Indian; another is Chinese. Each year, approximately 4,000 peo ple gather for the Commencement exercises. It is hoped that every friend of THE KING’S BUSINESS will come If he can, and will remember in prayer not only the “Chosen Vessels” who are the members of the graduating class, but also every Institute-trained repre sentative of the Lord Jesus Christ
Around the King's Table LOUIS T. TALBOT, Editor-in-Chief
Lord from morning until night in churches of every denomination, in missions, in jails, in hospitals, and on the streets. The following items can give only a glimpse of some of the opportunities that are afforded and the zeal of the youhg people in accepting them. For example, until a few weeks ago, the boys and girls of Estrada Court, a new housing project in Los Angeles, were spending their Sundays in the neighborhood theater or playing1 on the streets. Members of the Bible In stitute student body obtained permis sion to use the community administra tion building, and they- organized a Sunday-school with classes especially for Beginners through Intermediates. Thè second Sunday, the attendance was forty-six, and for the next several weeks there was a regular increase of ten each succeeding Sunday. To the majority of these children, the Bible stories and the plan of salvation were entirely new. It was not uncommon to have from fifteen to twenty children accepting Christ at a single Sunday meeting. Other Institute students conduct Sunday-school for-children, ages five to eleven, in a Los Angeles boarding school for boys and girls from broken homes. A b o u t »thirty-five children spend their days in this school, en joying from its leaders the first real love they have ever known. Some of the children spend the week-ends with whichever of their parents is legal guardian, but those who are present for the Sunday-school hour present faces aglow with wonder and pleasure as they hear—some of them for the
Youth and the Crime Wave The generation that is just too young to be in military service is pre senting a serious menace to the na tion. Boys and girls eighteen years of age and younger are becoming the principals in a mounting crime wave. In the last year, juvenile delinquency rose ten per cent in such cities as New York and Chicago, and in war-boom towns the increase was actually as much as one hundred per cent. Sizable sections in newspapers and national news magazines are given to stories about Youth and Crime. For instance, this item, one among four others just as harrowing, recently appeared: “Slick-haired, eighteen-year-old Amos Raymond Latshaw coolly i confessed the murder of five kins folk. When his father and step mother fell to arguing, Amos shot ■ and killed them both; then to cover up, killed his grandfather and grandmother. His eight-year- old brother stood by, crying, ‘So I let him have it too.’ ” The condition of youthful lawless ness in the nation is taking on alarm ing proportions. Recently the chief county probation officer in Los An geles made this disclosure: “Within two weeks, Juvenile Hall has held as many as 317 boys and' girls in one day, and the hall’s school for j u v e n i'l e s , equipped to serve 200 students, has had an average daily attend ance of 260.” He pointed out that there is a steady increase in juvenile court cases in volving boys under the age of sixteen and girls up to the age of eighteen.” In the light of these facts, it is more imperative than ever that every child of God shall do his utmost for the winning of children to Christ. Young People at Work for Christ If every issue of THE KING’S BUSI NESS were a “Youth Number,” instead of only one a year, still it would be impossible to list all the activities in practical Christian work in which stu dents of the Bible Institute of Los An geles are engaged every week. Over 400 young people, who are in training fi>r a lifetime of Christian service as the Lord may direct, are even now busy in witnessing for Christ. Sunday morning does riot find Biola students “sleeping in.” Instead, it finds them rising as early as on any other day of the week, to serve their
About Soldiers By DAN GILBERT Washington, 'D. C , and San Diego, California
Before the crisis is past all of us will have learned some of the old les sons of discipline, duty, deprivation, and devotion to native land. This is total war, involving the whole popu lation. All have a job to do, a job which requires the qualities of a good soldier. THE CALL TO SELF-CONTROL: • Self-control is the' first and funda mental requirement of a trained fight- [ Continued on Pago 172]
THE GOOD SOLDIER: • Ours is a generation that has grown soft and flabby, that is lacking in self- discipline and self-denial. We have been at war for almost a year and a half, but the spirit of selfishness still prevails. Rumors of approaching ra tioning r e g u l a t i o n s produce new waves of buying and hoarding. Every new limitation on “the pursuit of pleasure” and the “freedom of self- indulgence” is met by some individ uals with complaint and protest
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ing. I looked into the faces of - the fifty-five high-school and. college age young people who sat before me, and wondered what the need in each heart might be. They were the usual group gathered for a summer conference, having come from various churches in the city, trained in Christian pre cepts, full of spirit—potential for the Lord’s service. I coveted them all for God. I had spoken from the text; “I know - whom I have believed, and am per suaded that he Is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day,” an^ had dwelt on the thought of assurance, of knowing that we are saved. '“If you do hot know that,” I said in closing, “know it before you leaye tonight.”
As we came down from Vesper Hill at the close d£ the service, one of the young people fell into step with me and with the frankness of youth said, “I don’t know whether I am saved or not. But I want to know. I thought I was converted and I joined the church when I was nine years old,” she went on; “But Christ hasn’t satisfied me. My life has been mixed up with shows and petting parties, and I have no assurance of my salvation. The only What Gan a Young Person Find in Life? I WALKED through the cathedral like aisles between the towering pine trees at a Bible conference By DICK H ILLIS* as told to ANNE HAZELTON reason I go to church is because I try to please my parents. Is there' any thing real in Christianity after all?” “On what basis did you think you were saved when you were nine?” I asked quietly, praying'for the right words. “I felt that I was,” she replied.
gry heart. “Last night,” she had writ ten, “I was out with—[a prominent young churchgoer who, like herself, knew nothing of Christ’s- mastery of one’s life]. He wasn’t bashful in the way he treated me. Is this all a young person can find in life? Please help me.” I did not know the writer; I did not know the man concerned. But the tragedy of their lives struck me with unusual force. I wondered how many others were standing in the place of that young girl, disillusioned, puz zled, hungry of heart. “How many young people in churches a r e n o t saved and therefore are not satisfied?" I, asked myself. As I knelt, and looked up through the trees to a sky of perfect blue, I brought before the L o r d all-those questions and all the problems and perplexities of the young people who had come to this place for a week’s conference. I asked Him that, as their invited conference speaker, I might be used to show these young people the way of life abundant lived in the Lord Jesus Christ. * * * It was toward the close of the meet-
grounds, and let the stillness of the surroundings quiet my troubled spirit. The murmur of a near-by mountain stream did n o t d i s t u r b , and the snatches of young l a u g h t e r and strains of a.whistled chorus from the young people back at camp were like a muted obbligato against the quiet ness as I brought my burden to the Lord. I had no need to read again the letter, open in my hand. Its words were engraved on my memory. They brought me face to face with a situa tion which is very real to at least a sizable percentage of young people today. The letter had come from a young girl, a girl who attended church, but one who was still entangled in world ly pleasure. It was the cry of a hun- * Graduate of the Bible Institute of Los An geles, Class of 1932, and missionary to China, under, the China Inldnd Mission. He and Mrs* Hillis (Margaret Humphrey, ’32) are at pres ent in Dallas, Tex. •Fictitious names have been substituted for the actual names of the young people whose stories are told on these pages.
We paused, letting others of the young people pass us, and I turned to Romans 10:13 and asked her to read it. Slowly she read, “For who soever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Almost immediately, with her heart so prepared by the Holy Spirit, she saw the truth of the passage. Kneeling there by the steps of the dining hall, she opened her heart to the Lord and took Him as her Saviour and Lord. I saw her again the next day and she said, “Yesterday I just took Christ in cold faith, without any feeling at all. But now my heart is filled with assurance" that I am saved, and I have never been so thrilled An my life —thrilled for myself, but burdened for my girl friend. Will you pray for- her?” I told her I would, gladly. “1 didn’t tell you why I dame to this conference,” she Continued quietly, a
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nail represents Christ. If we use it with the above three tests we find that it can not be crushed, or be de stroyed by. burning, and it ’cannot break. The secret of victory, then, is union with Christ. If we put the nail and the match together, we find that the nail takes the strain. The nail protects it. Faith and love [,the adhe sive strips holding the match to the nail], our faith and His love, hold us to Christ. When that is true we need not fear the world, the flesh, or the devil!” The meeting closed, and I did not know to what use the illustration had counted. * * * The flames of the camp fire pushed the dark shadows back among the trees and lighted the. faces of the young people gathered there for the closing meeting. Chorus after chorus echoed a m on g the over-arching branches as young voices sang His praises. There were mingled expres sions on the faces, brought into relief by the firelight. Here and there was a touch of regret that the time of fel lowship was over, and they must go down to everyday life once more; other faces radiated their joy in the new awareness of Christ and the un limited possessions they had found in Him. But on the face of one, whom I recognized as Millie Davis, hope, in decision, and rebellion struggled for place. I began to pray for her. f Continued on Page 197] SCRIPTURES USED In the accompanying article, the following Scriptures, among others, were used: ROMANS 10:9: ‘That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." ROMANS 10:13: “For whoso ever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." 2 CORINTHIANS 5:7: “For we walk by faith, not by sight." JOHN 3:36: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." 2 TIMOTHY 1:12: “For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." PHILIPPIANS 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
ing about feeling there. If you have believed, you have everlasting life.” She accepted the Word and went away. But I could not silence the question in my heart. Did she really understand? A few days later I had the answer. During the opportunity that was given for testimony, Barbara rose and said, “When I came to this conference I did not know what salvation meant. Then I found Jesus. But even after I had accepted Christ, I did not feel any different, and I doubted my sal vation. That doubt is gone, now. I know I am saved. And that isn’t based on my feelings, either. I know that, should I suddenly be called to stand before God, I could just hold His Word out before Him and say, ‘I know I was a sinner, but I did .what You told me to, I believed, so I know I am saved.’ ” Hearing that clear-cut testimony, my doubt of Barbara’s salvation was gone. But I was still to see what God could do through a young life, even a babe in Christ, fully yielded to Him. * * * “Victory through Christ,” was the subject of the Sunday address. It was the closing day of the conference, and as I thought of what God had done, my heart was full of thankfulness. He had answered that burdened prayer abundantly. Could I ask for more? Yes, for with intensified feeling I yearned over any who, still resisted, who still remained outside the place of perfect trust and surrender. I was using an object lesson to illus trate the thought of victory through union with Christ., “This match rep resents a young person,” I began. “But there are three things in the life of this young person that seek to over come and to conquer him. "First, the world comes in to crush. (I crushed the match.) That young person could not stand against the temptations of the world. He was crushed and defeated. "Second, the flesh strikes and sets aflame. (I struck the match and let it burn out, showing the worthlessness of the charred remains.) If young people allow the »flesh—lust—to get the best of them, ruined lives are the result. "Third, the devil seeks to conquer and to destroy-. In many subtle ways he accomplishes this—ways that may seem worthwhile in themselves. But those who obey him, for whatever mo tive, are broken. (I snapped another match in half.) "But, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.’ This
shadow stealing across her expressive face. ‘‘It was because I was afraid. Jane, my girl friend, and I have been going with two boys, but we knew we shouldn’t be going with them. Every time we went out I was afraid, des perately afraid. Because of my fear, and because I was so dissatisfied with my life, I came up here to see whether I could find something better. The Lord opened my eyes just in time,” her voice faltered. “This came this morning. It’s from Jane.” As I read the'letter she handed me, it seemed that a cold wind blew across my heart, and I felt chilled through and through. The horror of the words beat their way into my mind—stark words that were brutal in their impli cation of a night’s temptation and' yielding, and of a young life’s ruin, “That would have happened to me,” Carol said deliberately, taking the letter again, “if I had gone on as I had started. But praise God, He found me in time. I have tried to find peace in the world, but it only left me with a lonely heart. But Christ has come into my heart, now, and I feel that I am just beginning to live.” She turned quickly to hide her tears, and hurried away. * * * Barbara Blake was the next to find Christ. When I knew what her back ground had been—her father a good- for-nothing drunkard, her mother a churchgoer but definitely unsaved— I marveled at the way the Lord had led that the girl should be in that group to be reached by His voice. I was to be yet more amazed. “How can I be saved?” she asked one afternoon, from a heart moved to want the peace and assurance of sal vation.- Again using Romans 10:13, I ex plained the way of salvation as sim ply and clearly as I could. She lis tened eagerly. Unhesitatingly, s h e knelt and took the Lord as her Sav iour. But when she rose from her knees, a puzzled look crossed her face. “I don’t feel any different,” she said, disappointment t i n g i n g her voice. “Am I really saved if I don’t feel different?” “We must stand on God’s Word alone,” I explained, showing her the Scriptures and praying that her belief and trust in the Saviour was a real one. “ ‘For we walk by faith, not by sight,’ ” I quoted. “ ‘He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.’ You see there is noth
In one week, fifty-five young people found the answer to a problem that months of mere churchgoing had not given.
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"A home where Christ I* loved and honored is the n e a r e s t a p p r o a c h t o heaven that can be found on .earth.”
By JAMES CUTHBERTSON* Los Angeles, California
Entanglements and were left speechless with their magnificence. Then we climbed aloft in a plane, and from thousands of feet in the air we looked down on what had held us in awe. But from that height, t h e immense cataract looked like a teacup of water flowing over a .crack in the earth. It is good to see things from God’s point of view. What the world considers so magnificent, its positions, politics, power, and prizes, must seem trifling when seen as God sees them. These trifles have become so im portant to many who call themselves Christians, that their absorption in them renders them unready for that great Day and the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ. 2. How unreal it all is. The world does seem solid. Think of the prestige of its educational in stitutions: the surprises of its inven-
"Likewise olso as It was In the days of Lot; . . . the same day that Lot Went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them' all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is re vealed" (Lk. 17:28-30). S ODOM is God’s picture of an ut terly godless world, a society which has neither time nor place for Him. The detailed story behind our text is in Genesis 19. Lot is held up to us as the example of a man of God (cf. 2 Pet. 2:7, 8) entangled in a wicked world, and unready for the cali of God’s mercy. He is set forth as a ‘‘righteous’’ man, a man justified by faith, but who is trying to make the -best of both worlds. The Word clearly foretells the com- *For many years a missionary in Jason.
ing dissolution of the world, a time which will also be one of disillusion. The Lord says that many will find themselves unready for the day of His coming. We need to readjust our out look and examine ourselves in the light'Of this coming greatest of all crises. I. IT IS A PASSING WORLD 1. How insignificant it is. Unreadiness to meet the Lord Jesus Christ is, first of all, a result of wrong views of this world. If only we were high enough up,, we could see things in their right perspective. I looked down on the streets of New York from the top of the Woolworth Building. I was Impressed with the smallness of things. On another occasion I visited Victoria Falls, Northern Rhodesia, South Africa.- These are vaster than Niagara. We saw the Falls from be neath. from the sides, from in front.
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Do you believe the Lord Jesus Christ is coming soon? Do you act like it, or are you concentrating your interest in a world which you say is to be de stroyed?1Is this not ,inconsistent? Do you live as though you believe He is coming soon? The testimony to His near' return is to be one of action, not merely words. ; J S;:' 2. It was a worldly home. I suspect Lot’s wife was unsayed, perhaps a woman of Sodom. Her heart was in the world she loved, and hef later fate of being .turned into stone was the symbolic demonstration of the true condition of h e r heart. Lot’s daughters were to marry Sodomites, who were, no doubt, men of good posi tion in the city. Position meant more than piety to Lot and his wife, and this same motive sways many Chris tian parents today. They look for mert of property, of good earthly prospects, rather than for men of probity and professing godliness. Many Christian parents fling their girls into the arms of ungodly men for the price of a good position. So planned Lot This home of his was uncongenial to the heavenly messengers. Though invited to enter, they declined, and fi nally only with great reluctance did they agree. Is your home one into which the Lord Jesus can enter with contentment? Would He feel at home as He looked at the books on its shelves, the magazines on its table, the pictures on the walls? Would He enjoy listening with you to your radio programs, and sitting in the group when your visitors make a social call? Even though you are a church mem ber, is yours a worldly home where no prominence is given to Him? 3. It was a dangerous home. On the night Lot entertained the two heavenly visitors, his home was besieged. Men -of Sodom attacked it, demanding that the visitors be thrown out to them. Lot, shocked " at this suggested betrayal of Eastern hospi tality, volunteered to sacrifice his daughters to the lusts of Sodom. It was a new thing to find Lot’s door locked against Sodom. Hitherto any Sodomite had been welcome. Lot’s motto was “peace at any price.” Today as the light of the glory of His coming begins to break through the clouds, we can see a remarkable similarity in Christian homes. They, too, are besieged by men and women of the world who pound at the door yelling, “Bring them out.” The calls of the world come over the radio, the telephone, through the mail, in its music and- its literature. The modern Sodom wants to drag out and prosti tute the heavenly messengers to oui own souls. It wants to put an end to the daily prayer, the Word, the wor- { Continued on Page 198]
live and die. Wars, f l o o d s , earth quakes, and famines interrupt for a time; movements—educational, politi cal, commercial, religious—all enliven its tedium; then the curtain falls and all is over for that generation. The universe is spiraling its way at in credible speed into the unmeasured voids of eternity, but only man is un ready for the finale! | And Christians? Many, just as un ready as Lot, are clinging to these passing and rapidly dissolving ele ments of the world as though they were eternal. What fools men are! II. IS L O r S HOME TYPICAL? God would have us look into that home. We may see much to remind us of our own. If so, it presents a call to repentance, a real house-cleaning and preparation for that great Day. 1. It was a religious home. Peter tells us that Lot was “vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked” (2 Pet. 2:7) among whom he dwelt. Then why did he live there? No one was to blame but himself. Lot had a good upbringing. He had trav eled fo? some years with his uncle Abram and had been taught in the things of God. But a prosperous world appealed to his carnal soul, and he turned aside and settled d o w n in Sodom. He became one of its elders and judges, a politician in fact. He concentrated his attention on its prizes and positions. He was the Old Testa ment equivalent for modern-day Chris tians. Then when the crisis came, he found that his life had undermined fils testi mony. Warned by the angelic mes sengers of the approaching doom of Sodom, he hurried to the young men who were to marry his daughters, to urge them also to flee from this city of destruction. But they laughed. And rightly too. Lot talked to them of a day in which “the world will be de stroyed.” Some of us talk just as pious ly of the coming of the Lord Jesus. Lot talked in his way, as we do in ours, and with as little effect. They laughed. Did it look as though Lot believed his own words? If he did, why busy himself accumulating its treasures, seeking its positions, picking its rich eligibles as husbands for his daugh ters? Obviously he talked one way and acted another.
tions; the honor of its positions; the whirl of its excitements; the comfort of its wealth; the tragedy of its griefs; the shame of its crimes, and the acute ness of its poverty. We live so near these things. They fill our horizons and seem so real. We concentrate our thoughts upon them, and live our lives' in their pursuit But how do they look to God? He is the all-wise One and sees all these things from the standpoint of His un derstanding. His thoughts are not our thoughts. I visited an insane asylum in Tokyo on one occasion. A girl sat in a patch of sunlight, singing away without a care in the world. Sorrow did not exist forher; she was perfectly happy. On6 mah complained to me of the jealousy 'of the royal family. He said they had placed him in that institu tion (he realized where he was) be cause of the marvelous discoveries he had made. He spoke perfect English and had climbed to education’s high est heights. I met one who said he was a famous general, and who was proud of his military exploits al though he actually had had no expe rience as a soldier. Another wept in cessantly; life was one long and un broken sorrow to him. I looked on them all pityingly, realizing that their various emotional reactions could be, traced to a delusion. The delusion viewed here is npt the only form of misconception seen in the world today. When Christians dis play a lack of balance concerning the things of this passing world, this also is the product of a delusion. “For the wisdom of this world is foolish ness with God” (1 Cor. 3:19), “And the world passeth away and the lust thereof” (1 John 2:17); its joys, sor rows, education, exploits, and posses sions are all doomed as the Sodom of old. Yet Christians cling to, concen trate on, and seek after these things as though they are the only realities in life. . 3. How impermanent it is. This world is all passing away; it will not last. Men clutch a bubble, and find it as impermanent as the picture on the movie screen. The story flickers for a few brief moments and then it is gone. And thus go the af fairs of this impermanent world, its history, the rise and fall of empires. Some strong man grasps power for a brief decade, dictators come and go, the peoples are oppressed, and men
That Affect the Home
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Children For Hitler or For Christ?
By W . TALBOT HINDLEY Mt. Royal, Que., Canada
E MPHASIS UPON the importance of the child was long forgotten, but today men are awakening to it The most precious pos session of any community is its young life, fraught as it is with immeasur able potentialities. No wonder the master, who taught the class which Martin Luther attended, said as he entered in the morning, “I take off my hat to you, not for what you are, but for what you might be.” In all youth there are fruitful possibilities of unending good, or growing candidates for disgraceful crime.. Looking at a child, >no one knows how great rhay be the scope of his influence when adulthood has been reached. Consider three instances. In a country squire’s mansion in Eng land in the middle of the seventeenth . century, a large chimpanzee was kept as a pet. One day the nurse was sit ting in the nursery, sewing. She was horrified to see the chimpanzee, no longer in a playful mood, come, in: at the window, seize the child on the cot, and disappear with it onto the drain pipe and up to the roof. She called frantically to the master. He came quickly with his gun and watched, horror-stricken, as the beast played with the child, throwing it up and catching it. IThis address, in amplified form, was a Sun day morning message delivered in the Church of the Open Door, Los Angeles . The author, the Rep. W. Talbot Hindleg, M, A.', K. C. H. S., was formerly of Cambridge, England, where he was active—as he is also today—in youth worki—EDlTQRJ
on the cot, unharmed. Were the fa ther’s patience and presence of mind worth while? Yes, a thousand times, yes; for that baby boy was Oliver Cromwell, and when that baby’s life was saved, the British Constitution was saved as well. Years later, a fire broke out in a country village. A child’s bed was in flames. At great risk to themselves, people rescued the child. That little onq. was Charles Wesley, and when they saved the child, they saved the country. Thomas Carlyle said, “It was the revival of religion under Wesley’s preaching that saved England from the revolution that d e v a s t a t e d France.” Think of one more instance—that of a boy condemned by the cruel edict of an impossible fuehrer. His parents, at the command of God, fled to Egypt to save the boy’s life. Was it worth while? Yes, a million times, yes. For that Boy was the Lord Jesus, and in the saving of that Child the salvation of the world was embraced. Satan's Counterfeits Now Satan always has his counter feits for God’s movements. One of the most wicked and far-reaching of his plans has its center and scene in Ger many. Hitler’s perverted, clever, but crazy mind saw the value of a world wide youth movement. He sent agents to study England’s popular school sys-
“Shall I shoot?” he asked himself. “No, I might frighten the chimpanzee who would drop the child, or I might even kill the child." He waited. Presently the chimpanzee took the babe back down the drain pipe, through the window, and laid it
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out thinking, This is what he thought doubtless, “Saul of Tarsus, rising man of the day, is the sum total of my life.” Saul was too big a man for so small a center. Then the Voipe came, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” And Saul said, “Who art thou, Lord?” And the Voice replied something like this: “I am Jesus, thy Saviour, thy rightful king.” Saul got off his horse and onto his knees and cried, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” At that moment, Saul began to truly live, and the Author of his life was Christ. The harmony of it was Christ. Moreover, his ambition was Christ. In Rome, Paul was imprisoned under the charge of the Praetorian guards and that guard was changed every two hours. The coming of fresh guards provided Paul with new opportunities for the winning of others to his Chrisit, arid he welcomed those opportunities' for Christ’s sake. Finally, to Paul, the afterward of life was Christ, What was the music of life to Paul? It was Christ here, and there Christ, and life is Christ, and death is gain. Paul was satisfied with Christ— utterly and forever. And every youth of every land can likewise find in Jesús Christ an almighty Saviour, a conquering Leader, One. to command all his energies triumphantly. The tragedy is that He is not being pre sented to mothers who hold their babies in their arms, to boys and girls in the bright days of their childhood, to youth with the natural spirit of conquest in their veins. Satan proudly puts forward his leaders. How long will it' be before we Christians shall truly and far-reachingly exalt Christ?
because I am Christ’s little lamb. My Good Shepherd knows me and loves me and calls me by my name.” Be cause the children had been taught this little hymn, the girl lost her po sition, and the kindergarten school was closed. , • . Yes, Hitler knows the value of youth. The Hitler youth marines'en- rolled 78,000 every year,' the flyers and gliders, 135,000; the motorized units,. 295,000; . and all of 6,000,000 every year attend camps and sport week-ends. This is the menace of the world. It is not only Hitler’s soldiers, but the Hitler youth! At the end of the war there may well7be 14,000,000 of them, of about sixteen years of age, trained from birth in godless Naziism. What is our hope? Oh the human side the spell'will be broken by de feat for Germany, for the Nazi spell depends for its continuance upon the infallibility and invincibility of Hit ler. But when his biibble is pricked, then what? Nothing can save the youth and people of Germany from the vengeance of millions of outraged people in Russia, Poland, Czechoslo vakia, France, Holland, and Norway, but a sweeping revival of old-tim'e re ligion, carrying'with it a loathing for more bloodshed. We must pray that that mighty youth army may be cap tivated for Christ. Paul an Example What a need there is for one to arise with the zeal and fervor of the Apostle Paul to point multitudes, es pecially of the young, to the Lord Jesus Christ. Once he was an old-time Gestapo agent, hurling the followers of Jesus into concentration camps and prisons.. If God could meet Saul of Tarsus as he did on the Damascus road, and make' of him Paul the dauntless trail-blazer for Christ, He can perform that miracle again in our generation. Here is Paul’s estimate of life: "For me,” he says in effect, “ life is Christ.” It is not an ism, not a creed, not even a church, but a glorious, radiant Per son in the center of his life’s thinking, and from that center spreading to the wide circumference*,of his being. That is Christianity. What did Paul mean when he said, “ For mb life is Christ” ? I think he meant three simple but captivating things. He meant the Author of his life wag Christ. He meant the ambition of his life was Christ, and he meant the afterward of his life was Christ. You know how that new life began for him. He was traveling to Damas- ' cus, a brilliant young lawyer with his feet already on the ladder of success, the pride of a Pharisee welling up in his life. As he journeyed, he began to think. He was too big a man to be long with
tern. He invited teams of athletes to go to Germany. I have seen with my own eyes something of his diabolical efficiency. There is no doubt that, in the early days, Adolf Hitler did much for the general wellbeing of Germany. When I Was in Heidelburg and in Munich, where I met him and heard him speak, on every hand I was told of the i m p r o v e m e n t s Hitler had wrought. But his masterpiece of strat egy was the capture of youth, body and soul, male and female—the boys as “ soldiers,” the girls as “breeders of soldiers.” ’ • I was in Germany seven years ago with three English school boys, and we were allowed to see a good 'deal of their schools, youth h o s t e l s , and camps. The secret of the power of this astonishing movement lies in the fact that from babyhood—and before—the principles of Naziism are instilled in the minds of the rising generation. This is done, not occasionally, but con stantly and impressively, even fierce ly, .with increasingly greater incen tives and penalties in view. Adolf Hitler’s youth movement it self is divided into three sections :*the first for ages six to ten, the second for ages ten to fourteen, and the third, for ages fourteen to eighteen. In Septem ber, 1936, this last named group num bered seven million; it now numbers over sixteen million! Think of the power resident in sixteen million young lives, unified by one purpose. Back of these sixteen million are other ihillions, in the younger groups, and back of them are a multitude of mere babes—all being dominated by, this godless system. Let us peep into one of the hundreds of..homes for u n m a r r i e d mothers. Everywhere are huge pictures of Hit ler, and every day begins at breakfast with this “grace”.: “Our Fuehrer, we thank you for this home; we thank you for this food. To thee we. .dedicate all our lives and those:o f.our children.” They were giving thanks to Hitler as to Deity. They were bringing to Hitler the Children yet unborn? There is no choice whether one will bend to this regime. This fact was em phasized in a letter which I received recently from a Christian German girl I met in Vancouver. She said, “A friend of mine in Germany was work ing in a kindergarten school belong ing to the Protestant church. A Nazi came in to see how the school was conducted. Knowing what was ex pected of her, she sang patriotic songs with the children. One child began to cry and said, “My birthday song has not been sung.” Now there is a birthday song in tlje Nazi “party book,” but these children did not sing that one. They had learned to sing instead: “I am happy
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Winning American High-School Youth By WALDEN HOWARD Memphis, Tennessee
The aggressive leadership of James C. Rayburn, Jr. crystallizes the ideals and effectiveness of the Campaign. The beginnings of the work stem from informal' home Bible clubs held in 1939. Asked to take one of these groups, Rayburn traveled 150 miles each week to lead a struggling group of six boys and girls in Gainesville,. Texas. Week followed week with no signs of growth. Then two seniors, the high-school scholastic leader and the leading so cialite, realized the emptiness of their Christian lives and yielded them to the Lord. Johnnie’s experience was typical of others. He came to the club “because they wouldn’t let me' alone,” but be fore many meetings had passed he Stood up abruptly in the club to con fess Christ, as his Saviour. On an other occasion, a girl wandered un intentionally into a Sunday afternoon meeting where students were praying for their unsaved,-friends. She had never attended the club, but midway in the meeting -she broke into sobs and slipped from the room. Next night after the club meeting she exclaimed
The Campaign has but one reason for existence: the belief that more must be done than ever has been done if the gospel is to be presented to the millions of high-school students who are not now hearing it.* Two purposes motivate the Cam paign staff: “to reach the unsaved with the ^gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ by any and every means as God directs, and to teach Christian young people to go on with the Lord.” Almost every.week testimonies are received from youif|: men and women who for the first time have learned what it means to be a Christian, and Campaign leaders are s e e i n g the steady growth of young Christians as they daily search the Scriptures and seek to live lives that -honor the Lord. *This statement does not undervalue the excellent results of many Christian■agencies already at Work among high-school youth; to name just a few : the Miracle Book Club, the Dunamis and Martures Clubs, and the Euo- dia Clubs—the latter being conducted by the Bible Institute of Los Angeles and having 53 groups in as many schools in the Los An geles area, as well as in Oregon and Arizona, But the need among high-school youth is so great that it must be admitted that all that is being done is inadequate to reach those who need Christ .—Editor
IGH-SCHOOL students can be the most eager, the most hun gry-hearted, the most respon sive young people in the world. This fact was emphasized in the following newspaper comment: “A religious rally with the en thusiasm and precision of a foot ball game packed an estimated 2,000 .high-school age youngsters into the Baker Hotel’s Peacock Terrace at the Southwest’s first Young Life Campaign mass meet ing. “Arrangements had been made in advance ,with the hotel to pro vide chairs for 1,500. Before the meeting got under way every chair was filled, extras w e r e added, many were standing around the wall, and others for whom there was n»t even standing room had been turned away.” Thus wrote a newspaper editor con cerning a young people’s gathering in Dallas, Texas. What he saw was typical of the effort being made by an aggressive new -missionary move ment, the Young Life Campaign,* to reach high-school youth for Christ.,
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MAY 1943
Led by the success of the first sum mer’s meetings, Rayburn launched in to a full-time program to reach high- school youth. Clubs were requested in numerous towns,, and openings gained to high-school assemblies. During the first year, Campaign leaders presented the gospel before 75,000 high-school students. They b e l i e v e that high- school young people constitute one of the most neglected mission fields in America, and yet remarkably open te the witness of qualified and conse crated young leaders.
They answered their own question by enlarging the park pavilion to seat 1,000 and staging a two-weeks’ cam paign in which they saw many of their fellow students saved. Young people, themselves, spread the gOspel on the radio, on the street corners, and from house to house. In D a l l a s and Houston crowded tents were the scene of many con versions and dedications. And from each of these Campaigns grew more weekly neighborhood dubs.
radiantly, “ I’ve been the happiest girl in the world for the past twenty-four hours. I was saved in that prayer meeting.” Attendance grew until one night 170 persons sat on the rug and stair way, eager for a simple gospel mes sage. Meanwhile other clubs were pro gressing in Dallas, Houston, and else where. When school closed, the Gaines ville students asked, “Why can’t we do some missionary work right hère in our own town?”
Dr. Talbot's Question Box Questions for answer in this department should be sent to the Editorial Department, THE KING’S BUSINESS, 558 So. Hope Street, Los Angeles, Calif.
of God. But He has done, more: “IF any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” For the Christian who sins, there is available the mercy seat; that is the meaning of the word “propitiation” in 1 John 2:2. Connect this truth with -that of 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The sinning saint will be saved, but he must give an account of himself to God. He may, by following afar off, deprive himself of both joy and of rewards for service; but this he need not do, for there iSLat hand the means of instant cleansing and restitution. Of Israel, God said: “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely” (Hos. 14:4); He will do the same for any backslider. QUE. : What does it mean to be o f one mind and one body? If you will read Romans 12, you will find a great deal about the church illustrated by the human body. Even as the human body has many mem bers, so also has the. church. The members of our body must work in perfect harmony. Likewise in the body of Christ, there must be unity of ac tion under the direction of one Head, which is Christ. When there is “one mind,” that is, willingness to serve the Lord, there will be also “ one body,” that is, unity in the body of Christ. We must be able to pray, in the beautiful words of Elizabeth Prentiss: “More love to Thee, O Christ! More love to Thee; Hear Thou the prayer I make On bended knee; This is my earnest plea, More love, O Christ, to Thee.”
ally, as perfected forever. He has what we call the imputed righteous ness of God. It is that righteousness of which Paul speaks when he voiced his desire to “be found in him, not having mine ow n righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the right eousness which, is of God by faith” (Phil. 3:9). This is not a righteous ness that is achieved; it has nothing to do with acquired personal good ness. . The moment we’are saved we stand “complete in him,” Christ Jesus. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” (Rom. 6:1).' The answer is, “God forbid” (v. 2). God has made provision for a victorious Christian life. Sin is not to have dominion over us. We are to reckon ourselves dead to sin (v. 11). We are not to yield our members as instruments of unright eousness, but to yield ourselves, con sciously and continually, unto God (v. 13). As this is done, our practice will conform to our position. Now let us think of this situation: Here is a believer. He possesses the imputed righteousness of God as a gift from Him. He has at hand the means of grace which the Lord has provided. But he does not avail him self of them. He sins. What happens? He does not lose his salvation, for if he is truly a child of God (John 1:12), he cannot cease to be a child, though he may become an unhappy, ineffec tual, chastened child. Toward all who come to Him through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ,*: God the Father main tains a father’s relationship forever. We read in 1 John 2:1: “Little chil dren, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.” In other words, He has provided the means for victo rious Christian living .for every child
QUE.: What is meant in Ephe sians 6:12 by “ spiritual wicked ness” ? How can any wickedness be “ spiritual” ? The apostle is not using the word “spiritual” to mean something to be desired, pertaining to the Holy Spirit; but rather to describe the power of Satan and his hosts. The devil is a fallen angel (cf. Isa. 14:12-17; Ezek. 28:12-19). And as such, he is a spirit being. Man is “flesh and blood,” and therefore unequally matched against his adversary, Satan, who is far more powerful than he. As human beings, “we wrestle not against flesh and blood [other human beings], but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wicked ness in high places” (Eph. 6:12). If we were left to struggle with Sa tan in our own strength, we would in evitably fight a losing battle. But thanks be to God, He has given us His own all-powerful, indwelling Holy Spirit. “We are more than conquer ors through him that loved us” (Rom. 8:37). The host of spirit beings in the army of Satan and under the direc tion of Satan, is what Paul has in mind in Ephesians 6:12. Hence the exhortation to “put on the whole ar mor of God.” QUE.: Please give me some simple and convincing word con cerning the intercessory work of our Lord on behalf o f backsliders. First, let us get clearly in mind that one cannot “ backslide” who has not first been saved. Then, in.the second place, let us remember that when g person is born again, that is, when his sins are covered by the atoning blood of Christ, that person stands, position
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