Count your blessings, Name them one by one; Count your many blessings, See what God hath done.
[Photo by H. Armstrong Roberts]
Dear Friend of Biola: Will you do something for me, as a personal favor? Please study carefully the large panorama picture I am sending you in this magazine (November, 1935). It represents the Biola family—students, faculty, and business staff. This picture, sent to you with my compliments, is my best effort to pass on to you the challenge that is gripping my own heart—the vastness of the opportunity that the Bible Institute of Los Angeles is facing today. Do you not thank God with me that in the besotted America of 1935, such a radiant group of young people exists as the one which the Bible Institute of Los Angeles claims? The picture was taken soon after -the enrollment of the fall semester of 1935. At that time, 380 young people were, enrolled, coming from twenty-two states of the Union and seven foreign countries. They are members of twenty five Christian denominations. A W O R K O F FA ITH How is provision made for the training of these young people at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles? No denominational board contributes a cent to the cost of their education. No endowment fund nor invested capital possessed by the Institute is sufficient to cover the cost. This work, in a very real sense, is a FAITH WORK—a daily trust in God for every requirement. Prayerfully, often blindly, in reliance upon the faithfulness of God whose promises .have never failed, the Bible Institute of Los Angeles goes forward in steadiness oL'faith. And day by day, through the hands of His devoted stewards, the Lord meets the need. Truly, the Bible Institute of Los Angeles is "Kept by the Power of God." H E L P L E S S N E S S To me, there is something very beautiful and encouraging about the thought of the helplessness of this great Institute, from the human point of view: of its utter dependence upon the prayers and forethought and sacrifice of God’s people, as these friends are moved to act by the gentle and unseen influence of the Holy Spirit. The marvel grows as one considers that never for a single day in the more than a quarter of a century of its existence have its doors been closed for lack of funds. And yet the cost is tremendous, for the Bible Institute of Los Angeles ministers to thousands both here and in China. More than $28,000 will be needed between now and the close of the fall semester. An estimate of the cost of training an individual student follows: For entire school year................................•.................... $150 For a semester or school term....................................... 75 For a month....................................................................... 20 For a w eek ................................................. 5 For a d a y ................. 1 P A R T N E R S H IP With this table of figures before you, may I ask you to face these facts and queries honestly: The LORD is working on behalf of Biola; twenty-five years of history attest the fact. What will He have ME to do? The LORD will find some one who will enter into
partnership with Him in meeting the present need for stu dent training. He has never failed. He will not fail now. Shall I be the man, the woman, who will seize the oppor tunity of being a laborer "together with God” ? The LORD will pay high dividends now, and through out eternity. Shall I receive them?
This personal word to you is not an appeal for funds; rather, it is the presen tation of the biggest, safest, best-paying investment that I know anything about. T H E K IN G ’S B U S IN E S S R E Q U IR E T H H A S T E My friend, you know, as I do, that every indication points to the near return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Biola young people are eager to take the message of saving faith to men before it is too late. Will you help them on their way by providing now for their mental and spiritual equipment? As you look at the Biola family picture—which I.hope you will frame and hang in your home—f will you ask the Lord, as I am daily asking Him: "What wilt thou have ME to DO?” Yours in His service,
President
m That I Spent, 1Had
That l Invested, 1Lost That I Gave, I Have Forever.
*'
ABilion Dollar Insurance Company
Writes its Friends
October 26, 1935
"Dear Sir: Only 66 days remain for you to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the present laws. Do you realize that the Government may become one of the principal beneficiaries of your estate by the enactment of the Revenue Bills of 1935? Do you realize that the Federal Estate tax has lowered exemptions and doubled all of the lower brackets of the tax and in certain cases has increased taxes more than twenty-one hundred per cent? The Soak the Thrifty' Revenue A ct of 1935 was signed by the Presi dent on August 30, thereby increasing the Estate, G ift and Income taxes. But you still have time to act. These aré the steps that should be Immediately taken: 1. Have your estate analyzed to determine the amount of tax that will be Imposed. 2. Find out what can be done in a perfectly legal manner to reduce the tax. 3. Determine exactly how you will meet the problem of paying the tax on your estate."
The new law changes the whole situation as regards bequests. It is actually a fact that in certain cases the saving made possible through the above information will conserve for the testator a sufficient amount to enable him or her to make a contribution to the work o f Bible Institute without cost to their estates.
W e have arranged to secure this information through our Business Department, and will transmit it to any friend of Biota who will com municate with us at once. All matters discussed are strictly confidential, and any service render ed is without obligation. To conserve your estate it is important that you ACT NOW .
Address: Business Department BIBLE INSTITUTE of LOS ANGELES 558 SOUTH HOPE STREET LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
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She $iWe ^arniltj S i ta t in e Motto: “ Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own hldodFF- R ev . 1 :5.
Fulfilled in ONE DAY
Volume XXV I
November, 1935
Number 11
Our latest tract for Jews, in Eng lish. It is a compilation by Rev. Chas. G. Bauer, B.D., pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Camden, N. J. It first appeared in THE S H E P H E R D O F IS R A E L , our monthly Yiddish-English publica tion for the Jews, and took our readers by storm so that 30,000 copies melted like sugar in water within ten days. Another issue was printed and again it was exhausted. Now it has been put in tract form with a foreword explaining that Mr. Bauer, a Gentile believer in the Lord Jesus, loves the Jews, and has spent much time in preparing this remarkable array of Scripture from the Old Testa ment, with New Testament verses re cording their fulfillment. A million copies should be distrib uted among the Jews of America, for the time grows alarmingly near for the sudden crash of Armageddon. Will you do your part? Get a copy for yourself, then see that every Jew in your town has one. The Lord will bless it, and many Jewish hearts may be turned to Him because of this testimony. And if you can help us in the expenses of print ing these and other of our Gospel tracts, your fellowship will be gratefully welcome as from Him. Our supply of several of our most important tracts is exhausted, and it hurts to say "n o" to the appeals for free literature for the Jews. Instead of hate and suspicion, let's flood Israel with love, and with God's message of Salvation. It is her eleventh hour! Never did Israel need Christian love as she needs it today. Our work merits your every confi dence. It is a program of world-wide Gospel testimony to the Jews. THE C H O S E N PEOPLE is sent to all con tributors. American Board of Missions to The Jews,Incorporated
TABLE OF CONTENTS
v Around the King’s Table— Paul W . Rood.......................... .............. 403
What the-Bible Teaches about Three Perplexing Questions —William L. Pettingiil.................................................................. 405
My Personal Thanksgiving—W . W . CatherwoocL...........................407
^ Meditations in an Airplane— Paul W . Rood..................................... 408
^ God’s Plan for Our Age—Louis S. Bauman..................................... 410
"Junior K ing’s Business— Martha S. Hooker...]................................... 413
Bible Institute Family Circle.... .......... ................................................. 415
International Lesson Çomrnentary.........................................................416
Notes on Christian Endeavor^Nadine K. Warner........................,426
Daily Devotional Readings............................
432
I N F O R M A T I O N
F O R
S U B S C R I B E R S
A D V E R T IS IN G : For information with reference to advertising in THE KING'S BUSINESS, address the ADVERTISING MANAGER, 558 SOUTH HOPE STREET, LOS ANGELES, CALIF., or our eastern representative, Religious Press Association, 325 North 13th Streets Philadelphia, Pa., or 333 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Entered as Second Class Matter November 17, 1910, at the Post Office at Los Angeles, California, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage pro-; vided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917,1 authorized October 1, 1918. M A N U SC R IP T S: THE KING’S BUSINESS cannot, accept responsibility for loss or damage to manuscripts sent to it for consideration.
T E R M S : Single Copies.............................................. 15c Annual Subscription...................................................... $1.50 Two-year subscription or two annual subscriptions. 2.50 Five annual subscriptions............................................. 5.00 Eleven annual subscriptions.......................................... 10.00 Subscriptions in countries outside of U. S. require 25c extra. R E M IT T A N C E : Should be made by Bank Draft, Ex press or P. O. Money Order, payable to “ Bible Institute of Los Angeles.“ Receipts will not be sent for regular subscriptions, but date of expiration will show plainly each month, on outside wrapper or cover ef magazine. CH ANG E OF A D D R E S S : Please send both old and new address at least one month previous to date of de sired change.
PO LIC Y A S D E F IN E D BY T H E BO ARD OF D IR EC T O R S OF T H E B IB L E IN ST IT U T E OF LOS A N G E LE S (a) To stand for the infallible Word of God and its great fundamental truths, (b) To strengthen the faith of all believers, (e) To stir young men and women to fit themselves for and engage in definite Christian work, (d) To! make the Bible Institute of Los Angeles known, (e) To magnify God our Father and the person, work and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: and to teach the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in our present practical life.: (f) To emphasize in strong, constructive messages the great foundations of Christian faith. 558 So. Hope St:, BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES, Lot Angeles, California
31 Throep Avenue » Brooklyn, N. Y.
November, 1935
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c _Around the King’s Tables
B y P a u l W. R oou
D. L. Moody said he would travel a thousand miles for a-good thought. It is related that he once offered a prize for the best thought submitted. The following won
“ Wist ye not that I must be about my The King’s Father’s business ?” was the answer of Jesus Business Christ to His mother’s rebuke. What was the Father’s business? Christ gives the an swer in Luke 19:10: “ For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost,” Christ’s errand to this world was to seek and save the lost. His business is the disciples’ business. “ As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you” (John 20:21). Our primary work is to win souls for Christ. We are to continue this work until Jesus comes., “ Do business till I come,” said the Lord in Luke 19:13. There is an urgency about this business. It must be done immediately. “ The king’s business requireth haste” ( c f . 1 Sam. 2 1 :8 ). There must be no delay.
Thanks Be Unto God !
the prize: “ Men complain because God has placed thorns upon roses. Wouldn’t it be better if they thanked God for putting roses on thorns?” How true it is that the majority are complaining about the thorns, and the minority are thanking God for the Toses! Ten lepers were healed, but only one returned to give thanks. Is it not true that nine out o f ten forget to return thanks? The Lord Jesus is still saying: “ Where are the nine?” When we take stock and count our blessings, we find that we have much that should make us thankful. Paul
frequently praised the Lord. It was he who said: “ Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift” (2 Cor. 9 :15). There are blessings that can be called “ speak- able gifts,” such as the ordinary blessings o f life that we take for granted. The material blessings— food, clothing, and shelter— should not be forgotten. God has given our country a bountiful har vest, and there is food enough and to spare. Idealistic blessings like books and friends certainly should be included in the thanksgiving list. The fact that America has been saved from war, famine, and pestilence should cause us to sing the doxology, to show our apprecia tion of national blessings. “ Every good g i f t ;. . is from above.’® Who can fully describe the spiritual blessings enjoyed by God’s people? The Christian church, in spite o f its enemies, still lives and functions for Christ. We have the ordinances o f the church and
The Bible Institute of Los Angeles is committed to this program. W e as ad ministration officials, faculty members, students, and employees are here to lead men and women to Christ. Our work as leaders and teachers is to train soul-win ners who will function effectively for Christ. Unless we by precept and example impart this vision and carry out this program, we have no excuse for our existence as an institution. Therefore, we opened the present semester with an evangelistic campaign, and we purpose to open every school year in like manner, by the grace o f God.
The very name o f our official organ, the K ing ’ s B usiness , indicates that those who gave this name to the maga zine had this, soul-winning program and passion in mind and heart. Our ambi tion and longing is that this periodical shall not only give comfort, instruction, and inspiration to the saints, but that it shall also be a soul-winning agency, so that men and wo men and boys and girls shall find the way to Calvary. If the prayer of one righteous man If Fifty “ availeth much,” what would be the effect if Thousand fifty thousand intercessors called on God? Prayed There is power in united prayer. The Lord Jesus said: “ That if two o f you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 18:19). “ The prayer power has never been tried to its full capacity in any church.” This sentence in a letter sent the recipient to his knees. Have we really made use o f our privileges at the throne o f grade ? Have we really utilized the power of prayer ? “ Prayer can do anything that God can do.” Do we really believe that “ prayer changes things,” that “ prayer releases the resources of God and makes it possible for the Holy Spirit to work” ? Have we accepted the challenge o f Jeremiah 3 3 :3 ? “ Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”
the fellowship o f the saints, an open Bible and freedom to worship God and tell out the story o f Jesus and His love. God has given His people institutions that are loyal to the Book and leaders who are loyal to Christ. Revival fires are burning, in sortie parts o f the world at least. Certainly, we find many reasons to thank God for His speakable gifts. But Paul thanked God for His unspeakable Gift. Christ is that Gift. We cannot adequately describe Him or fully express the glories of His person and work. Paul was occupied with Christ. Sometimes we are so takeh up with the gifts that we forget the Giver. God has given' us Christ and all things with Him. Let us praise Him for His won drous incarnation, atoning death, triumphant resurrection, marvelous ascension, and' glorious return. Let us thank God for. salvation, forgiveness, fellowship; joy, peace, and hope. Thq spirit o f gratitude should dominate us as we think of Christ, o f who He is, what He has done; what He is, doing, and what He is going to do. “ For it: pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell” (Col. 1:19). “ But thanks be to. God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1 5 :57).
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Recognizing the important place of prayer in the pro gram o f God, and the potency as revealed in history and experience, and recognizing further our impotence and in ability to cope with the problems that face us, we are ask ing God to raise up fifty thousand prayer warriors in behalf of Biola. If fifty thousand intercessors could be found who would pray through for this institution and all its activities in the homeland and in the regions beyond, every need would be supplied, every debt would be paid, and every problem solved. Will you be one o f the fifty thousand? We have already had a Day of Prayer in the school, and we trust that “ the spirit of grace and of supplications” is being poured out here at the home base. There must be such evidence o f the presence and power of the living God at Biola that no one shall ever have occasion to say: “ Where is their God?” Will you carry the Bible Institute o f Los Angeles on arms of prayer to the throne of grace ? mand as follows: “ Reckon on God’s faith- Faithfulness” fulness.” Do we dare to trust God ? Faith honors God. Every man that God has used has been a man of faith. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews, the Westminster Abbey of the Bible, reveals that the heroes of the Old Testament were heroes o f faith. W e need to day as never before the shield o f faith if we are to quench all the fiery darts o f the wicked. When we break down, we do it in the realm of faith. Jesus said to Peter: “ Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not” (Lk. 2 2 :31, 32). Satan was seeking to break down Peter’s faith. The Lord was primarily interested in Peter’s maintaining his faith. The Lord is looking for faith and praying that our faith shall not fail. Faith makes us victorious. “ This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John 5 :4). The c _Annual ^Bible Conference January 26 to February 2, 1936 It seems pleasing to the Lord and to us that we should open our second semester with a Bible conference, as we opened the first semester with an evangelistic campaign. This first annual Bible conference will be held, the Lord will ing, from January 26 to February 2, 1936, and will be a "C o n ference on Evangelism." Alumni of Biola, evangelists, pastors, Sunday-school teachers, and other Christian workers are especially invited to attend this convention. A strong program is being pre pared, and present-day needs, problems, conditions, and opportunities will be discussed. A memoral service in honor of Dr. R. A. Torrey will be held on his birthday, January 28. All of Dr. Torrey's converts, former students, and associates who are able to come should attend this service. W e are praying that this conference will be a great stimulus to evangelism throughout the nation. “ Have faith in God,” said Jesus. Hud- son Taylor paraphrased this divine com- “Reckon on God’s
prayer o f faith is answered. “ What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mk. 11:24). Shall we not take God at His word and really put Him to the test? “ Prove me now” is God’s challenge. Shall we not accept this challenge in be half o f Biola with its staggering needs ? God is the living God, the all-powerful God, the prayer-answering God. We need G od ! “ Lord, to whom shall we go ? thou hast . . . ” It is only God who can work this thing out. “ We are wrecked on the almightiness of God.” Our confidence is in Him. He will not put us to shame. “ If God is your partner, make your plans If God Is big,” D. L. Moody said. We need to get God’s Your vision and think God’s thoughts after Him. Partner We are too narrow, too provincial, too circum scribed. God wants to lift us out o f our pro vincialism and to give us a world vision. W e think of towns when we ought to think o f counties, o f counties when we ought to think o f states, o f states when we ought to think o f nations, o f nations when we ought to think of continents, o f continents when we ought to think o f the world. God so loved the world, not only your nationality or color. Christ loved the church, not only your denomina tion. God has bigger plans and a greater program than our finite minds and limited vision allow us to visualize. The psalmist had been delivered from his narrowness, and he joyfully cried ou t: “ He brought me forth also into a large place.” The Lord wants to do that for all o f us. May the vision of God’s purposes in Christ so thrill our souls that we shall see what God sees, and feel what God feels, and do what God wants us to d o ! Dr. James M. Gray, who so recently A Faithful has been ushered into the presence of the Servant Lord, had many outstanding traits that en deared him to the people o f God. He was a teacher and, as such, a gift from the ascended Lord to the church. Dr. Gray popularized the synthetic method of Bi ble study and has enriched all o f us by his platform work and by the products of his pen. He was a well-balanced man. He never went off on a tangent. When he spoke or wrote, it was a presentation that was acceptable to right- thinking people. He could differentiate between a prin ciple and a matter o f secondary importance. This ability is one o f the essential qualities o f a leader. Dr. Gray was a Christian gentleman. He was courteous, considerate, and magnanimous. He was a spiritual man. His natural gifts were controlled and enriched by the Spirit of God. Like Enoch, he walked with God. He was human. He had a sense o f humor. He was above all else a faithful servant o f the Lord. When Dr. Gray was invited to speak at the Sunday Eve ning Club service in Orchestra Hall, Chicago, a friend went to hear him, wondering how he would make use o f the op portunity. Here was an opportunity for a display o f scho lastic ability, for Dr. Gray was a scholar. Here was an op portunity for scintillating wit, for he had, as already stated, a sense o f humor. Dr. Gray read a passage from Holy Writ and preached an expository sermon as he would have done in any pulpit. When he was through, the friend, who had come out o f curiosity, went up to Dr. Gray, grasped his hand, and said with deep feeling, “ You are faithful!” Did he not express what every one who really knew Dr. Gray feels? He was a defender o f the faith. He never wavered, never compromised, never lowered the standard. He kept the faith. No more appropriate words could be in scribed upon Dr. Gray’s monument. May we emulate his example!
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What the "Bible Teaches About THREE PERPLEXING QUESTIONS B y W ILLIAM L. PETTINGILL Wilmington, Delaware
thians 11:31, 32: “ If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judg ed, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.” This chas tening may take the form of weakness, or sickness, or even death, as shown by the context, but it is chastening, and not con demnation. “ Whom the Lord loveth he chasten- eth,” but condemnation is impossible for the be liever (John 5:24 ; Rom. 8:1, R. V .; Heb. 12:6). There are those who teach that the “ taketh away” o f John 15:2 is a matter o f chastening, as in 1 Corinthians 11 :30, “ many sleep” ; that is, many in the Corinthian
/ S .
The Parable o f the VINE and the BRANCHES I am asked to give an expo sition o f our Lord’s Parable o f the Vine and the Branches, recorded in John 15. My in quirer is particularly concern ed about the second and sixth
W . L. PETTINGILL.
verses, reading, “ Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away,” and, “ if a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” My cor respondent believes, as I believe, in the eternal security o f the believer, and asks whether that doctrine is affected by this Scripture. The passage has always been a battle ground for Armin ian and Calvinistic writers, the former insisting that here we have it clearly shown that a truly saved man may aposta tize and be lost. But if this thesis is true, then Scripture surely contra dicts itself in many instances, a conflict which of course is impossible and unthinkable. No prophecy o f Scripture is o f any isolated or by-itself interpretation (2 Pet. 1:20). W e must not interpret any single passage so as to make it flatly contradict all that Scripture elsewhere says upon the subject. For instance, there is our Lord’s definite statement in John 10:27-30 that His sheep have eternal life, and that “ they shall never perish.” S uspended F ellowship The whole fabric of the gospel rests upon the doctrine o f grace, and grace is unmerited favor; by it the whole thought o f salvation by works is excluded. I f a believer sins— and what believer does not sin?-—his fellowship is suspended; that is, his communion with God is interrupted, but his salvation is not jeopardized. Nor is his fellowship restored by being “ saved again,” but rather through con fession. “ I f we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteous ness” (1 John 1 :9). But if the sinning believer refuses to confess his sins, what then? The answer, is in 1 Corin- [Out o f more than forty years o f experience in answering questions pertaining to the Scriptures; the puthor, who is the founder o f “Just a Word Incoiipb'rqted."rbfihgs to K ing ’ s B usi ness readers this month his answers to three problems which have puzzled many individuals. Similar studies by Dr. Pettingill are planned for future issues of this.magazine .— E ditor .]
Drawing byR. Marvin
church had died on account o f unconfessed sin. “ They are taken away as branches,” says Malachi Taylor, “ though not lost.” This might be an acceptable explana tion, were it not for the terrible words of verse 6 o f our chapter: “ Men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” I nterpretations T h at H ave B een O ffered Many commentators tell us that these severed branches were never really in the vine at all, except by outward ap pearance— that they are merely professing Christians. Dean A lford, for example, says that they “ are made mem bers of Christ by baptism,” the vine being “ the visible church here, o f which Christ is the inclusive Head ; the vine contains the branches; hence the unfruitful, as the fruitful, are ‘in me,’ ” that is, in Christ. This interpreta tion is hardly satisfactory when one remembers that the words we are studying are words from the mouth o f the Lord Himself, who spake as other men never spake, and all of whose words are pure words. Yet other writers Hold that the unfruitful branches are the people o f Israël, who indeed are described in Romans 11 as natural branches cut off from the good olive tree. But this interpretation also fkils, for the dispensational cut ting off is really national, rather than individual. Israel as a nation is cut off ; “ blindness in part is happened to Israel” for the time being, “ until the fulness o f the Gentiles be
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come in” (Rom. 11:25-27). Yet whenever an individual Jew believes in the Lord Jesu^i Christ) he is received on the same footing as other believers. “ God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew” .(Rom. 11:2). Another teaching is that this is a parable o f service,, and that it is not to be interpreted as applying to salvation. Those who hold this view emphasize the words “ as a branch” in verse 6, and tell Us that a man might be cast forth as a branch, that is, that he might be a rejected serv ant, without having his salvation endangered. But there is nothing said in the parable about service; the whole theme is fruit-bearing, and there is a vast difference be tween service and fruit-bearing, though no one will deny the real connection between them. Believers are “ created in Christ Jesus unto good works” (Eph. 2 :10 ), and this is service; but fruit is not works. “ The fruit o f the Spirit is love, joy, peace . . . ” (Gal. 5:22, 23 ). These are not things that '& Christian is called upon to do, nor are they things that Ihe can do. They are the effect o f yielding, rather than o f working. R eckoned as “ I n C hrist ” The key to our problem is to be fofind in connection with the comprehensive scope o f our Lord’s atoning work. There is a sense in which Christ, by His work on the cross, displaced Adam as the federal head o f the race. In God’s reckoning, Christ died for all, and in Him all died. The purpose’ pf- His death was “ that they that live should no longer hyp unto themselves, but unto him who for their sakes died,.'and rose again” (2 Cor. 5 :15, R. V .). This is
T he B ranches as “ I n C hrist ” “ Both the persons described in the text,” says Charles Haddon Spurgeon, “ were in Christ — in Christ in different senses it; is plain, because the first persons were not So; in Christ as to bring forth fruit. Consequently, as fruit is that by which we are to judge a man, they were not in 'Christ effectually, graciously, influentially, or so as to re ceive the fruit-creating sap. If they had brought forth fruit, their fruitfulness would have been a sign that they were in Christ savingly. Who will venture to say that a man who yields no fruit o f righteousness can be really a Christian? Yet they were in Christ in some sense or other.” But he then goes on to express the opinion that the rejected branch had been in Christ only as a matter of out ward profession. He is quite right in saying that they were “ in Christ in some sense or other,” but he is not clear as to their exact position. Hengstenberg well remarks that “ what is spoken of is the unfruitful branches actually be ing in Christ the vine, and not their thinking themselves or others thinking them to be so.” See how this whole problem bears upon the salvation o f infants. W e all believe that little children, until “ the age o f accountability,” whenever that may be— and God knows when it comes—-áre saved; but why are they saved? It is not because they are good, for they are not good ; they are sinners, and “ by nature the children of wrath” ; and yet they aré saved, because they are included in the redemptive work o f Christ on the cross o f Calvary. He died for them, because He died for all, and they are safe under the blood
the true meaning o f our Lord’s mysterious words in John 12 : 32, 33: “ And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, sig nifying what death he should die.” Lifted up on the cross, He drew all men unto Him, and died in their room and stead. In this federal sense, the race is reckoned as in Him. In 1 Corinthians 15 :22, it is written: “ As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” And this includes not only the saved, who are to “be raised incorruptible” (v.
until they have reached the place where they are morally responsible before God. When “ the age of accountability” ar rives, then the individual must personally believe on the Lord Jesus or be lost. If he believes, he abides in Christ, is- born again, and becomes the posses sor of eternal life, and he shall never perish. If, on the other hand, he rejects the Saviour, “ he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered.” I f he goes on rejecting and finally rejects, he will be cast into the fire and burned.
Thanks T>e Given ' By W IL L IA M M. RU N YAN To God the Father thanks be given— The march of seasons bids again That grateful praise be voiced by men, For they have found God's dealing good, Who giveth light and love and food; Who in a garden rich and fair Has placed the object of His care— To God the Father thanks be given!
52), but also “ the rest o f the dead,” who must be raised to receive their final doom (Rev. 20:5, 12-15). As by Adam’s sin’ “ judgment came unto all men to condemna tion ; even so through one act of righteousness [that is, by the one righteous act o f Christ on the cross] the free gift came unto all men to justification of life. For as through the one man’s, disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one shall the many be made righteous” -(Rom . 5 :18, 19, R. V .). The sacrificial death o f Jesus Christ cannot be limited in its effects to believers. While the Scriptures do not teach universal salvation, they do teach universal redemption. Christ was “ the Lamb o f God, which taketh away the sin o f the world” (John 1 :29). When He died on the cross, it was in the divine purpose “ that he by the grace o f God should taste death for every man” (Heb. 2 :9). He “ is the Saviour o f all men, specially of those that believe” (1 Tim. 4 :10) . “ Those that believe”- are saved, while those that re ject are lost; but it remains true that even those who are lost have a Saviour, for He “ is the Saviour of all men.” He is truly “ the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2 :2 ).
E ternally a C hild of G od It is false reasoning to suppose that a child o f God always retains freedom of the will to depart from the faith, just as he was free to accept or reject salvation in the be ginning. A child of God has no more “ freedom o f the will” to cease to be God’s child than has the child of any other father to set aside such a relationship. A child of God may be a disobedient child, but he remains a child, and for his disobedience he must reckon with a faithful Father who will deal with him as with a son and not a bastard (Heb. 12:8). “ Him that cometh . . .” says our Lord in John 6:37-40, “ I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will o f him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” The saved man is forever safe. [Continued on page ' 412J
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M y Personal
B y W. W. CATHERWOOD* Riverside, California
I t is good mathe- .matics to become e f f i c i e n t in the high and holy art of counting your bless ings. Gratitude is one of the most beautiful and fra grant flowers that bloom in the soil of the human soul. It has been called the memory of the
counted me faith ful, putting me into the ministry.” For nearly thirty years now, I have en deavored to hold up b e fo r e men the Christ who saved me, and to preach and proclaim the unsearchable riches o f His grace. I would not exchange
1 S*»—“
Dr. Catherwood
heart, and the psalmist reminds us of the Lord’s goodness, urging us to “ forget not all his benefits.” I want this message to be a brief synopsis of my personal thanksgiving— a few of the out standing things for which at this Thanksgiving season I am deeply and definitely grateful. It is my hope that it may stimulate those who read it to examine their own lives and thus find food for thought and, therefore, thanks giving. “ Think” and “ thank” come- from the same root mean ing. We are thankless only when we are thoughtless, ’
places with any soul on earth. The privilege of leading men to Christ] o f building them up in Christ, of training them in service for Christ, is the highest and holiest calling on earth. “ Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel !” Fourth, I am thankful that in the providence o f God I was led to come to America, land of promise and privileges to count less thousands like myself who have not had in their homelands the opportunity that America offers. As a naturalized American citizen, I thank God for the flag under which we live, for the liberties we enjoy. No people in all the world are sd favored and so fortunate as we— no people who have so much room and rea son to be grateful to God. Fifth, I am thankful for our homes and the loved ones there. Thanksgiving is a home festival. It is the season o f the year at which families are reunitedaround the old home hearth. The home was the first in time o f earth’s
First, I am thankful for the land in which I was born and for the parents who gave me birth. As I think o f my boyhood home among the green hills of Erin, I am thankful among other things for the sweetest memory a boy or girl can have—my memory of a home in which prayer was offered, in which God was honored, and in which there was given a Chris tian training and background that the intervening years have nipt been able to dissipate or destroy. Second, I am grateful that as a boy of eighteen I made life’s greatest decision— the decision to accept Christ as my personal Saviour, to crown Him as my sovereign Lord, and to put my life’s interest for two worlds, both time and eter nity, into His care and keeping. Like Paul, I can say: “ 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.” It will take all eternity to praise Him for the grace that sought me and bought me and brought me to His fold. “ One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” Third, humbly and sincerely I thank Him “ that he *Pastor, First Baptist Church.
great institutions. It dates from the Garden o f Eden Every blow directed at the home, no matter from whal source, is a blow directed at the foundations o f oui national existence. May this Thanksgiving season stir in our hearts not only a spirit o f thanksgiving for the home, but also a spirit o f new devotion to this center with all its sacred meaning and memory. Sixth, I am grateful for the friends and the friendships that have meant and do mean much to us all. Repeatedly we have seen that life’s, richest assets are not stocks and bonds and bank accounts. The depression made most of these look pale and sickly. On the Saturday night o f life when you and I sit down to list earth’s choicest blessings, we shall be compelled to put near the head o f the list thé t Continued on page 409]
Courtesy American Airlines
November, 1935
M editations in an AIRPLANE
B y PAUL W. ROOD
T he L ost A rt of M editation was the title of a book I once saw in a book store. The message o f the title some how burned its way into my consciousness and has never been forgotten. Yet in this day o f activity and speed, meditation does seem to be a lost art. Our forbears took time to read and digest what they read, but, as a general rule, we are not like them. “ While I was musing the fire burned,” said the psalmist. W e need to take time to muse, if the fire of God is to burn in the soul. “ He seemed busier than he was,” is the statement made by a writer concerning a character he was depicting. Many people are rushing about, but are they really accomplishing any more because of their speed? Would not life be richer in results if we took time to meditate? Certainly meditation has an im portant place in life and is neglected only at our peril. Can one meditate in an airplane ? What does a preacher think about when he is riding in an airplane? The writer can, o f course, answer for only one preacher. The occasion o f the trip was an urgent call to be present at a mass meet ing in Portland, Oregon, on a Monday evening. Sunday being the closing day of a campaign in Oakland, Califor nia, it was impossible, by means o f the more ordinary modes o f travel, to reach Portland in time for the meeting that had been scheduled there. The leaders in Portland w ired: “ Come by plane at our expense.” Accordingly, the trip was taken through midheaven in a tri-motored monoplane that had three 425-horsepower engines and a cruising speed o f 120 miles an hour. The plane carried twelve passengers and two pilots. Each passenger was allowed thirty pounds o f luggage. We left the airport in Alameda, California, at 9 :10 in the morning and landed in Portland at 2 :40 in the afternoon. To cover the same distance, by train, requires a night and a day o f travel. - “ What a marvelous age we are living in !” was the first impression o f mine while I sailed through the air from 2,000 to 8,000 feet above the earth. This is indeed “ man’s day,” and the genius o f man is revealed as never before. Is the world getting better? The question is frequently asked in our day. Certainly the world is improving as far as me chanical invention and the comforts o f life are concerned. But, morally and spiritually, the world is on the toboggan slide, and every careful student and accurate thinker sees deterioration in the moral realm. Inventions do not improve human character. They only offer more opportunities to reveal what is in man. The automobile offers immunity to many a criminal by providing a way o f escape. The air plane is used in times o f war to destroy life. Men can and do propagate error by means o f the radio. Dan Crawford once described modern civilization to a native in Africa, referring to its assets and its liabilities in the form o f or
ganized crime. “ To be better off is not to be better,” was the thoughtful comment o f his listener. “ Man’s day” will eventually produce the superman who will be the agent of Satan in ruling the world during the time of tribulation. “ What a wonderful world we inhabit!” was the second impression I received while speeding through the atmos phere. I received a bird’s-eye view of the San Francisco Bay, the Sacramento Valley, as well as the mountains and the rivers and the green pastures o f Oregon. W e were entranced by what we saw. God has created a beautiful world for the children o f men. Isn’t it too bad that, through sin, we have destroyed so much o f its beauty ? Yet in spite o f sin, there are marks of the original beauty and glory o f the world, and when Christ comes and sets up His kingdom here on earth, creation shall be delivered from the bondage o f corruption. “ What a supernatural revelation!’’ was the third im pression as I thought o f the airplane as a fulfillment o f prophecy. “ Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?” . (Isa. 60 :8 ). Is not this a prophecy that Israel will return to her land in airplanes? “ As birds flying, so will the Lord o f hosts defend Jeru salem” (Isa. 3 1 :5 ). Is this not a prophecy concerning the defense of Jerusalem by means o f airplanes? Revelation 9:9, 10 and Revelation 12:14 seem to refer to airplanes that will be used in the time o f tribulation. The next world war will feature the airplane. “ There is nothing to prevent twenty to thirty airplanes’ flying tomorrow over London’s millions with a gas which can suffocate those millions in three hours,” said Edisom God has forewarned in a supernatural Book that is authenticated by prophecy^ already fulfilled. “ What powerful fo e s !” was the fourth impression as I thought o f the demons that inhabit the atmosphere, ac cording to Ephesians 6 :12. Our battle is not primarily with human beings who propagate heresy, but with the demons who control and inspire them. Certainly we need the whole armor o f God, and we must be men and women o f prayer if we are to conquer these unseen hosts. Believers in the present hour need to study the sixth chapter o f Ephesians on their knees. May God help us to resist the wiles of the devil. “ What a glorious prospect!” was the fifth impression, at the memory of 1 Thessalonians 4 :17 : “ Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.” That day is coming and may be very near, when Christ shall descend to raise the dead who died in Christ, and to translate the living saints. W e are to meet the Lord in the air. Surely the children o f God should be air-minded!
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“ What an urgent commission!” was another impression that came to me as I thought o f the words o f Jesus in Mark 16:15. “ Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Should we not make greater use o f modern inventions in getting out the gospel? The radio offers a unique opportunity to preach Christ to multi plied thousands. A missionary is planning to contact the jungle lands in Latin America by means of a hydroplane. Are we Christians as wide-awake as we ought to be in using all the means at our disposal in propagating the gos pel? Aside from the question o f methods of procedure, the urge must be upon us so that we, dominated by zeal, shall do our utmost to tell perishing souls about the Lord Jesus. Haste is essential, because men are under the sen tence o f death. Our children are forming habits that are determining their destiny. The devil is never idle. Our day is fast passing away, and judgment draweth nigh. God’s business must come first. May God help us to do our best to win the lost in these closing days o f this dispensation. friends who stood by us in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, whose warm handclasp, friendly smile, and encouraging word have fortified us to face life with new courage and confidence. Seventh, I am equally grateful for the beautiful world in which it is our privilege to live. Whether we study it in the minute or the vast, it is a matchless poem o f the Creator’s praise. “ The heavens declare the glory o f G od ; and the firmament showeth his handiwork.” Walled in by MY PERSONAL THANKSGIVING [Continued from page 407]
towering mountains -^- snow-capped in winter and sun- kissed in the summer, domed in blue by day and frescoed with star jewels at night— sunrise in the morning, sunset glow and grandeur in the evening, all speak eloquently of Him who in the beginning created the heavens and the earth. To use the words o f Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Earth is crowned with Heaven And every common bush aflame with God. Eighth, I am thankful for the difficult places of life. Under the guiding and educating hand o f God, they have made a contribution to and have played a part in the devel opment of our characters. Oaks are not the product of hothouses; they are made sturdy and strong by storms as well as by sunshine. Some one from the productive part of the Middle West was visiting a New England farmer. He looked at the bleak and barren New England hills and ask ed, “ What do you grow here?” Quick as a flash from the sturdy New Englander came the answer, “ W e grow men.” No crop is greater and more needed than this one. ' God give us men. A time like this demands strong hearts, true faith and willing hands; Men whom the lust of office cannot kill; Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy; Men who possess opinion and a w ill; Strong men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog in public duty and in private thinking; God give us men. Character at its best is not the product of smooth seas and sunlit skies. It is the rough and hard places o f life that develop the highest type o f character and the noblest men and women. Ninth, I am thankful also for the educational advan tages that America offers her youth. The campuses of our schools and colleges are crowded each year with young men and women who have had cultural and educational advantages equaled nowhere on the face o f the earth. Ours is a land where the boy at the foot o f the ladder may climb to the top. But I am grateful, over and above all else, for Christ, my Saviour and my Lord. He was and He is God’s crown ing gift to a lost and sinning world. He should be the center and the circumference o f our thoughts and thanksgiving. He brought life and immortality to light by the gospel. Thank God for His virgin birth, His virtuous life, His vicarious death, His victorious resurrection, and for the hope o f His visible and imminent coming again. It may be at morn, when the day is awaking, When sunlight thro’ darkness and shadow is breaking, - That Jesus will come in the fullness o f glory, To receive from the world “ His own.” He is coming back to raise the sleeping saints, to rapture His ransomed church, and to inaugurate the Golden Age o f His glorious reign. Every knee shall bow to Him and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord, to the glory o f God the Father. Finally, I am grateful for the privilege of service in the ranks of Christ’s militant church on earth. Service is the natural sequence of salvation. W e are workers together with God. I am happy to be counted among those who believe in a divinely inspired Bible, in salvation by faith in the crucified, risen, and coming Christ, and in His world wide program of evangelism for this age as contained in the marching orders: “ Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” L ife’s greatest blessing is service; life’s greatest blight is selfishness. “ Not to be ministered unto, but to minister” was the motto o f the greatest Life that ever trod the dusty way of this world of ours. As we follow Him, our daily life will be one o f con tinual thanksgiving.
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.Plan fo r OUR B y LOUIS S. BAUMAN- Long Beach, Calif.
brow o f His own Beloved! Giant “men of renown” (Gen. 6 :4 ) in the days of Noah, as well as Pharaoh, Haman, Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander, Caesar, and their more modern little tail-danglers, have marshaled again and again their imperialistic legions, and have marched forth to frustrate “ the eternal purpose which he [God] purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord,’’ succeeding only in securing for themselves obituaries that should be forceful reminders to those who follow after— that they who march forth to defeat the purpose o f God in Christ, march forth to their everlasting doom. The head that was crowned in Jerusalem, in derision, with thorns— that head shall be crowned in Jerusalem, amidst the praise of kings and priests, with un fading glory! J ohn th e B aptist A nnounced the K ingdom of H eaven “ A t H and ” and P resented the K ing One day, the hour came to present the King to the Jews, and to announce that the kingdom was ready for the people o f David. The great vancourier, John the Baptist, sprang forth from the wilderness, the thunderbolt that he was, and cried: “ Repent y e: for the kingdom o f heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3 :2 ). The King was there- -‘‘at hand.” And when the King was there— “ at hand,” the kingdom was there— “ at hand.” Israel had but to receive Him in order to enter into her high estate as “ the head, and not the tail” (Deut. 28 :13) o f the nations o f the earth. The great Baptist climaxed his mission by walking down into the waters o f the Jordan and baptizing the Son o f God. The heaven opened, and the seal of the living God was given to the Ruler of the kingdom (Matt. 3:13-17). Thereupon, the greatest of all “ born o f women” (Matt. 11:11) cried : “ He must increase, but I must decrease,” and, “ This my joy therefore is fulfilled” (John 3 :30, 29). He rejoiced in the rising Sun that dimmed his own star. No wonder our Lord declared him to be the greatest o f all “ born o f wo men” ! John’s work was finished. He passed over to join the great spirits in Paradise. T he K ing H imself A nnounced the K ingdom of H eaven “ A t H and ” With the passing o f John the Baptist, “ Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4 :17 ). The message was the same as John’s. However, He, being the King Himself, presented the credentials of the King. We read: “ Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and tor ments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. And there followed him great multitudes” (Matt. 4:23-25). Thus did the King present His credentials. For did not the prophets predict that the King would be One who “ him self took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses” (Matt.
God’s Eternal Purpose in Christ Jesus E ternal is the purpose o f the living G od ! “ According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Eph. 3 :11), all things shall come to pass. Not one jot or tittle (Matt. 5 :18) shall fa il! “ The Lord o f hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand . . . This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. For the Lord o f hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it ? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?” (Isa. 14:24-27). A perfect God, seeing the end from the beginning, need not change His purpose. An omnipotent God cannot be compelled to change His purpose. Failure— certain, pitiful,«) unspeakabje^Jis prewritten upon all the efforts o f men who labor outside the eternal purpose o f God, whether their labor be in the realm of the moral, or the social, or the political, or the economic, or the intellectual, or the physical, or the spiritual. Kingdom upon kingdom has arisen but to fall, because its governors spurned to command in harmony with the eternal purpose o f the living God. Church after church arose but to sicken, decay, wane, and die, because its priests prayed not and its members toiled not in harmony with the purpose that was God’s purpose in Christ Jesus even before the ages began to run their course. J esus C hrist , “ B orn K ing of the J ews ” In the eternal purpose o f God, Jesus Christ was “ born King o f the Jews” (Matt. 2 :2 ). And when He died, the highest authority in all the land wrote out His legal title and flung it, in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, above His thorn- crowned brow: “ J esus of N azareth the K ing of the J ews .” The chief priests of the Jews protested that title. They said to Pilate: “ Write not, The King o f the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.” Pilate, God’s unconscious yes-man, replied to that protest: “ What I have written I have written” (John 19:22). That which the Eternal has “ purposed in Christ Jesus” was not changed and cannot be changed even by a Caesar! Pilate had de clared only what prophets long before him had written: “ But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, . . . out o f thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel” (Micah 5 :2). Pilate had written only what the angel o f God had proclaimed to Mary: “ Fear not, Mary: . . . behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name J esus . . . and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne o f his father David: And he shall reign over the house o f Jacob for ever” (Lk. 1:30-33). Pilate had written only that which God had sworn by oath immutable unto David (Psa. 89:27-37), that “ o f the fruit o f his [David’s] loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne” (Acts 2 :30; cf. 2 Sam. 7 :4-17). What folly it is for the overlords o f this world, politi cal or ecclesiastical, to deny to the Christ the crown which Omnipotence has decreed to rest at last securely upon the
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