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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
If you are not sure of a saving faith in Christ which promises eternity with Him, then that is His first will for you. All of your good works and sacrifices are for nought in His sight, if your evil works are not first covered by the blood o f ’Christ (Rom. 3:23; 6;23; Isa. 64:6). Note the things in which Paul ex celled (Phil. 3:5, 6), but in which he did not find salvation: (1) Religious rites and ceremonies: salvation is not found in baptism nor in joining the church, nor in any other type of cere mony; (2) Heritage: salvation is not found in having Christian parents. (3) Prestige: salvation is not secured by being an officer in the church. (4) Religious effort: salvation is not gained by being busy in religious ac tivities. (5) Golden rule: salvation is’ not found by just living right. All these benefits' Paul counted as loss for the real way of salvation— to be in Christ, having His righteous ness, and not his own (cf. Tit. 3:5; Eph. 2:8, 9). II. SELFLESSNESS (vs. 10, 11)* Having found Christ- and His right eousness, P a u l ’s, whole aim in life w*s 'to know Christ. He realized that to know Him and His great power as it had been revealed in the resur rection, he needed to know also the fellowship of Christ’s suffering and the experience of dying with Him. He had to die to self-interest ai\d be willing to suffer anything for his Lord (cf. Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:29; Rom. 6:11). If we would know God’s w ill' for our lives, our first thought must be of Him; self can have no place. Can you say with the Apostle Paul, “ I am crucified wiih Christ: neverthe less I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave him- ■ self for me” ? in. SERVICE (vs. 12-14). Saved, and with self submitted to the will of God, we can really be used of Him wherever we are—at home, in the church, in an office or factory, or in the armed forces. But wherever it may be, His will is for us to serve Him. If you are in. a position to choose, you must first seek His will as to your place of service. The world need is great. More than a thousand tribes as yet have been unreached for Christ in their own languages. His will for many is to go to these lost souls the world around (Matt. 28:19, 2d; Mk. 16:15). Are you deliberately staying at home when you could obey your Lord's command to go and teach all nations, and baptize them.in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
needs, and do not look to our own ambition, or to worldly position, or to prevailing conditions, or to supersti tion, then we can title ourselves satis fied Christians (cf. Heb. 13:5, 6). HI. CHRIST OUR LIFE. Now we còme to the most important phrase of “Life . to the Christian.” Though our text does not refer direct ly to spiritual life, Paul’ is evidently leading up to that as is seen in verse 30. Thus, we may say that, primarily, life to the Christian means becoming and living as a new creature in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). This is, of course, attained only by repentance toward God and a vital faith in Christ Jesus, which leads us to receive Him as our own personal Saviour from sin. Thus life really begins. And this life con tinues to make progress only as we feed daily upon Him in Bible read ing and prayer. Then our Christian life becomes richer as we use this strength in witnessing for Him to all the world. , When these things are taken into one’s life as an integral part of daily living, then Ilfs' becomes worth-while, new, joyous; abundant, and trium phant. Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Thus, grace (first) and works (following) come to be a living part of us, transforming us into glowing, radiant, useful Christians. Are you enjoying this new life in Christ? JANUARY 14, 1945 F IN D IN G GOD ’S PURPOSE FOR M Y L IF E M ic a h 6 :8; P^ iil ip p ia n s 3:7-14 By Velma B. Pickett In these days of extremes—op portunities for abundant self-aggran dizement contrasted with the call to give all, even life itself—oan it be that we may still consider the question of God’s will for our lives? Should His will have any part in the activities of our daily living when the world offers such opportunities and such demands? Certainly God’s basic principles do not change, regardless of the chang ing world. If wp would be of greatest value in this topsy-turvy world we must find these basic principles and live by them. Paul summarizes them in his matchless testimony of his desires, goals, and accomplishments recorded in Philippians 3:7-14. For Those Who Have Topics I. SALVATION (Phil. 3:7-9; cf. 2 Pet. 3:9).
IT’S AN IDEA Here are some ideas to help make your C. E. program alive in January. • Idea 1. Have a resolution meeting. Did you fail to solve Correctly your society’s prob lems last year? If so, the New Year gives you an opportunity to resolve them. Re-study some of the great resolutions in the Bible (Jos. 24:15; Dan. 1:8; Lk. 15:18;' 1 Cor. 2:2). • Idea 2. Offer, in the name of Christ, to any u n s a v e d young people in your group “ a new world for the New Year”—new life (2 Cor. 5:17); a new walk (Rom. 6:4); a new song (Psa. 40:3); a new name (Rev. 3:12); and all t h i n g s new (Rev. 21:5). Idea 3. Let your January social, be a “New Idea Party.” All guests are admitted by ticket and the ticket is a new idea for the growth, better ment, or spiritual enrichment of the society. The idea should be in writing, and handed to , the doorkeeper upon entrance. Sometime during the evening the ideas can be read and then placed in the hands of a com mittee for action. • Idea 4; Here is an idea for a C. E. poster (The “C” ahd “E” in each "come” should be large so that “C. E.” will stand out). ComE To our Endeavor meeting You’ll reCEive a cordial Greeting ComE bringing! ComE singing . ComE —Carlton C. Buck.
If you would like to make an in teresting experiment, take a good con cordance, and look up all the New Testament verses in which the word “live” appears. What a rich blessing- will be received in thus seeing the- many recorded promises concerning life that God has given to the believer! A few good examples are in John 11:25; Romans 8:12; 14:8; Galatians 2:20; Philippjans 1:21, and 1 Peter 2:24. When we trust the Lord for our
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