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THE K I N G ’S BU S I NE S S
and you always have some that won’t fit anywhere. The, only way out is a good old revival, and a revival simply means getting acquainted with Christ in a new way. A real revival- ends with everybody loving Christ and therefore loving each other. Unknown by the .Christian I find a lot of Christians these days, sound» fundamental Christians who sit in meetings and are dull and dis illusioned with a sort of glaze over their eyes. I know how they got that way. They ran after some preacher and he fooled them, and now they are fed up and cynical. Or, they followed some movement that went to pieces, or chased some experience, òr went to, seed on some doctriné, and nbw they sit in the seat of trie scornful or at best .they are lukewarm and nothing stirs them any more. If they had been occupied with Christ, they never would have gotten into such a state as that. He never leaves a bad taste, He never lets us down, He never leaves us in the lurch. Looking at each other is disappointing business, and following pet preachers always ends in bitter ness, for the “idol’s” feet turn out to be very poor clay. People who are taken up with know ing Christ better and making Him known stay sweet and fresh and hope ful. They do not expect too much of people, and therefore they are never seriously disappointed. They always expect great things of God, and again they are never disappointed. The' se cret of so much of our bitterness is that we know ourselves and others better than we know Him. The Unknown Christ explains pur disunity today as Christians. There- are always movements afoot to get the saints together, but not around Him. I doubt whether we shall ever get , the Christians organized very closely, for i do not think God is in terested in that., There are a great many leaders trying it, but they get a crowd around themselves and soon they fall apart again. Unanimity we will never have; unification is man made and that we do not want; we need to practice instead thè unity we already have in Christ. There are too many who want to head- a movement, and not enough like John the Baptist who are willing to be only the friend of the bridegroom. When people real ly are occupied with knowing Christ and making Him known, there is no time for chasing around after Paul, Cephas, and Apollos. And here is the secret of effective preaching: aim at getting people to know Christ, You are always on safe ground bragging about Him. You never lie awake nights regretting ser- \jContfhued on Page 351]
Dr. Talbot's Question Box
Questions for onswer in this depart ment should be sent to the Editorial Department, THE .KING'S BUSINESS, 558 So. Hope St., Los Angeles 13, Calif. QUE.: What is meant by the term, “Jewish blood” ? Was there any in Jesus’ veins? A great deal of scientific research has resulted in the establishment of the fact that no person is born with either the blood of his father or his .mother in his veins—every child in his prenatal state generates his own blood. In the true sense of the word, then, Christ did not have Jewish blood. Let it be remembered that the blood of Christ was different from any other blood from three standpoints: unique conception, unique personality; and unique efficacy,to atone for sin on Calvary’s cross. However, from the standpoint of generation, Christ descended from the Jewish line: from the seed of Abra ham (of. Matt. 1:2; Heb. 2:16), from .the line of David (cf. Zech. 23:5; Lk. 3:31; Rom. 1:3), and from the tribe of Judah (cf. Lk. 3:30; Rev. 5:5). We note also that when our Lord met the woman of Samaria she called Him a Jew, a fact which He accepted (cf. John 4:5-9). QUE.: What is the difference between premillenarianism a n d postmillenarianism ? Both qf these terins have to do with the return of our Lord Jesus, Christ, and His reign of, a thousand years on the earth. The premillennial view is the belief that the Rapture, the catching up of the believers to meet the Lord in the air (cf. 1 Thess. 4:16-18), will be fol lowed by the period of the Great Trib ulation—the time when the Antichrist will reign, the Beast and the Raise Prophet will be revealed, and there Will be great suffering.and sin upon the earth, (cf. Rev. £-13). .After this, Satan will be bound in the bottomless pit' (cf. Rev. 20:1-3), and the literal, physical, personal coming of the Lord and the establishment of His kingdom upon the earth for a thousand years will take place. This period will be the Millennium. The following are a few of the- many references to His reign, and its attendant characteris tics: Isaiah 2:4; 11:1-12:6; 40:9-11; Zechariah 14:4, 5, 9; Matthew 16:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:2.4, 8; Revelation 1:7; 20:4-6.
In opposition to this belief is the one known as the postmillennial view. The adherents to, ; this position be lieve that trie conditions- in the world will improve, that there will be world wide conversion, and that Christ will reign in a “spiritual” sense in the hearts of all men for a thousand years —the Millennium; after which Christ’s literal, personal coming to earth will take place. QUE.: My complaint to my church about the column, “The Film Finder,” appearing in our Sunday school paper, has met with hitter criticism on the basis that the column is meant to “guide the readers in their-choice of the right movies.” Is my attitude against this Scripturally correct?’’ The magazine, or paper, of any or ganization is representative of the Standards, attitudes, and teachings of that association. If the paper of your church carries a recommendation of tlie so-called “better type” movies, that is indicative of the fact that it places its stamp of approval upon such a form of entertainment. While this is not meant to be a criticism of the movies, trie inception and standards of that organization seem to us to be so directly contra dictory to .those of God’s action and will-regarding His church, that a har mony of the two is impossible. A consideration of some of the truths pertaining to the church may be helpful in realizing this difference: It is made up of redeemed ones, pur chased with the blood of Christ who is its divine Head (Acts 20:28; Eph. 4:15); it is the workmanship of God, and created unto good works (cf. Eph. 2:10); it is thé habitation of ,the Holy Spirit (cf. Eph. 2:20-22); it has been divinely commissioned, divinely im- powered, and it has a divine hope (cf. Matt. 28:19, 20; Acts 1:8; Phil. 4:5)- In view of these facts, the'col- umns of church literature should be filled with that which would prove useful in- the edification and spirit ual development of the members of Christ’s body. Notice the teaching of Ephesians 4:13: '-‘Till we all come in the unity of faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, junto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the ful> ness of Christ.”
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