September, 1935
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concerning the things of this earth, the thoughts of this earth’s men, and the problems of temporal institutions, rather than the eternal thoughts of an omnipotent God through whose Son, Jesus Christ, we alone are saved from eternal condemnation. .W il l T h ere B e a F a m in e of t h e W ord of G od ? During the last fifty years, the English world has lost the greatest group of Biblical scholars and Biblical preach ers that she has ever been privileged to have. Think of that wonderful group of Biblical expositors — Dean Alford, P r o f e s s o r - A . B. Bruce, Professor H. B. Swete; those three great scholarly b i s h o p s , L i g h t f o o t , Westcott, and Moule; Professors David Smith, William G. Moorehead, A. T. Robertson; Charles Hodge, C. I. Sco field, W. H. Griffith Thomas. And what a mighty galaxy of Biblical preachers the last fifty years'has seen: Charles H. Spurgeon, Alexander Maclaren, Joseph Parker, F. B. Meyer, Arthur T. Pierson, R. A. Torrey. Three of the greatest expositors of the Word of God of this century probably have but few more years to minister—G. Camp bell Morgan, A. C. Gaebelein, James M. Gray. Will we have men to take their place? If we do not, we will truly have a famine of the Word of God, and many believe that that is what the church is facing. If God is pleased by His grace to raise up another great group of Bible scholars and Biblical preachers, they will be men who will give themselves “continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4). They will be men who will study first and fundamentally to show themselves approved unto God, each one seeking to be “a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing theword of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). It will be a life of sacrifice, a life from which many delightful intellectual pursuits will have to be painfully given up, but it will be a life which God will powerfully use and the church will deeply need. “I solemnly implore you, in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is about to judge the living and the dead, and by His Appearing and His Kingship: proclaim God’s message, be zealous in season and out of season; convince, rebuke, encourage, with the utmost patience as a teacher. For a time is coming when they will not tolerate wholesome instruction, but, wanting to have their ears tickled, they will find a multitude of teachers to satisfy their own fancies; and will turn away from listening to the truth and will turn aside to fables. But as for you, you must exercise habitual self-control, and not live a self- indulgent life, but do the duty of an evangelist and fully discharge the obligations of your office” (2 Tim. 4:1-5, Weymouth’s Translation). the condemned man had received Christ as Saviour. At the hour when I supposed that the electrocution should have taken place, unless a reprieve was granted, I was on my face before God in the hotel room with a heart heavy for this young man, and with prayer that God would give him grace should he at that hour be departing from this life into the beyond. When I went down to breakfast, I found a letter from Joe in my mail box, telling me that he had an extension of time until June 5. When I reached Washing ton a few days after this date, I learned that Joe had died according to the law, but that God had given, him grace and peace, as he met the ordeal singing, “Lord, I ’m Coming Home.” I n t h e B onus C am p During the Bonus Army episode in Washington, the true story of which has not been printed, it was the plea- THE ROMANCE OF PERSONAL EVANGELISM [Continued from page 327]
W ha t Can You Answ er?
HAVE YOU HEARD— That "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8)? "Hear, and your soul shall live" (Isa. 55:3). DO YOU K N OW — That "A s many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name" (John 1:12)? "I know whom I have believed" (2 Tim. 1:12). DO YOU UNDERSTAND— That "Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (I Cor. 3:11)? Jesus said: "I am the way" (John 14:6). DO YOU REALIZE— That "H e that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God " (John3:18)? "With the heart man be lieveth unto righteousness; and with the mouth con fession is made unto salvation" [Rom. 10:10). sure of those of us who were responsible for the erection of a tent in which daily Bible classes and nightly gospel meet ings were held, to lead numbers of men definitely to sal vation. One of these men came to the camp wearing only an old shirt, a pair of tom pants, and some worn-out shoes. He said that twice he had attempted to commit suicide from Brooklyn Bridge, but had been held back by some unseen force. He found Christ in the Bonus Camp, and while liv ing in a shack made mostly of old radio or phonograph cabinets, he read through the Gospel of John a number of times, and left us to go back to his home in Flint, Mich., a completely changed man, with good shoes, several pairs of socks, two suits of clothes, a cap and a hat, and a travel ing bag, with his fare paid to his destination and some addi tional money for expenses on the way. I shall never forget the farewell this man gave me as he left Washington on the bus. Words failed to express his gratitude for salva tion and for God’s goodness to him during those few weeks that he spent in Washington. How M ay W e W in S ou l s ? Soul-winning needs to be habitual, for if it is not a daily habit, it becomes difficult, and fear creeps in. Moody, Torrey, Finney, and other great men of God who preached to large crowds, were doing personal work at every oppor tunity. If we follow Christ, He will make us fishers of men. Soul-winning requires a knowledge of the Word of God—for it is the Sword of the Spirit. If we give men and women the Word of God with prayer, we need not fear the result, as God says: “My word . . . shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isa. 55 :11). A few verses thoroughly learned are better than many verses not sufficiently familiar to be recalled when needed. A work ing knowledge of the Bible, definite daily intercessory prayer, and the infilling of the Holy Spirit are essential to those who would win souls, for “power belongeth unto God” (Psa. 62:11), and soul-winning is impossible in our own strength.
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