September, 1935
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
325
Learning
L iv in g
Looking
B y VANCE HAVNER* Charleston, South Carolina
a B.A. degree—Born Again—but still we must learn. Our Lord promised to give rest to those who came to Him (Matt. 11:28). But in the very next verse He says : “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart : and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” There is a sthse.iin which His rest is an obtainment and another sense in which it is an attainment. We receive His rest when we receive Him ; but only as we learn of Him and practice His presence do we realize His rest. One finds a kindred thought in Hebrews 4:10, 11 : “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest.” Grace, does not involve anything we may earn, but it involves rnuch that we may learn. “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26). Luke tells us that his Gospel was a record only of what Jesus began to do and teach (Acts 1:1). Paul says: “We speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth” (1 Cor. 2 :13). We must be disciples if we are to be doers. Through the Word, through prayer, through meditation, through worship and books and. conversation and godly teachers and daily experiences, God teaches us by the Spirit, and blessed is he that heareth. Let us give heed to the “things . . . written for our learning” (Rom. 15 :4). Let us not be among those “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” We are to continue in the.things we have learned (2 Tim. 3 :14). We are to learn to main tain good works (Tit. 3:14) and, like Paul, to learn in whatsoever state we are, therewith to be content (Phil. 4:11). T aught to L ive for C h r ist But there is a definite purpose in the words of our pas sage: “Teaching us th a t. . .” We are taught in order that we may do something. Our Lord told His disciples they were to go forth “teaching them to observe all things what soever I have commanded you.” It is not enough to teach nor to learn the things commanded. We have not really learned them until we have learned to observe them. Thus learning must be translated into living. “Teaching, us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.”* You will observe that the negative side is given first : “deny-- ing ungodliness and worldly lusts.” There is something to shun in the Christian life, in spite of all this modern insist ence that we should not preach on the “don’ts.” It is true that salvation is spelled neither “do” nor “don’t,” hut [Continued on page 333]
Truly blessed Is our threefold experience. There is Someone from whom to learn, Someone by whom and for whom to live, Someone for whom to look. Between His advents of grace and glory, let us learn, let us live, let us lookl N ow and then in the New Testament one finds the great outstanding doctrines of our faith compassed within a very few verses. Such a passage is Titus 2 :11-14. One might think of verses 11 and 14 as a frame for verses 12 and 13. In this mighty framework notice what tremend ous truths are set forth. “The grace of God,” “salvation,” “hath appeared to all men”—there is the incarnation; “who gave himself for us” g-there is the atonement; “that he might redeem us”4S there is redemption; “and purify unto himself”—-there is sanctification; “a peculiar people”—there you have separa tion; “zealous of good works”—there you have works. There are few other passages where two verses tell so much. Within this wonderful frame we find in verses 12 and 13 the Christian experience set forth. It is as though what our Lord has done for us is presented in verses 11 and 14, and then what we are to do by and for our Lord is shown in the verses between. Notice also that the two advents are given, the first appearing to all men in verse 11 , and the second, “the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ,” in verse 13. Between this advent of grace and the advent of glory, our duty is set forth, the practical side of our experience within the framework of these eternal truths. You will observe that our experience is threefold: It is an experience of learning, of living, and of looking. T augh t by t h e S p ir it of G od It is first an experience of learning. “Teaching us” implies that we must learn. Perhaps “disciplining us” would be a better translation. The Christian life begins with
*Pastor, First Baptist Church.
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker