grace and mercy or in justice and judg ment. Paul says, “ Knowing . . . the ter ror of the Lord, we persuade men.” Thus by grace we proclaim the gospel and per suade souls to accept Christ. God loving ly maintains His people by grace. Grace is given us for salvation, for deliverance, for victory over temptation, for strength, for wisdom, for ability to do God’s will as we serve Him. We Are Saved by Faith in Christ Faith is the hand that reaches out and takes the gift of salvation. “ Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31). “ Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). When we place our faith in God and ac cept what He says about our sin, taking His promises literally, we are saved im mediately. God keeps His Word. Salva tion is supernatural faith in a super natural God, in a supernatural Saviour, in a bleeding sacrifice, and in a living Word of God. Some people say they believe but they do not actually trust. A circus man in Buffalo, New York, was once visited by a family he knew. Because he was a tightrope walker he felt he should do a feat for the two children, so he offered to carry the little girl over the tight rope first. “ Do you believe I can do it?” he asked her. “Yes, I believe you can, but I would not let you.” He asked the boy the same question. “ Yes,” replied the lad, “ and right now I will let you do it.” The sinner proves his faith to be real by entrusting himself fully to the per son of Christ. That is saving faith which will eridure through eternal ages. Quit trying to save yourself! Abandon all ideas apart from the Word of God; place your faith in Christ, trust His word completely. The Psalmist said, “ I have longed for thy salvation” (Psa. 119:174); “ I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord” (Psa. 116:13). “ Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation” (Isa. 12:3); “ I will rejoice in thy salvation” (Psa. 9:17). What Is the Sinner’s Part in Salvation? Repentance for sin (Acts 2:38). Peter proclaims the need of repentance, which is godly sorrow for sin, leading us to forsake sin. It means a rightabout-face, from sin toward God, bringing to us His righteousness by faith in Christ. Forsaking sin. “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso con- fesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Prov. 28:13). God will give us a new nature so that we will love right eousness and hate iniquity. Exercising faith in Christ. This means a saving, living, quickening faith which takes all God has for us as a gift. It in volves surrender of our lives entirely to the Lordship of Christ. It means to al low God to create in us a faith by our acceptance of His Word. The Holy Spirit enables us to take hold of God’s promises. They become ours, and we become His children. *Copyright, Hope Publishing Co.
Day and Night Are Thine The day is Thine— The long bright summer day From the first dawning till evening closes, And all its merry birds and blooming roses, And all its golden beauty bids us say The day, O Lord, is Thine! And Life's brief day Is also Thine, when we Must work, while light doth last, for our dear Master. Oh, that our sluggish feet could travel faster, And we with readier service give to Thee Our life’s fast-fleeting day! The night is Thine— The long, dark winter's night, Hushing our birds to sleep, our flowers concealing; But, by its host of glowing stars, revealing Through the deep sky, Thy glory and Thy might; The night, O Lord, is Thine! That darker night Is also Thine, O Lord, When Thou sweet sleep to Thy beloved givest, For while they needs must sleep, Thou ever I¡vest, And o'er Thy dear ones keepest watch and ward. Till darkness ends in light. —Anon Confessing Christ before men. This follows our faith in Christ. “ That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom. 10:9, 10). “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 10:32, 33). We must con fess Christ before the world. We must never be ashamed of the step we have taken, or of the glorious Person of Jesus Christ, who for us died and rose again. Whatever else follows in our Christian lives must come because of the indwell ing Christ, “ Christ in you, the hope of glory.” It must come because we have been saved on the terms of free grace and the atoning blood of Christ. This as surance comes by the indwelling Holy Spirit, and by the Word of God to us as His children (1 John 5:12, 13). Come to Christ today, do not delay your full acceptance, but receive Him, rejoice in a finished salvation which He so willingly makes possible for every willing soul!
Son, which cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). There is no other way of salvation. God placed all our sins upon Christ, cancelled all sin against us, and justified us as if we never had sinned. The Salvation Army sings: “ We have no other argument, We want no other plea; A Mohammedan girl was finding it difficult to accept Christ. One night the missionary lady who was dealing with her had a dream. She dreamed that the Lord said to her, “ Tell the girl she must admit three things: (1)1 am a sinner; (2) I need a Saviour; (3) That Saviour is Jesus Christ.” Upon awakening, the missionary delivered this message to the Moslem girl who was immediately saved by the blood of Christ. We Are Saved by the Grace of God Through Christ We are saved by God the Father, by Christ the Son, and by the Holy Spirit. We are saved for service and the glory of God. But, it is only by the grace of God. “ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: It is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:8, 9). Grace is God’s love in action, the mani festation of salvation to the chief of sin ners. Grace is unmerited favor, God’s lovingkindness demonstrated to the seek ing soul. It is enough that Jesus died, And that He died for me ! ” No person can work his way to heaven. Our good deeds can never outweigh our wicked deeds. The balance would be only downward, revealing our exceeding sin fulness and hopelessness without Christ. “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Rom. 5:20). During the Civil War a Confederate soldier who had maligned the name of Abraham Lincoln, was captured and im prisoned. One day he saw Union soldiers coming to the prison. “ They are coming to execute me.” Upon entering the pris on, the soldiers asked his name. “ Well,” they said, “we have a pardon here for you from Abraham Lincoln.” “What,” he cried, “ a pardon from Abraham Lincoln, the man I have cursed?” He sat down and wept. God has a pardon for the sinner, grace for the erring, mercy for the criminal, and justification for all who seek Him in earnest. The sinner who has cursed Christ and God, may turn away from his sin, accept Christ as Saviour, and walk with the King on the way to glory. A Welsh coal miner once told Dr. G. Campbell Morgan, “ I never believe in getting something for nothing.” “ Oh, yes, you do,” replied Dr. Morgan, “ you breathe air and drink water that are free.” Salvation is free, full, final, and forever. It is the gift of God, given because of Christ’s shed blood, God’s sav ing grace, and His abiding promises. God will either meet the sinner in “ Grace is flowing from Calvary, Grace as fathomless as the sea; Grace for time and eternity — Grace enough for me!” *
JULY, 1952
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