December, 1936
467
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
The Crowded Inn and the Closed Church By ROY L LAUR IN * San Gabriel, California T O the average Christian, Christmas is, at most, merely an annual event which re calls a scene of sacred history. But it is church is not that ritual and organization abound, but that the Lord is excluded.
H uman F ailure and the A dvents of C hrist When Christ was given no room in the crowded inn, He had come to an apostate Jewry. He shall come the second time to the closed church, an apostate Christianity. Apostasy is es sentially the abandonment of first purposes and first faith. What made the Jews apostate? They were brought into existence, not to be world capitalists, not to control world business, but to act as the physical channel through which salva tion would be brought to the world in the com ing o f Messiah. But when He appeared, they rejected Him and finally crucified Him. They were apostates because they turned their backs upon Christ. Similarly, the church was brought into existence for a single purpose, to witness for Christ. H ow sad it is to see that many individual churches have either abandoned that purpose or else are in the process of so doing. As the Jews were not looking for Christ to come in the man ner in which He revealed Himself, so the mod ern church is not looking for Christ to be made manifest in the way in which He w ill come the second time. It is becoming increasingly true that the church is substituting education, social serv ice, and a degree of personal righteousness for the Person of the Lord Jesus. And this substi tution is apostasy. What caused the inn to be crowded? Simply this, there was too much man. And that is what makes the closed church — too much man. The W ord teaches that at the second coming of Christ, organized Christianity will be seeking its
more; it is a prophecy: The Christ who came to Bethlehem will come to earth a second time. He who came and found a crowded inn shall come and find a closed church. Surrounding the two advents of Christ are similarities which' are rich in meaning. He came the first time as G od ’s Gift, presented first of all to the Jews. As a nation, the Jews rejected H im : He 1 ‘came unto his own, and his own re ceived him not.” But there were some in Israel who greeted His coming with joy. For example, when Anna, the prophetess, saw the baby Jesus in the temple, she “ gave thanks . . . , and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.” When Christ, as the exalted Son of God appears the second time, He will come for the church. In that day, believers who, like Anna, await His manifestation, w ill rejoice at His return: “ Unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Christ came the first time in order that He might partake of human likeness, for He, “ be ing in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with G o d : But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." But He shall come the second time in order to change believers into His likeness, for “ we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him ; for we shall see him as he is.” When He came the first time, He found a desecrated temple requiring to be purged of un
holy practices. Predictions of the W ord of God and ob servation o f modern trends indicate that at His second coming He shall find a dese crated church. The profan ation o f the temple did not relate so much to the build ing as it did to the purpose for which the temple was dedicated. That purpose was that it should be “ the house of prayer,” but men had made it “ a house of mer chandise” and “ a den of thieves.” Frequently today church buildings are revered, while G od ’s purpose for the church is forgotten. The tragedy of the inn was not that the house was full, but that the Lord was crowded out. Likewise, the root of the sin o f the modern
sufficiency in man instead of in God. It will be a man- filled instead of a Spirit- filled church. It will be a man-controlled instead o f a God-controlled church. It will be a man-furnished in stead o f a Spirit-furnished church (cf. Rev. 3:14, 17, 18). Evidences of that tend ency are apparent today. This foreview of the church at the end of the age is wholly discouraging unless we remember the power and the promises of God. E ncouragement from G od ’ s P rovidences The circumstances that surrounded the first coming of Christ reveal in a most •remarkable manner the pro vidential movements of God. A study of these events [i Continued on page 498]
Petfjldjem anb Caltmrp By E. MARGARET CLARKSON There was no room in Bethlehem For Him who left His throne, To seek the lost at countless cost And make their griefs His own; But there was room on Calvary Upon the cross of shame, For Him to die uplifted high To bear the sinner’s blame. There was no room in Bethlehem, And in the world today Men will not give Him room to live, But bid Him turn away; Yet there is room on Calvary, And there He stands to give A home to all who heed His call And look to Him and live. There was no room in Bethlehem For Christ, the Prince of Kings, From throne and crown to earth come down W ith healing in His wings; But there is room at Calvary For sinners to abide, And who will come may find a Home In Jesus crucified!
* Pastor, §an Gabriel Union Church,
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