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TH E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
June 1925
more drastic penalties for violation of law. To quote from the Associated Press dispatch: “As to th e Volstead Law, she says th e criticism of it lie s' in th e fact th a t Congress passed á law th a t covered th e ground all righ t, b u t from th e enforcem ent end, it is a toothless law .” Is not this statement in accord with history? (Hab. 1 :2-4) : “O Lord, how long shall I cry, and th o u w ilt n o t hear! even cry ou t un to th ee of violence, and thou w ilt n o t save! “Why dost thou show m e iniquity, and cause m e to behold grievance? fo r spoiling and violence are before me; and th e re a re th a t raise up strife and contention. “Therefore th e law is slacked, and judgm en t doth never go fo rth ; fo r th e wicked doth compass about th e righteous; th erefo re w rong judgm en t proceedeth.” Listen to the decision of God’s Word and the direc tion given for stemming the tide of violation of law. (Eccl. 8:11): “Because sentence against an evil work is not exe cuted speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. ’’ THE MAKING OF REAL MEN Notice we say “ real” and.not “ reel” men. “ Reel men” as well as “ reel women” are being made in Hol lywood and other places. They are often “ made up” and “ money-made.” They, are a Twentieth Century product which has produced results, sometimes, which it is not our purpose to discuss at this time. Our theme is “ Real Men,”—genuine; true men,—and how they are produced. God made man in His own image, and this gives us at once a suggestion as to what constitutes a real man in God’s sight. But Adam fell, and great was the fall. Mankind ever since has been constituted of fallen men. Among the millions of men created during the centur ies since, some—not many—have been great men. But the “ Real Man” was not revealed until God clothed Himself in human flesh and dwelt among us. Some mighty men are recorded in God’s Book before the coming of the “ Real Man”—men of valor, men of renown. Wé can read the Old Testament and be thrilled with the accounts of the life battles fought by the heroes of faith whose names should be household words, and whose deeds should be recorded on the tablets of enduring memory. The world was not wor thy of them, but they obtained a good report through their faith, and some of us will see their faces when the “ Great Reunion” takes place. But—God has provided some better thing for us. His ideal method is the very opposite of the Twentieth Century method,H-which is to rise by brain and brawn. The call that comes from the Modernists is, 1 ‘Come u p ! The ladder is set. Ascend the rounds! Discard the old Book! We have discovered something better! Intel lect must now take the place of infantile faith! We have new gods and new goodnesses!” It is a captivating call, but—it culminates in a curse. Poor, deluded children of men! The rounds of the lad der are crowded with aspirants, all deceived, all dis appointed. But no such ladder is needed in God’s method of making real men. They rise by a “ lift”— God’s uplift; by a surrendered will, through the trans fusion of new life blood, new courage and new armor for the conflict, new swords for the soldiers, new tasks for the toilers, and—best of all—new joy in the job!
God’s ways are not our ways. The “ Real Man,”— the God-Man—came and revealed the meaning of real manhood, providing the way and means for the mak ing of real men. Prom the cradle to the cross His way is manifest—the Real Man among men. We follow in His footsteps, seeking nothing for ourselves but glad to glorify Him. Standing straight, facing facts,- hitting hard when necessary, sustained by His might, these real men and real women are to be found in all the lands, with Bible in hand, with light for the ' blind, love for the lost, joyfully sacrificing self, none perfect but sincere in purpose, seeking to save ship wrecked souls. Let us ask ourselves the question, All evangelical Christians-—both premillennialists and postinillennialists, look for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.: There can be no doubt, but that Christ left His disciples looking for His return. The best, exegetists so interpret the Scripture. With out this belief the Bible is a book difficult to under stand. But, all evangelical Christians do not believe in His imminent coming. Belief in the imminent coming .of the Lord has and does revolutionize a Christian life.. No truth is so well calculated to sober life as this,;“ Today He may come! Today we would welcome- His coming !”|ffl Fifty years of faith in His promised return has served to create an under current of hope that has carried us over seemingly insurmountable obstacles and held us steadfast in the midst of what would other wise have been disappointment and discouragement. No daily prayer has been, more frequently uttered by us or had a greater influence upon our life than that of John in Rev. 22:20: “Even so, come, Lord Jesu s.” It has been our privilege to analyze the influence of this doctrine upon the lives of other believers for many years, and we have invariably found that when under stood and believed it has had a revolutionary effect upon the character of believérs, and we are confident that the repeated promise of His coming as recorded in the Scriptures was designed by our Lord for this very purpose. All worldly matters are insignificant,, and all spir itual matters are intensified in the light of this hope. The Holy Spirit uses the doctrine as an incentive to holy living (1 Thess. 5:23):-' “And th e very God of peace sanctify yon wholly; and I pray God yonr whole sp irit and soul and body be preserved blameless nn to th e coming of ou r Lord Jesu s Christ.” This includes the whole man, and would have been misleading if it did not mean what it said and give the hope to the Thessalonian believers that they might expect His coming while they lived. The same thought is reiterated in 2 Thess. 3:5: “And th e Lord d irect your h ea rts in to th e love of God, and in to th e p a tie n t w aiting fo r Christ.” The “ patient waiting” for-—what? Not death, but Christ; for His personal appearing—His personal pres ence. In Phil. 4':5 we read: “L et your m oderation (gentleness) be known unto all men. The Lord is a t hand .” “ Are we His real men and women?” THE PRACTICAL ASPECT OF OUR LORD’S APPEARING
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