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EFFECTUAL GRACE Rev. Arthur Hedley
7 for Christ’s sake (2 Cor: 11:23; 12:10). Great sinners, who owe so much to the grace of God, often become great laborers in His vineyard, and do more in a brief period than many who have been professing Christians for many • years. A laboring man who was out- and-out for the devil was converted in middle age, and at once became one of the most devoted servants of Christ it has been my honor to know. His pas sion for souls shamed many of us into auction, and we gathered around him to support him in his witness for Christ outside of the National Arse nal, where we labored. At least four youths, who were encouraged by him to stand on an old soap box to bear their testimony for Christ, became preachers of the Gospel. One of these lads was Dr. Herbert Lockyer, whose' writings and preaching have been such a blessing to many in Britain and America. Many won for Christ late in life, and lacking advantages enjoyed by others, say with Paul sincerely and humbly, “I laboured more abundantly than they all.” All of Paul’s glory was in the Lord (1 Cor. 1:29-31), whose sustaining grace made him equal to every demand made upon him (2 Cor. 2:16; 3:5). It was a cause for deep gratitude to Paul that God’s grace had not been bestowed “in vain.” Being the recip ients of God’s grace brings with it a grave responsibility, for it is sadly possible to receive “the grace of God in vain” (2 Cor. 6:1). God’s grace may be wasted like water spilt upon the ground. His manifold grace abounds towards the believer for all purposes—that he may be saved, sanc tified, made serviceable to Christ. There is sufficient grace for all of His children (2 Cor. 9:14; 1 Pet. 4:10). Yet, because of resistance to the will of God, through prayerlessness, world liness, indifference, the grace of God may prove ineffectual. In spite of the love and patient forbearance of Christ; in spite of His abounding grace, it is possible to go “backward, and not forward” (Jer. 7:24). Many a fond parent has bestowed upon a beloved child richest gifts, only to find that they have not been val ued. Nothing hurts the heart of a father or mother more than to see great sacrifices for a child’s good un appreciated, and made futile through indifference and selfishness. How deeply our Heavenly Father must be (Continued on Page 228)
searchable riches of Christ” (Eph. 3:8). With deep humility and gratitude of heart, Paul affirmed that God’s grace was not bestowed upon him in vain (1 Cor. 15:10). Witho.ut the least trace of egotism, he claimed that he “had laboured, more abundantly” than his fellow-apostles. He does not hesitate to place his labors f o r ,the Gospel’s sake on a par with, or even above, those of the twelve. There were those in the Corinthian church who belittled Paul (1 Cor. 9:1-3), and he was thus compelled to establish his claim as an apostle. He “was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles” (2 Cor.
“ And His grace bestowed upon me did not prove ineífectual" (1 Cor. 15:10. Weymouth). T HE Apostle Paul wrote this great chapter on the resurrec tion to confute those who said “there be no resurrection of the dead” (1 Cor. 15:13) and to con firm the faith of his converts. Be cause the believer’s hope of resurrec tion is based upon the fact that Christ rose triumphant Over death (John 14:19), the Apostle brings forward in controvertible evidence to prove that “the Lord is risen indeed” (Luke 24:34). After furnishing a formidable 'list of witnesses, he finally gives his own testimony, "and last of all he was seen of me also” (1 Cor. 15:8). Nothing less than this personal meet ing with Christ could account for such a revolutionary change in the life of Paul. From the moment of that mem orable incident, the Lord Jesus became a living reality to him, and he surren dered himself body, soul, and spirit to Him, to become His bond slave for ever. The mention of Christ’s appearance to him on the Damascus road recalled to the Apostle Paul the deep guilt of his former life, and the amazing love and grace of Christ to such a great sinner. All of his foul sins had been freely forgiven by Christ, and he had been accorded the greatest of honors in being commissioned as the apostle to the Gentiles.(Eph. 3:8). He owed everything to the grace of God. Re ferring to his amazing conversion, and to Christ’s confidence in him, illus trated by His “putting” him "into the ministry,” he states: “The grace of the Lord came to me in overflowing fulness, conferring faith on me, and the love which is in Christ Jesus” (1 T.im. 1:14. Weymouth). It was all God's doing, wholly undeserved; there was nothing in him personally to ac count for this singular act of grace. Paul never ceased to wonder that one, who had been so hostile to Christ should have been selected to see in person the Lord of glory, and to be commissioned’ by ' Him to go to the ' Gentiles, “to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God” (Acts 26: 16-18). He n e v e r ceased magnifying the exceeding abundance of God’s grace which had not only saved him, but had appointed him to “preach among the Gentiles the un-
DON’T STOP THEM A little girl had learned Matthew 19:14: “ Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the king dom of heaven.” She stood on the platform to repeat it, but since it was her first appearance in public, she was frightened. But she bravely began: “ Suffer . . . ” and stopped. After a moment, she con tinued hesitantly: “ Suffer little . . . ” and again a pause. Then, with down cast eyes: “ Suffer little children . . . ” At this point, she looked up and the sea of faces was too much for her. Almost in tears, she exclaimed: * Oh . . . Jesus wants all the lit tle children to come to Him; and don’t anybody try to stop us!” and ran to her seat.
11:5). He had engaged in “labours more abundant” (2 Cor. 11:23). Though the others had great advan tages over him, and had been in Christ long before him, he, through God’s good grace, had a record of service which excelled theirs. That this was no vain boast is evident from Luke’s record in Acts of Paul’s apostolic labors in and from Paul’s own account of his travels, labors and sufferings
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