BUSINESS
MARCH, 1953
^ J n ^ J h iS ^ T â â u e - Teaching All Nations — Faith and Donald Turner Purpose Glorified — S. Franklin Logsdon How To Live Life Over Again — Curtis B. Akenson Christian Duty To Country — Editorial
PREMIERES NATION WIDE IN MARCH
W ÏI CONNECTICUT AVE. N.W., WASHINGTON, D. C.
RELEASEDTHROUGH BILLYGRAHAM EVANGELISTIC FILMS INC.,
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
Page Two
NEXT MONTH
BUSINESS
The New King's Business
T HIS issue of The King’s Business closes one episode in its colorful his tory and begins another significant one. Our subscribers may look forward to re ceiving a more extensive magazine to which improvements will be added from month to month. It will be a new King’s Business in deed, with new personnel, new printer, new format and new features. However, the vital purpose for which it has existed since the first copy January 1, 1910, will not be altered: to proclaim salvation through the blood of Christ, victorious Christian living through the power of the Holy Spirit, and the imminent, per sonal, premillennial return of the Lord Jesus. By God’s grace, loyalty to the fundamental teachings of the Word of God shall ever characterize this maga zine, and the school of which it is the official publication. The new Editor is the new president of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Dr. Samuel H. Sutherland, D.D., L.L.D. He succeeds Dr. Louis T. Talbot who has been Editor since 1938, and who is now Chancellor of B iola ’ s four schools. How ever, Dr. Talbot will continue to con tribute his counsel and his articles, among them his popular Question Box. The new Managing Editor is Mr. Lloyd Hamill, who holds an M.A. degree in Journalism and who has had wide ex perience in the line of secular and Chris tian publications. Mrs. Betty Bruechert, widow of the late Rev. I. P. Bruechert, who has served eight years as Managing Editor for The King’s Business, will con tinue in the writing field, in addition to her duties as secretary to the Chancellor. Further details in regard to these new editors, and their assistants, will appear in the next issue. They will bring to the magazine a fresh outlook and a vigorous viewpoint. The new printer is the Church Press, Glendale, California, for over twenty-five years publishers of Christian literature in Southern California. The new format will include an attractive two-color cover each month. The new features will at tempt to cover the needs of the home, the church, the Sunday school, and the individual Christian worker. Prayer is requested that the new King’s Business may bring glory to the Lord and valu able assistance to His people in their service for Him.
Official Publication of The Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Incorporated
Louis T. Talbot, D.D.
Betty Bruechert
Editor in Chief Managing Editor No part o f this magazine may be reproduced without permission AU Rights Reserved Vol. 44 MARCH 1953 No. 3 Editorially Speaking .................................................................................. 4 Dr. Talbot’s Question B o x .......................................................................... 6 How to Live Life Over Again, Curtis B. Akenson .............................. 7 Teaching All Nations, Faith and Donald Turner .................................. 9 Purpose Glorified, S. Franklin Logsdon ................................................ 11 A Mind to Work, Bartlett L. H ess ........ .................................................. 13 Judas: Saved or Lost? George H. Mundell .......................................... 15 Poem, The True Alchemy, Edgar Cooper Mason .................................. 16 Who Crucified Jesus? Charles L. Feinberg ............................................ 17 Poem, Give Me the Bible, Priscilla J. Owens ........................................ 18 Facing the Storm, Vance Havner ........................................................... 19 Reader Reaction ........................................................................................... 20 “ That They All May Be One,” Gerald B. Stanton .............................. 21 Prodigal Roger, Sally Hawthorne ............................................................. 22 Biola Family Circle .................................................................................... 23 Junior King’s Business: Even a Child, Martha S. Hooker ................. 24 Book Reviews, Donald G. Davis ............................................................... 25 John Wesley’s Rules for Personal Expenditures.................................. 26 The Way of Victory, Louis T. Talbot ........ .............................................. 27 Poem, Something More, William L. Stidger .......................................... 27 Young People’s Topics, Chester J. Padgett ............................................ 30 Sunday School Lessons, Homer A. Kent, Allison Arrowood ............... 35 Object Lessons, Elmer L. Wilder ............................................................... 40 Picture Credits: Cover, Philip Gendreau, New York, N. Y., The Capitol Building as seen through the Columns of the Supreme Court Building; p. 7, Don Knight, San Francisco, Calif.; pp. 8, 15, Wilde Bible Pictures, Boston, Mass.; p. 13, Adelbert Bartlett, Santa Monica, Calif.; p. 18, Ranson Marvin, Spokane, Wash.; pp. 19, 24, Eva Luoma, Weirton, W. Va. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION—“ The King’s Business” is published monthly: $2.50, one year; $1.25 six months; 20 cents, single copy. Clubs of three or more at special rates. Write for details. Canadian and foreign subscriptions 25 cents extra. It requires one month for a change of address to become effective. Please send both old and new addresses. REMITTANCES—Payable in advance, should be made by bank draft, express, or poet office money order payable to “ The King’s Business.” Date of expiration will show plainly on outside of wrapper or cover of magazine. ADVERTISING—For information address the Advertising Manager, 558 South Hope Street, Los Angeles 17, California. MANUSCRIPTS— “ The King’s Business” cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to manuscripts mailed to us for consideration. Entered as second-class matter November 7, 1938, at the Post Office of Los Angeles, Cali fornia, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in the Act of February 28, 1925, embodied in paragraph 4, section 588, P. L. and R., authorized October 1, 1918, and November 18, 1988. ADDRESS: The King’s Business, 658 So. Hope St., Los Angeles 17, California.
Page Three
M A R C H ,
1 9 5 3
Our Chaplains
A recent dispatch in the daily press concerning the awarding of the bronze star for gallantry in action to several army chaplains in Korea brings to mind our pastors in service—the chaplains. True, many chaplains are liberal in theology and little more than social in their approach, but, after all, the chap laincy is nothing more nor less than a cross section of the ministry at home. No called of God minister of the Word re fuses to preach because within a square mile others are preaching “ another gos pel.” Perhaps if evangelical and con servative young pastors, adequately trained, gave more thought to the spir itual and moral needs of the young people in our armed forces the propor tion of spiritually-minded, gospel-preach ing chaplains could be raised consider ably. A number of factors have combined to make the chaplain even more effective to day than he was during World War II. At the beginning of that conflict the army chaplain could still be assigned by his commanding officer to supervision of recreation, managing of the post ex change, educational duties, and a host of other activities, all in addition to his primary function as a spiritual leader among the troops. During the war changes in regulations made it manda tory to allow the chaplain his full time for his own activities; he no longer may be assigned to duties which are not in line with his designation as chaplain. The new series of “ Character Guid ance” lectures to be given by command to all troops by the chaplain afford him the golden opportunity of talking to all the men of his command, regardless of faith or denomination. Previously the matter of listening to the chaplain in his Sunday or week-day services was a purely voluntary activity, as it still is today. Thus the man who never came to chapel for services or Bible study never heard the chaplain, never came to know him except as the officer who wore crosses or the tablets of the law and never was called by his rank. All this is now changed! While the “ Character Guidance” lectures are all on the moral plane, with an emphasis upon the value of the virtues—honesty, loyalty, sense of fair play, purity, courage, and chivalry, to name a few—the effective chaplain will present his material in such a chal lenging manner that the reaction of many will be, “ Well, I guess I’ll have to go and hear the chaplain!” Chaplain procurement is most urgent at the present. Quotas are set up for the various denominations based upon their relative numerical strength in the coun try. It seems impossible to fill the quotas of the larger denominations, whereas many small groups, including the cults, are willing to double their quotas. In ad dition to the physical qualification, a man must be 21 years old but not have attained 33, he must be ordained and en dorsed by his denomination, and he must have completed 120 semester hours in college and 90 semester hours in theo-
obedience to government. Some Chris tians argue that, because they obey God, they need obey no man. They are anti- nomians of the worst sort, and under stand neither law nor grace. A believer who chafes at obedience to government is allowing the old man to have a gala holiday, let loose on a rampage. Obedi ence to our country will follow if there be first real honor of our country. Every man should esteem most highly his fealty to his land. Baser than an ingrate 'is a disloyal citizen. General Joseph Reed, we are told, was approached with a heavy bribe by British emissaries simi lar to those who bought Benedict Arnold. He answered them: “ I am not worth purchasing; but, such as I am, the King of Great Britain is not rich enough to buy me.” The third point is prayer. Study care fully First Timothy 2:1-4. If possible, the Christian is more remiss here than anywhere else, where the interests of his land are concerned. Except his country be engaged in a war, a death struggle for its very life, it seldom strikes him to pray for his land. Any minister who, Lord’s Day after Lord’s Day, enters the pulpit to preach the Word of God to the people, and remembers not to pray for the land that permits him this inesti mable privilege, can well afford to hide his face in shame. Too often he will be the first to bemoan the faults and short comings of the same government. Let us be spiritual and let us be practical. The two are not irreconcilable. D. L. Moody was known for his common sense and his application of Christian prin ciples to everyday living. It is said he once met a well-known evangelist just before an important election. “ What do you think of the political situation?” Moody asked. The answer was, “ I don’t know anything about the political situa tion. My citizenship is in heaven.” “ Bet ter get it down to earth for the next 30 days,” was Moody’s wise answer. Let us not be so heavenly (and this is no plea for impiety, you may be sure) that we are of no earthly use. The Scriptures are clear: let us honor, obey, and pray for our country and government! The blessing of God will surely attend us. —Charles L. Feinberg
Christian Duty To Country I N an age when the big business of government is brought into our living rooms by radio and television, in a day when men are selling out their country for a pittance, in an hour when all are witnessing the. death struggle between conflcting ideologies, the Christian does well to re-examine his relationship to his country in the light of the Word of God. The Scriptures everywhere recog nize that, while the spiritual life of the believer is lived in the heavenlies in Christ, his pilgrimage is clearly on the earth. He is in the world, though not of it. Too many Christians remind us of the little boy’s definition of a parable: “ A heavenly figure with no earthly meaning.” They are altogether too im practical for the demands of life upon earth. Is it not interesting that the word used in the New Testament for the life of the Christian on earth is “walk?” He walks on earth, not in the clouds. There are three New Testament books that mention the believer in relation to his country—Romans, First Timothy, and First Peter. The reasons are evident: Romans, which views the believer in his manifold relationships, must give us this vital one too; First Timothy is the word to pastors, and they must know how to instruct their flocks in this regard; and First Peter is the word to pilgrims, and so this phase of our earthly pilgrim age must be set forth. All the Scriptures bearing on the sub ject revolve around three focal points. The first is honor. Read Romans 13:7 and 1 Peter 2:17. The government of our country must be honored as deriving its ultimate authority from the permissive will of God. We are to honor God’s meth od of placing men over their fellowmen in government. Anarchy is an abomina tion in the sight of the Lord. By honor ing rulers the believer manifests how he inwardly honors God and His appoint ments. Men, in the first place, did not set up human government; it was God who did so. Salvation by grace never freed anyone from the laws of society. The second focal point is obedience. Ponder Romans 13:1-6 and First Peter 2:13-16. We should be examples in our
Page Four
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
IIow merciful of the Triune God in that day to say “ Let Us” go down and confound their speech and scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth and stop their work. Why doesn’t God deal in the same way today and stop the work of religious zealots who are beat ing the air and running hither and yon, geared in over-drive and motivated by the energy of the flesh? If He did, the majority of the preachers and mission aries and Christian workers would be running throughout the earth looking for a job. Perhaps it is His great mercy that keeps Him from doing it because neither you nor I would like to work part-time. David waited patiently for the Lord and prayed, “ Teach me thy ways, O Lord.” How many of us wait upon our faces until He shows the way, until He moves our hearts, until the fire burns and the dross is consumed? What do we know of true worship? Too many rush into His presence with requests on their lips, “ Lord, do that;” “ Lord, do this;” “ Please bless this great plan that I have conceived and this project now in progress, we can’t quite get along with out Your help. We are very busy and there is so much to be done. I have to go now, but I’ll be back for another few minutes later on. Amen.” Oh, the pride of the human heart and the religious enthusiasm we wish to create, and the way we want to build. “ Let us” build a church that we will not be ashamed of; “ Let us” gather (brick) prestige; “ Let us” make us a name; “Let us,” “ Let us,” “ Let us.” What is wrong with this? Everything! Everything is wrong, for if the plan did not originate in the heart of God, it originated in the heart of man. What ever we create is at its best but as wood, hay and stubble which will not abide the testing day. Origins are supremely important. What about our church and our pro gram, our projects and our work, our activity and the swim of things in which we are? Where did it originate? Was it our dream, or did it begin with God? If it originated in the mind of man, no wonder it is taking all the human drive and energy we can muster; it is wear ing us out. We are continually having to seek and plead for funds to keep it going. It started with man and only the continual transfusion of human energy and money can keep it alive and we dare not let it die. Who is exempt from this pride? Not you, not I, be we preacher, missionary or Christian worker. Why do we not wait upon the Lord until He shows us what to do? Perhaps it is because if our accomplishments originated in the heart of God, and we were led to do it by the Holy Spirit, we could not stand back and say, “ See what I have built!” Man dare not take credit for work God began and motivated although man’s hands were given the skill and the abil ity to perform it. — J. Arthur Mouw (Continued on Page 29) Page Five
recting their thoughts in paths of right eousness. Yet the writer of Proverbs re minds us that out of the heart are the issues of life and that if we are not pure in heart we soon shall not be pure in deed. Again, we often hear otherwise sensible Christians tell someone that it does not matter what they believe so long as they believe something, or that it does not matter to what church they go so long as they go to church. The Scriptures, however, tell us that this is not the case. The question is not one of b'd’eving; it is one of believing in Jesus Christ as one’s Saviour from sin. The important thing is not that we go to church, but that we go to one which teaches the way of salvation as it is set forth in the Scriptures. To be effective Christians, doing God service, and living to the utmost of our redeemed capabilities, we must weigh carefully the issues of life. We must be careful of the unimportant, as Jesus said, but we must place it in its proper perspective and never allow it to usurp the place of the most important and be come thereby the enemy of the best. —James H. Christian Without doubt they would have attained their goal had not the Lord confounded their language and scattered them upon the face of the earth. They said, “ Let us,” make brick, “ Let us” build us a city, “ Let us” make us a name; “ Let us,” “ Let us,” “ Let us.” Their motives may have been good; they were zealous, ambitious, and in today’s vernacular we would say they were “on the ball,” “ go- getters.” But where was God in the picture or where was the leading of the Holy Spirit? God had not been consulted, nor did this plan originate with Him. It was purely the brain child of man and in it man could glory. How gracious God was to come down to see the city and the tower which the children of men built. He saw the unity of mind, their zeal of endeavor and oneness of purpose and knew that nothing could restrain them that they imagined to do. There was activity, program, organization and plans for the future. The leaders were not lacking in ingenuity. They leaned back in the swivel chairs of their day with their thumbs under the armholes of their vests, and dreamed dreams. Man was in evidence everywhere: “ Let us,” “ Let us,” but apparently no one had spiritual discernment. If there was such an one, he was in the minoritv and his little weak voice couldn’t be heard for the pounding of the hammer, the mixing of the mortar and the waving of the arms. He was an “ old fogey” who be lieved that unless the Lord built the house, they labor in vain that build it, and so he got run over by the chariot wheels of progress, buried under the foundation that man had lain, and choked by the innovation of a modern age. Building Versus Growth M EN have been builders since the erection of the tower of Babel.
logical seminary. Accepted applicants are commissioned as First Lieutenants in the United States Army Reserve and take a tour of extended active duty of about two years, after which they con tinue their activities in the Army Re serve. Pray for our evangelical chaplains in Germany, Austria, England, Japan, Korea, and at home. Let us add to their number that our young people may have worthy spiritual leadership. —Donald G. Davis Evaluating Life’s Situations W ITH scathing denunciation Jesus addressed the religious leaders of His day when He said: “ Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cum min, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” (Matt. 23:23). All too often these words are applicable to our generation. This charge is true in all realms of life. It is true in education. While studying in one of the great universities of the Pacific Coast a few years ago, I read with interest the official student paper. Announced in bold headlines was the dance to be held on the following Friday evening. This caption was followed by a double column, continued on a following page, carrying the details of the dance. Tucked down in a small column near the bottom of the first page was the notice of the death of one of the faculty mem bers who for several years had been the chairman of one of the departments of instruction. It seems ironic that a uni versity noted for its academic standing throughout the nation would be more concerned with a dance than with the passing of one of its outstanding profes sors who had helped to make the insti tution great. It is true in daily life. The far-reach ing policies of a great nation occasion ally give way in the headlines of our newspapers to the notice of the passing of a famous personage in filmdom or a member of the family of such an indi vidual. Frequently, also, the papers carry the pictures of a spectacular auto mobile accident caused by the careless ness pf a poorly qualified driver while to a minor page of the edition is rele gated the fact that a number of well- trained soldiers were killed as they at tempted to carry out carefully the duties of their night patrol. It is an amazing handling of information which allows a menace to society to die a hero’s death while heroes die in silence. It is true in spiritual matters. Pastors become concerned with the problems of operating an organization at the expense of directing a soul-saving station. Churches become enmeshed in the shackles of a financial campaign and for get that their main duty is the propaga tion of the gospel of Christ. Sometimes Christians become more zealous in guarding their public actions than in di- M A R C H , 1 9 5 3
Jehovah’ (Prov. 20:27), and it is this that is set aglow when man is born again; and then God’s Spirit testifies with man’s spirit that he is a child of God. God cannot be known by the body, nor by the soul, but only by the spirit. And even the human spirit is incapable of finding out anything about God or of knowing God except by revelation of the Spirit of God.” Two verses from the New Testament state clearly that there is a difference between soul and spirit: Paul wrote, saying to the*Thessalonians, “ I pray God your whole spirit, soul and body be pre sented blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:23). “ The word of God is quick [or living], and powerful, and sharper than any two- edged sword, piercing even to the divid ing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a d'scerner cf the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). I et me quote from my book God’s Plan of the Ages, pages 23, 24: “ With the possession of a spirit, man became God conscious, which fact determines an im passable gulf between the most sinful, the most degraded and the h'ghest form of animal life. “ Some time ago a noted professor took a chimpanzee into his home, that it might bfe a close companion with his own boy. As we might suppose, he did this in order to studv the animal closely. Later he declared that the chimpanzee acted in many ways as intelligently as his boy, for among other things he learned certain customs of table eti quette. He could use a knife, a fork, a spoon, even a table napkin. The professor thus endeavored to show; how closely related the animal kingdom is to man. Now all that he said about the formation of certain habits may be true; but there is one thing the boy could do that the ape could never do, no matter what his training or development might be. The ape could never reverently look up into the face of God and say. ‘My Father.’ It requires God-’ikeness to do that. It reouires the pn^se-sion rf a spirit. And only to man did God give this likeness to Himself when He created man and ‘breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.’ Man was not left to be guarded by instinct, as in the case of brute creation. To him God gave the intelligence to understand His will and His require ments.” Please explain the meaning of Luke 16:8,9: “And the Lord commended the unjust steward, b-'anse he had do^e wisely: for the children of this world
are in their generation wiser than the children of light. And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mam mon of unrighteousness ; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlast ing habitations.” The mammon of unrighteousness is money. Mammon is derived from the Greek mammonas, Latin mammona, Ara maic mamona, all of which mean riches. Riches are worshiped by the unright eous world. This parable teaches us the right use we Christians are to make of money: to send people to Heaven. The American Revised Version translates this verse: “ Make to yourselves friends by means of the mammon of unrighteous ness; that, when it shall fail, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles.” This is right in line with Proverbs 11:30, and Daniel 12:3 which have to do with soul-winning. There is no better invest ment for your money. Camel Knees? H OW would you react to the sug gestion that your knees resembled those of a camel? Would your arteries suddenly be strained to the exploding point? Or would you secretly thank God for “the marks in my body?” According to an early Christian tra dition, the Apostle James was accused of “having knees like a camel.” He had spent so much time on his knees in prayer that they bore a marked resem blance to the calloused knees of that popular beast of burden. This is one tradition which seemingly is supported by the sacred record itself. James remarks, in the Biblical epistle bearing his name, “ The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much,” a statement which has been of vital importance to Christ’s followers through the centuries. This was not a sweet-sounding proverb, or the flashing fancy of a religious fanatic, but the fruits of action-packed years of experi menting with the vehicle of prayer. Who was more qualified to speak with such authority? Indeed, prayer had worked for James, because he had worked at prayer. And his knees bore the marks to prove it. Methinks it a difficult task to find such a sterling example in this present age. When Mr. Christian of the 20th Century discards a suit of clothing, it is usually because the seat of the trousers is badly worn, NOT THE KNEES! — Rev. Herbert J. Pugmire, Pastor of Galilean Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
Dr. Louis T. Talbot
/ have a question concerning Matthew 7:6. I have heard a number of people say that “dogs” and “swine” are people. This I believe, but I cannot believe, as some, that if a person will not accept Christ at first approach, that we are “ casting our pearls before swine” to approach them again. Should we ap proach sinners only once? If this were true, some of us would never have been saved. We should not stop “beseeching” men that they be re conciled to God until there is absolutely no hope of their listening to us any more. And even when they will no longer receive our witness, we can “ pray with out ceasing” for them. I think this ques tion has arisen because of some people’s methods of unkind, harsh, persistent “ preaching at” the sinner. We need to be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” in personal soul-winning. Give the Word in a loving, appeal'ng way as often as you can to as many people as you can. The Holy Spirit does the trans forming and convicting work in hearts, but He is depending on our lips to carry the message. The late Dr. Pettingill aptly answered your question in the following words (1.) “ Man has a body. In this he is like all of the creation of God throughout the animal and vegetable world. All brutes have liv’ng bodies, and so do the trees and plants. (2.1 “ Man has a soul. In this he is unlike the trees and plants, but he is like the lower animals. The soul is the seat of the emotions, the passions, the feelings, the desires, the likes and dislikes, the affections and the will. All these things we have in common with the beasts. (3.) “ Man has a spirit. In this he is unique among God’s crea tures. ‘the spirit of man is the candle of Explain the difference between body, soul and spirit?
Page Six
LIFE OVER AGA IN
Message Delivered by Rev. Curtis B. Akenson, D.D., Pastor of First Baptist Church of Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the Torrey Memorial Conference, January 1953
W OULD you want to live life over again—if you could? Yes. Cer tainly. Except, of course, when your mood agrees with Bertrand Russell’s pessimism that “ Real life is, to most men, a long second-best.” Or with Santayana that “ Life is . . . a predica ment.” Or maybe you feel even as dis couraged and cynical as Dryden sounds in these lines: “ When I consider life, ’tis all a cheat... None would live past years again.” Aren’t you glad that mostly you don’t feel like that? In your search for security and happiness you probably have many times said “ I wish I could live life over again!” And then again, you have said you can’t live life over—and are glad of it.
are correct—but they are only part of the story. On hearing the term “ resur rection” we should learn to thipk of the possibility of a life that, in effect, turns the calendar back . . . of life that begins anew. Because, you see, resurrection sim ply means to live again. Thus there can be no such a thing as a resurrection until something has died. If you would live over again, your old life must die! The body of a man cannot be resurrected unless the body has died. Man’s spirit, Godward, cannot live again until man acknowledges himself “ dead toward God, bound down by things of earth.” Three easy-to-follow steps will help you relate resurrection truth to your desire for the blessing of beginning again. Accept the Fact of Resurrection Resurrection is a commonly and easily observed fact in the order of the natural world. Everyone has seen apparently lifeless trees, dead grass—a stripped-of-green world. But in the spring you expect new life. No atheist would presume to argue with Christ’s words, “ Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone; but if it die, it beareth much fruit” (John 12:24 ARV). The farmers of the richly-productive Upper Midwest pin their hopes of any year’s crop upon the fact of resurrection. They believe in life over again! Resurrection is a persistent fact of human hope that no despair has ever finally overwhelmed. Man of the earth, has never quite escaped—nor will he— the God-implanted knowledge that after this life he lives on. Birds who have never been south wing their way un erringly there. Man’s spirit kindredly wings him beyond the grave—to live again. Individually and as nations men in this life continually fail—only to employ the idea of beginning again. It may be almost without God and without hope, yet mankind repeatedly attempts to live again. Resurrection is an inescapable fact in one supremely important instance —Jesus Christ lived again. Jesus of Nazareth lived on earth at a definite time, in a definite place. Jesus of Nazareth also Page Seven
Your inner conflict is common to men. Philosophers and poets have often ex pressed it. Fontanelle said “ If I were to live my live over again, I would do all that I have done.” But Thomas Moore counters, “ Vain was the man, and false as vain, Who said, were he ordained to run His long career of life again He would do all that he had done!” While pondering the dilemma, it is good to learn that the Bible presents a practical, realistic way of living life anew. The Word of God declares this desirable life possible because of res urrection. Usually you and I think of Easter Day or life after death when res urrection is mentioned. Those thoughts
M A R C H , 1 9 5 3
perfectly paid all our debt, removed all our guilt. Therefore, He rose; death had no claim on Him. Instead of worrying about sin and wishing you could live your life over, just trust the resurrected Lord. If God is satisfied, you should be! Christ’s resurrection — real, though unseen by us—assures trusting sinners that the present record is clear. God has no charge against the person who trusts the risen Lord Jesus. “ He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for all, will he not give us all things with Him? Who shall bring any charge against God’s own? . . . It is Christ who died. Yes, it was Christ Jesus who was raised from the dead. He is at the right hand of God. He intercedes for us.” How infinitely better than trying to live it over again in your own strength! You have accepted the fact of resurrec tion; have learned the possibilities and blessings of trusting the risen Lord. You may, then, take the third and conclusive step to living life anew. Act on God's Assurance He has said, “ I will never leave you nor forsake you . . . I am with you al ways.” He wants you to act; to humbly respond. “ As a sinner I have trusted Christ. He now lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God.” A Christian business man recently ex pressed it this way: “ It took me many years to discover I needed more in this life than I—or even life itself—could provide. “ My discovery was the Lord Jesus Christ. I came to know Him by faith, and it is by that same faith I have tried to live these past ten years since I have known Him best. “ The essence of my Christianity is con fidence in God’s Word and His Son—not just piousness, nor self-righteousness, nor an easy escape from the realities of life—but a simple, workaday faith backed up by prayer. Faith and prayer, I have found, make an unbeatable combination, because they represent trust in and petition to an ever-living Lord. “ Some people say it is hard to live a Christian life. I haven’t found it so. To the contrary it has been an experience so rich in its rewards .that I cannot now imagine living any other way.” You are invited to trust the Lord Jesus Christ; to make the same discovery as this business man; to live life anew by following the steps outlined above. “ The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent: inasmuch as he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Acts 17: 30,31). “I know that my Redeemer liveth. Because He lives, I too shall live.”
died. History tells us more about the details of the hours surrounding His death in and near Jerusalem than about any other person in all the ancient world. The dead body of Jesus of Nazareth was taken from the cross and buried in a tomb belonging to Joseph of Arima- thaea. On Sunday morning following His death, His grave was empty. The tomb was empty because Jesus of Nazareth was resurrected. He lived again. He was raised both Lord and Christ. There are excellent and numerous au thorities for saying this. The four Gospel writers—Matthew, Mark, Luke, John— were men of sincerest piety. They unite in unqualified testimony to the resur rection of Christ. So do the other New Testament authors. Even the enemies of the good news of living again gave unwilling witness to the resurrection. They acknowledged that the grave was empty, but circulated the story that the body had been stolen. It was a stupid tale they told because even the disciples “ knew not the Scripture that He must rise from the dead.” The amazing thing is that His enemies re membered what His friends had for gotten ! Dr. William Lyon Phelps for forty years was Yale’s distinguished professor of English literature. He spoke thus: “ In the whole story of Jesus Christ, the most important event is the resurrection. Christian faith depends on this . . . Our faith in God, in Christ, in life itself, is based on the resurrection . . .” If, perchance, Christ’s bodily resurrec tion lingers in your skeptical mind as a dubious improbability, go back to the Bible again and again. Examine the New Testament resurrection evidence hon estly, thoroughly and humbly. God’s Spirit will lead you into resurrection truth and faith. The living again of the Man Christ Jesus in His material though trans formed body is an inescapable fact. Like all facts of life it should be accepted. Thank God it is so, for in this fact lies the possibility of your living life anew. The secret of turning that possibility into reality is in . . . Trusting the Resurrected Person Jesus Christ, the risen Lord, is a Person capable of giving you new life. He can answer your needs. All He asks is that you trust Him. He is ready to respond to your trust. Your trusting Him is a matter of tak ing Him at His word. An enthusiastic little boy said “Trusting Him means believing God and asking no questions.” The Bible puts it this way: “ Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” God tells us something beyond human ken. Faith makes that thing as real and true as any thing our eyes can see. Consider some things made real by confidence in the risen Lord. Christ’s resurrection—real,though un seen by us—guarantees that He is a Divine Person and not a fraud or reli-
The Women at the Tomb
gious fake. Speaking of His body, Christ said to His enemies “ Destroy this tem ple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Speaking to His friends, He de clared, “ No man can take it [my life] from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and to take it again.” If He had failed to rise from the dead, all He claimed about Himself and His power to help us would have been invalidated. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus— real, though unseen by us — displayed omnipotent power on our behalf. The Apostle Paul prayed that all Christians should have faith to understand “ the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe, according to the work ing of his great might which he accom plished in Christ when he raised him from the dead.” This means that the risen Lord re sponds to a sinner’s trust. Mighty energy was put forth to revivify the body of Jesus and raise Him from among the dead. God uses the same mighty energy to quicken trusting souls into newness of life. This same power energizes you as a child of God and will enable you to live even here on earth a heavenly life of victory over sin. The Lord’s resurrection—real, though unseen by us—is.conclusive evidence that the question of sin has been settled to God’s satisfaction. No one trusting the resurrected Person has any occasion for fear and worry over past sin. On the cross where He died, our sins were laid upon Christ. He voluntarily ac cepted responsibility for them. “He was delivered on account of our offenses, and was raised again on account of our justification.” If sin had not been forever put away, the Lord Jesus would never have come forth from the grave.. But He
Page Eight
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
m
T E A C H IN G A L L NATIONS
_ 4 m ~ i . / n u .~ m u a ™
tion under favorable broadcasting condi tions is heard around the world. How ever, after twenty-one years on the air, the Station is expanding its facilities and hopes that during 1953 the new transmitters with their one hundred thousand watts of power, will be heard anywhere in the world under almost any conditions. The extension project is now two-thirds finished. Using five wave lengths, eleven languages, and person nel of many nationalities, the gospel is broadcast from this vantage point faith fully and consistently every day except Monday. One of the activities of its busy and varied ministry is the Bible Insti tute of the Air, which not only is re sponsible for sixteen radio programs of Bible Studies each week, but also pub lishes Bible courses which are complete as correspondence lessons with written examinations leading to certificates and a diploma. A Preliminary Course of twelve lessons, with two examinations, must be passed by every student in order to go on with the advanced courses and secure the diploma. The work is in its infancy yet over six thousand of these Preliminary Courses have been sent out to students in twenty-seven countries on four continents. The news of the studies goes out over the air in our Spanish broadcasts, and workers and laymen write in from far and near requesting them. Also the mails are used, writing to all mission aries and pastors possible in Latin America. The most prolific means of pro curing new students, however, is the overflowing enthusiasm of our present students who tell others about the op portunity. We are aware that hundreds of Spanish-speaking workers need these courses, but as yet do not know that they exist. Recent word from the field states: “ I feel that the Lord is really blessing in the Bible Institute of the Air. The letters bringing requests for the Preliminary Course so that the student can begin the work are so encouraging. The correspondence has increased. If we can just get these courses printed!” What is back of this rapid growth of a comparatively new work? Without a doubt, the contributing cause is the great need for these studies. God the Holy Spirit has led, thus meeting the crying need of the church in Latin America, and wherever the Spanish language is spoken. During our service in Venezuela with Page Nine
By Fcrith and Donald Turner*
contacted by the Medical Department of The Voice of the Andes. He became in terested in the gospel, and requested a Bible and the Preliminary Course of the Bible Institute of the Air to pursue his own studies. From the Galapagos Islands where he went to begin his practice, he wrote of having definitely accepted Christ, and told of the blessing his studies had brought. A veteran lady missionary in Bab Doukkala, French Morocco, wrote: “ Some time ago I received the first of a series of your Bible lessons in Spanish . . . This I passed on to one of the Spanish Christians who wanted to take the course. However, this brought about a cry for more of them. The Spanish Christians here are very scattered and even the local leaders are mostly unin structed. The leaders in Meknes, Rabat, and Casablanca wanted to know if these lessons could be made available to them. If the series is still in print, could I have about six copies, please? Are they available in French? There are others who would like to take the course if they are available.” From the Argentine this letter was received: “Will you kindly send me fif teen copies of your correspondence course Conocimiento de la Biblia, the Introductory Course. Please send them via air. It is my plan to teach night classes in my congregation here, using a course such as yours. Do you give a cer tificate upon the completion of each course? . . . Enclosed find check for ten dollars. I understand that you are buy ing new equipment. It will be a great day when more people can hear your pro grams here in Argentina. Regret that I cannot send more to help in your very worthy work.” What is the Bible Institute of the Air? What are these courses that are being used of God throughout the Spanish speaking world? Down in South Ameri ca, up high in the Andes mountains, almost ten thousand feet above sea level, in the city of Quito, Ecuador, is located the Pioneer Missionary Broadcaster, The Voice of the Andes. At present this sta
T HE bus came to the usual abrupt stop. The passengers knew that at this corner they would have to wait for the boy to collect new fares for the cen tral zone which they were entering, and the checker would have to give the time signal for their departure. The driver reached into the glove compartment, but instead of the cigarette for the custom ary smoke, he extracted a brown manila envelope and a Bible. He spent the mo ments studying instead of smoking. One of the passengers was the Rev. Robert Savage, Program Director of The Voice oj the Andes. Recognizing the envelope he asked the driver how he liked the course of HCJB’s Bible Institute of the Air. With a grin the young man said that it was very good but it made a fel low really study. Into the office of Marion Krekler, Di rector of HCJB’s Radio Circle, which has loaned to the nationals hundreds of small crystal receiving sets pretuned to The Voice of the Andes, came a Quechua Indian from the town of Inca. He wanted his instruments checked, and took occasion to tell Mr. Krekler how much he and others in Inca enjoyed the programs of Bible study broadcast daily by the Bible Institute of the Air. A young physician, recently gradu ated from the University of Quito, was *Dr. and Mrs. Donald D. Turner are directors of the Bible Institute of the Air, Radio Station HCJB.
M A R C H ,
1 9 5 3
the Orinoco River Mission, we were in station work for fifteen years, pastor- ing churches but always trying to pre pare others to take over. Then we trav elled for a couple of years, holding short Bible and training classes in the cen ters. These were fruitful years and saw a change in several congregations due to the better preparation of a few of the leaders. This prepared the way for an organized Bible Institute, where some of those who had received a taste of Bible training in the “ cursillos,” and others who made decisions for the dedication of their lives to the Lord’s . service at the church conventions, could come and get their training. God blessed the Insti tute and it is still being used for His glory. After ten years directing this Bible training center, the Mission and the nationals began to request corre spondence courses for those who needed and wanted Bible instruction, but who could not attend the Institute. The Lord of the Harvest was also working in the Voice of the Andes, al though independently. For years they had been sensing a lack in the over-all program—something stabilizing should be done to follow up more consistently the evangelistic messages given over the air and in campaigns where there was no resident missionary. Also the di rector and co-founder, Dr. Clarence W. Jones, made a trip though South Amer ica in the interests of missionary radio. In many places workers asked him where they could secure a sound cor respondence course in Bible study. He found that false teaching was being spread abroad through the Voice of Prophecy broadcasts and correspondence schools. He became convinced that Radio Station HCJB should maintain an ag gressive Bible teaching ministry on the air and through the mails. The trustees agreed, but after three years of trying to get something started by those who already had their hands full, Dr. Alan H. Hamilton was called to dedicate all of his time to the founding of the Bible Institute of the Air. He did his work well, getting things organized and off to a flying start. While in the United States on fur lough, we heard of this new project of HCJB and immediately saw the possi bilities of accomplishing, under almost ideal conditions and with a greater out reach, the same work that had been as signed to us. It was evident that by uniting our efforts duplication of time, labor and funds would be avoided. The Orinoco River Mission graciously co operated, and upon the resignation of Dr. Hamilton, we were asked to take over the department. By mutual agree ment, we joined the World Radio Mis sionary Fellowship, Inc., which owns and operates the Voice of the Andes. God was in it. His Spirit had been working through the years to bring about the establishing of the Bible Institute of the Air. Our plan of not translating, but writ ing the lessons directly in Spanish, and with the aim of helping those workers Page Ten
A portion of the grounds and some of the buildings at the headquarters of Radio Station HCJB (Heralding Christ Jesus’ Blessings), The Voice of the Andes, Quito, Ecuador. The great new project for this work is the completion of two 50,000 watt transmitters now in process of construction which will enable this station to broad cast the gospel to the whole world.
who have the responsibilities of a con gregation or group but have never had any Bible training, makes experience in the ministry in Latin America and a thorough knowledge of the language im perative to those who prepare the courses. Interdenominational in scope, the lessons give positive Christ-honoring messages, and help the student see that He is the Key to the Scriptures. We try to avoid giving only “predigested food,” endeavoring especially in the examina tions to make the student do his own thinking. The combination of the written les sons sent by mail and the spoken word over the air, is a sound method of teach ing. The two greatest mediums of in struction are utilized, the eye-gate and the ear-gate. Since the Bible Institute of the Air fulfills an urgent need, a strong motivation is already provided, prompt ing the listener to solicit the courses and proceed to the securing of the cer tificate. He wants avidly to hear. He wants to know. He needs this instruc tion. Bible study is useful and attrac tive to all Christians for it has to do with our every day life here as well as life hereafter. To the workers en deavoring to lead forward a group of fellow believers in spiritual things, it is not only desirable but imperative. He wants practical instruction, and his heart is wide open to receive it. He must learn more about how to serve God. Once we heard these words, “ Since our pastor began studying your courses, we get so much more meat in the ser mons.” In Spain, where neither a Bible In stitute nor a Seminary is permitted, over four hundred are studying the courses with the Bible Institute of the Air. Their letters of appreciation for this instruction are outstanding. Some of them listen at midnight to the In stitute broadcasts which can be heard at
that hour. The authorities can arrest no one, for no one is there. At present five of the more than twenty courses planned are in print. These include: the Preliminary Course, two courses on Introduction to the Old Testament and one to the New Testa ment, which are also synthetic studies, and Principles of Christian Education. Funds have just made it possible to send the Life of Christ course to the press. Courses being prepared are: Exposition of Romans, Acts, Hebrews; Bible Geog raphy and Child Evangelism. Courses to be available in the future embrace sev eral Book Expositions, Doctrines, Per sonal and Mass Evangelism, Teaching Methods, etc. Not only is HCJB facing expansion but the Bible Institute of the Air sees new horizons opening up before it too. The original thought in our finite minds was to meet only the need of the Span ish-speaking people, but the Lord of the Harvest saw the need of the nations. He commanded, “ Go ye therefore, and TEACH all nations . . . TEACHING them to observe all things whatsoeve I have commanded you . . .” At the radio broadcasting station where the foreign language department is vital in the world vision outreach, there is an urgent call for the translation of these courses into those languages used. They are already being translated into Por tuguese and French. As soon as the Russian staff is increased they hope to do the same. Just a few weeks ago we met an evangelist who holds ten cam paigns every summer in Germany. He said that there is a great need for just this type of studies there, and he knows of nothing of its kind in that land. Thus, before the curriculum of the Bible In stitute of the Air for the Spanish speaking people is finished, the outreach to many of the “ All Nations” is looming large on our horizon. T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker