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When you think about college there are things to consider. You want a good education. And that means academic excellence. But that's not a l l . . . a good education means interaction and involvement on your own level — doing what you enjoy more than anything else. For some that has to mean athletics. And if that includes you, consider Biola College. Are you a wrestler? Our team is ranked nationally. Top men from all over the U.S. come to Biola to wrestle. Do you play basketball? Our team is young, but with three all-state stars we stand to be tough. How about baseball, soccer, cross coun try, track, tennis? We could say much more. But why don’t you write us? And remember Biola is a distinctly Christian institution, where high spirited standards and excellent Bible courses are part of every student’s life.
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Professionally accredited by the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges and regionally by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
Director of Admissions Biola College 13800 Biola Avenue La Mirada, California 90638
Dedicated to the spiritual development of the Christian home
THE KING’S IB BUSINESS 13800 BIOLA AVENUE, LA MIRADA, CALIFORNIA 90638 THE KING'S BUSINESS Magazine is a Publication f BIOLA Schools andColleges, Inc. Louis T. Talbot, Chancelor, S. H. Sutherland, President. MARCH, 1970 / VOL 61 / NO. 3 / ESTABLISHED 1910 ARTICLES: 8 EASTER BRINGS J O Y ......................... Gordon Chilvers 10 THE SPIRIT STRIVES ..................... Lehman Strauss 13 LOST ID E N T IT Y ...................................... Vance Havner 16 OPERATION MOBILE MISSIONARY 19 THE OFFENSE OF THE GOSPEL.......... William Culbertson 24 JUST THINKING OF S H E E P ...................... J. W. Lasater 34 HOW TO WITNESS TO YOUR SCIENCE TEACHER John C. Whitcomb, Jr. FEATURES: 4 MESSAGE FROM THE E D IT O R ....... Samuel H. Sutherland 7 READER REACTION 19 DR. TALBOT’S QUESTION B O X .............. .Louis T. Talbot 27 OVER A CUP OF C O F F E E ........................ Joyce Landorf 28 INNOVATIONS IN L E A R N IN G ............. H. Norman Wright 31 CHRISTIAN WORKERS’ CLINIC .......... C. Chester Larson 32 BOOK HIGHLIGHTS AND REVIEWS
'Educating youngpeopleat LeTourneau College isbiggerthan building earthmovers'
Will you consider becoming a partner in this big task? We invite you to send for the full-color booklet shown below. Learn about the basic purpose and objectives of LeTourneau College, its unique curriculum and concept of Christian education. If you feel this is the kind of College you’d like to support, read about the various sound Financial Partnership plans—plans which provide you favorable tax-saving benefits while you enjoy worry-free _ financial security. Request your FREE | copy today.
COVER: Springtime in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. Photo by Gene Ahrens, New Milford, N. J.
Editor Managing Editor
S. H. Sutherland Bill Ehmann John Ozmon Betty Bruechert Paul Schwepker H. Norman Wright
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C O L L E G E
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MARCH, 1970
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EXAMINE AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION
*a message from the editor "
The Ultimate in Jurisprudence
BT DR. SAMUEL H. SUTHERLAND / PRESIDENT, KOLA SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES, INC. N OW WE HAVE heard everything1—and we do mean everything! The following news item which appeared in the Los Angeles Times February 1, 1970, is printed below in its entirety. If only excerpts were published, right-thinking people everywhere would accuse this editor of surely omitting something of signifi cance in the case. Here it is: Headline: “DIAPER SEARCH RULED ILLEGAL; PAIR RELEASED” : Dateline San Bernardino: “Narcotic officers here arrested two persons—one the moth er of a 9-month-old baby—after they said they found heroin in the child’s diapers. Arrested in December were Mrs. Ramona Padilla and Robert G. Cardova. But they were released Friday after a preliminary hearing before Muni cipal Judge Theodore G. Krumm. Their lawyers claimed the search was illegal since the child had not given its consent. Dep. Dist. Atty. Joseph A. Burns countered by arguing that ‘the 4th Amendment was not designed to protect the rights of a baby. . . . A baby would not have the occasion to demand such rights,’ he said. Krumm agreed with the defense. He said the baby did have the rights of a person, ruling the search unconstitutional.” The editor has read the above news item several times and still finds it almost impossible to believe. This is surely a land mark decision! Former Chief Justice Earl Warren and the mem bers of the Warren Court must be proud beyond words to realize the extent to which their decisions on the rights of accused crimi nals have gone. Judge Krumm (what a crumb!) must be proud beyond words in the knowledge that these two adults named above are now free to peddle their heroin to anyone who will pay the price for it. One wonders how many lives will be lost or how many individuals will continue on in a living death, because these pushers and/or users have this heroin available for their own hellish purposes. One cannot but wonder how much farther up the judicial ladder Municipal Judge Krumm will be able to climb as a result of this monumental decision. One wonders also how proud the people of San Bernardino (Calif.) must be to realize that they have a judge in their midst who exhibited such outstand ing judicial acumen in rendering a decision of this type. If this is allowed to stand, it means that robbers can go into a bank with a baby, take thousands of dollars of bills, hide them in the baby’s diapers and calmly walk out. The uniformed guard and policemen must stand by absolutely helpless to do anything
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
about it, because they did not get permission from the baby to search his diapers. Jewel thieves can enter into a store with a baby and at gunpoint demand that the clerks hand over thousands of dollars of valuable gems, wrap them in the baby’s diapers and walk out serenely, knowing the law cannot touch them! The next logical step in this baby diaper fiasco would be to have robbers use bed sheets for diapers instead of the customary ones. This would include many more folds and therefore much more room to stash away the loot. Even if they called the police they would be helpless, they would first have to ask the little baby for per mission to search its diapers! I t’s a great credit to our various police departments to realize that so many men and women remain loyal to the police force and dedicated to the task of protecting us and our homes. They risk their lives every day in order tha t our homes might be com paratively safe from marauders. They are making an honest and noble effort to cut down the use of drugs and narcotics only to be made fools of by decisions such as this. But let it be shouted loud and clear that it’s not the police who are the fools; it’s the jurists who are making a travesty of the laws of our land which were written and designed with one purpose in mind, only to have them interpreted in a way completely different from the original intent of the framers of our laws. One would almost suspect that there is something sinister about the way in which our laws are being interpreted. This sort of decision makes one wonder if the charge is true that there is an element abroad which is consciously endeavoring to make impotent the laws of our land in the effort to destroy the Christian-American way of life. At least this is what seems to be taking place whether by accident or by design. The trouble is, so many o f us sit idly by, wringing our hands in despair, but doing nothing about it. We are not letting our voices be heard; we are not letting our influence be felt a t election time, and we are not sending letters and telegrams of protest to those elected officials representing us and who are aiding and abetting the cause of anti-Americanism. This is not merely a political strug gle; it is a moral and ideological struggle to the death. Our whole future religious liberty is at stake. Unless we who have been called “the silent majority” awaken to our responsibility, the time will surely come—and it could be real soon—when the day of liberty will have passed. We will have no one to blame but ourselves! Our children will rise to be ashamed of us who have allowed these liberties and privileges to pass without even a struggle. These are desperate days in which we live and complacency and a do-nothing attitude are all that our worst enemies could possibly ask of us. (P.S. It will be interesting to see what the good people of San Bernardino will do about the above-named judge when the elections come around, if not before!) Our sympathies are with Mr. Burns, the Deputy Dis trict Attorney. I t must be discouraging indeed to prepare a case and to have to present it to a jurist who rules the whole case out of court on such an utterly absurd inter pretation of the law. We have competent attorneys in the various offices of district attorneys, and to all such we say keep up the good work. Surely the silent majority will make its voice heard when such judges come up for re-election.
REMEMBER NOW THY CREATOR IN THE DAYS OF
THY YOUTH —Ecclesiastes 12.1
There is no book of guidance, no textbook for the young, that can equal the Great Textbook of the Ages — the Book that gives us rules for living that will never be superseded, that will never pass away. There are no Bibles made with more care and skill than the Bibles made in Cambridge, where theprintingofBibles has been a responsibility of fine craftsmen since the sixteenth century.
MARCH, 1970
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M R E A D E R E A C T I We want to thank you for the ad vertisement placed in THE KING’S BUSINESS several months ago. Maga zines were received from as f a r 'away as Poland and northern Canada; also from a number of the states. The supply is being rapidly exhaust ed and we could use additional copies. Bible Literature Ministry 3602 Manana Drive, Dallas, Texas KB FOR CHRISTMAS We wish to express our gratitude to you for your share in bringing the Gospel to many of the poor and needy families of Venice a t this past Christ mas season. The Lord provided a wonderful Christmas day and approximately 1100 were fed a good home-cooked dinner of turkey, ham and all the trimmings. This in turn furnished a good oppor tunity to reach into many homes with the Gospel. Pray with us th a t the Lord may use us and th a t many hearts may be prepared to receive His Son as their own Saviour and Lord. I t was certainly a real help to have on hand the many copies of THE KING’S BUSINESS Magazine to dis tribute among the many who came for the dinner. This alone is a good source of presenting Christ to them. Rev. Fred H. Hilst, Pastor The Bible Taberacle, Venice, Calif. DECEMBER EDITORIAL I want to express my appreciation for your editorial in the magazine (De cember) entitled “High Hemlines and High Crime.” Every parent and every teenager should have a copy of it. Please send a t least 100 copies to our church, and we will be happy to pay whatever the cost may be. Mrs. H.A.A., Education Coordinator, First Assembly of God, Santa Ana, Calif. FREE FUND The 100 copies of KING’S BUSI NESS came in plenty of time to be distributed during our Pastors’ and Workers’ Institute. Fortunately, we had a few other used copies to augment this supply, so each full-time Christian worker could have one copy to take home. Any time you can send a supply again, they will be put to excellent use. The Lord has been blessing among our fundamental Baptist churches here. Most of the 80 churches with which we work directly have had missionary con ferences, using the Faith Promise sys-
A lonely child, loved by God, longs for your love
home. Your love will give her thefeeling that she belongs, that somebody cares. When you sponsor your own little girl or boy in Korea, Indonesia, India, or Haiti, your child knows you by name. You exchange letters and pictures. You share your love and are richer for it. Some day the world may be a better place, because you filled In this coupon and gave a little of yourself to one small child today.
She is hungry, lonely, and frightened but she Is confident that God loves her and that He will answer her prayers for someone who will love her and care for her. Will you be the channel through which God answers her prayers? She needs a great deal of love and a rela tively small amount of money. Twelve dol lars a month (about 400 a day) will give her food, clothing, health care, and a Christian
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y p A i I want to sponsor a lonely child today. ■ C O X discontinue at any time. COMPASSION, in c . REV. HENRY HARVEY. PRESIDENT, 7774 IRVING PARK ROAD, CHICAGO. ILLINOIS 60634 (Canadian residents write Box 880, Blenheim, Ontario) I prefer a □ boy or □ girl, approximately_____years old, from the land of_______ K-30 Please rush FULL particulars. Enclosed is □ $12 for first month □ $144 for first year. □ Select a child for me from the most needy country. □ I am unable to sponsor, but wish to contribute $ ___________for general child care. □ Please rush further information today. □ Send my FREE tapestry at once. understand I may
_State_ -Z ip - Make checks payable to Compassion, Inc. Contributions are tax deductible.
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tem, and are eager to send out their own foreign missionaries. Filipino can didates are now on deputation through their own mission board for Indonesia and New Guinea. Three missionaries are now in Thailand and one family is home on their first furlough, hjiving established a flourishing church and trained a pastor in ju st four years. We rejoice to have a part in such a fru it ful mission field and seek ways to en courage our churches to grow stronger so they can send more missionaries. One of the finest tools is Christian literature like KING’S BUSINESS, each copy of which is probably read a dozen times over. Sophie and Frank Jenista, Philippines E d it o k ’ s N o t e : Contributions to THE KING’S BU SINESS marked FREE FUND are used to supply the magazine to ministries such as this one in the Philippines. Ask for a tax receipt. Mark your letter to the attention of Manag ing Editor. MUSIC As an appreciative KING’S BUSI NESS reader for some years, I read in the November issue a subject which gives me considerable concern. I t is the values and criterion of Christian music especially relating to our young people. There seems to be a landslide toward accepting the new sounds for Gospel'music by music publishers, rec ord companies and some denomination al arrangers. In a frantic effort to ap peal to youth, some are unconsciously using music which distorts and mini mizes the Gospel message. Music is the language of emotions. Christians should realize th a t the mel ody, rhythm and harmony (or discord) of music is felt, often subconsciously, and whether accepted or rejected, it does affect our emotional reactions. The right kind of rhythm, accent, harmony and melody is essential for good music. Good music is uplifting, ennobling, encouraging, comforting. Evil music is debasing, inflammatory, seductive, re bellious, wild, and is destructive of nerves, health and morals. We need to be alert to its evil effects and guard against promoting it or listening to it. There is no need to be profane to give the Gospel to the profane in his language. Nor is it necessary to use wild music to try to clarify the Gospel message to the rebellious today. F.W.T.M., Williamsburg, Kentucky OUR APOLOGIES . . . In the January issue which carried an article by Dr. Henry Morris the or ganization he represents should have been Creation Research rather than Biblical Research. In the February issue, the article on TRAVEL CAMP concludes with a para graph that should have been presented as a quotation from one of the youth directors. The statement reflects the feelings of the directors, not necessarily that of the writer. There is also a slight production error with several lines of copy out of proper sequence.
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MARCH, 1970
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tomb where Jesus was buried it was still dark (John 20:1). Yet she knew an even darker hour than that. It was the time when Jesus lay in the tomb. The deepest darkness was on Mary’s inner life because the One she loved so dearly had been crucified. Mary was a disappointed woman. Jesus had been such a great Teacher and worker of miracles. All sorts of men and women had come to Him and their diseases were varied and serious. Yet no power or disease could stand against His word of healing. Even death was overcome when He spoke the word. Per sonally, He had transformed Mary's life. So He was the object of her love and devotion. But how bleak was her outlook now! She had expected such great things of Jesus. Now her best friend was dead. She had seen Him die and had watched the men bury Him. Now she had nothing left. She had no one whom she could trust with her life and devotion. How full of sorrow was her life! She stood outside of Christ's tomb, sobbing. The sight of the empty tomb and the discarded grave clothes had made His absence only the more painful. She revealed the rea son for her tears when she explained to the angel: “They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.” She did not identify the Him. For her, there was only one Person who filled her thoughts— Jesus. If she did not know what had happened to Him, then there was great cause for sorrow. Sorrow had so completely blinded her eyes that she even saw a gardener when Jesus Himself cwas by her side. At that moment Jesus approached her. As Mary found, “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart" (Psa. 34:18). Our sorrow attracts His attention and brings Him to our side. As Mary rec ognized, Jesus is often nearer than we think He is. Darkness, disappointment and sorrow call out to Him; He never fails to respond to that call. A broken heart needs sympathy; that He always gives, for He knew what it was to be broken-hearted Himself. Jesus immediately asked questions which revealed why He had come to Mary. “Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou?" Isaiah (61:1) tells us that Christ came to earth “to bind up the brokenhearted." If anyone needed comfort at that time it was Mary. And Jesus was already at work bringing consolation to her wounded heart. He had appeared to her to restore her lost joy. These are the first words that the risen Lord said to any human being. How integral a part of the Easter message comfort must be! As Jesus takes such a keen personal interest in our sorrows, they will soon be giving place to joy. Mary was weeping because her Lord was absent; but Jesus would dry those tears. There are many causes of tears today. Jesus knows them and will wipe them away. In the Book of Revelation (21:4) John describes the final scene for God’s people this way: “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
Brings Joy!
ü
P M B ìé ìl W§, - W \
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by Gordon Chilvers
E aster is good news for any person who will listen to its message. Not least, it proclaims hope to those who are sad and disappointed. For all who are afflicted with trials and burdens, it speaks of joy. Soon after His resurrection, our Lord appeared to various people and groups of people who all had one thing in common. They were the despondent, the fearful, the doubter and the cheerless; a truly repre sentative group of people of all ages including today. Yet each person went on his way with a song in his heart because his problem had been solved after he had met the risen Lord. Mary of Magdala was one who felt the bitterness of sorrow. Once her life had been gloomy. But when Jesus delivered her from being possessed by seven demons, her life shone with joy. She had the privi lege of accompanying our Lord as He taught the people and healed those who were sick. But recently darkness had clouded her life. She had stood by the cross as Jesus had suffered on it. During that time a supernatural darkness had fallen on the land for three hours. As she approached the
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” The presence of the Lord will end all our tears forever. Then each person said one word only. "Jesus saith unto her, Mary.” She had already had the un speakable privilege of hearing an angel address her, but this voice meant more to her than the voices of the whole of the heavenly host. When Jesus had used the general term “Woman” she was quite unmoved. But when Jesus spoke her name, that was entirely different. His personal knowledge and His deep sym pathy at once aroused her attention and enabled her to see through her tears. As our names are what separate us from the teem ing millions around us, calling a person by name dis tinguishes him from all the people around him. How thrilling it is to hear our name on the lips of the one we love! Jesus gave it as one of His marks as the Good Shepherd that He calls His own sheep by name (John 10:3). As Nebe has put it so well in these words: “ If it is the glory of the great God who made heaven and earth that He tells the number of the stars, and calls all by their names (Psa. 147:4), that He brings out their host by number, and calls them all by names (Isa. 40:26), it is likewise the glory of the Son of God that He is the Shepherd who calleth His sheep by name and leads them out; that He turns His eyes upon each individual and takes him to his heart.” When Jesus said the one word "Mary,” it was the word which dried her tears and so opened the way for the fullest comfort. As the Lord said to Moses hundreds of years earlier: " I know thee by name” (Exo. 33:12). To know that the Lord has a personal interest in us is both gratifying and heartening. Mary then said her one word: “Rabboni.” It is a word for “Master” which has overtones of personal interest and devotion — “my own beloved Master." Jesus was for Mary her Lord and Master. Mary was right in using this title for Jesus. Just before the crucifixion He had commended the disciples’ use of it. “Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am” (John 13:13), was His word to them. Her heart was filled with joy as she realized that once more she was in the Presence of the One she thought she had lost forever. Mary at once revealed her joy and her devotion. Jesus then told her that there would be a new rela tionship between them. “Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father." “Do not cling to me,” Jesus says. The form of the word which Jesus used suggests that Mary was al ready clinging to Him as He spoke to her. From that time onward, communion between Mary and the Lord would be on a spiritual and not on a physical level. That is, she would enjoy exactly what we enjoy today, the spiritual presence of the Lord.
Mary did not need to fear she would ever lose His personal presence again. After He had gone back to His home in Heaven, He would be nearer to her than He had ever been earlier. In fact, He would never be absent: “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28:20), is His encour aging promise to Mary and to us. Instead of clinging to Him, Mary was to be His first messenger. “Go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” Having been comforted and stimulated herself, she was able to go to the downcast and dispirited disciples and bring hope and the comfort of the Lord to them. Here was a vastly different Mary from the one we saw at the tomb. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning,” said the Psalmist (Psa. 30:5). How true were those words for Mary! Sadness was gone; tears were dried once and for all; Mary was radiant with joy. She had seen her beloved Master again. He was now her risen Lord, and she was happy to serve Him. Tears were turned into joy because what looked like a defeat was now seen to be a great victory. When the battle of Waterloo was being fought, all England was waiting in anxiety for the result. The people of those days were dependent upon the signals flashed from station to station by semaphore. One of those stations was on the tower of Winchester Cathedral. Late in the day it received the signal: “Wellington defeated.” Just at that moment one of those sudden English clouds of fog shut out the light falling upon the land. The news of the disaster quickly circulated in the city. Later, it reached London; the whole land was in gloom bordering on despair. Then the fog lifted. The message was completed: "Well ington defeated the enemy.” Sorrow turned into joy, defeat into victory. It is the presence of Jesus, the risen, victorious Lord that gives us joy. But why should His presence make so much difference to life? To know that Jesus is with us is to be sure of a love that never fails even when ours fail. It is to be certain of a love that is personal to ourselves and to our individual need. His is a love which singles us out from the crowd while not excluding any other person from that same love and care. How can we be sad when He is with us forever? In the biography of the well-known English poet, Lord Tennyson, by his grandson Charles Tennyson, this incident is related. As the poet was enjoying a walk with his niece, Agnes Weld, he exclaimed: “God is walking with us now, on this Down, as we two are walking together, just as truly as Christ was with the two disciples on the way to Emmaus.” Then he added: “To feel that He is by my side now as much as you are, that is the very joy of my heart.” That joy is ours too just now. Jesus has risen. Jesus is present with us. Joy! ■
MARCH, 1970
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by Lehman Strauss
“And the LORD said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall he an hundred and twenty years” (Genesis 6:3). T here is an urgent and imperative need in our churches for a scriptural knowledge of the Per son and Work of the Holy Spirit, because He is the neglected Person of the blessed Holy Trinity. It is a matter of great concern to observe the appalling ignorance on the part of some Christians as to the basic and essential truths concerning the Holy Spirit. It is not an uncommon error that He is referred to as a mere impersonal influence. Sometimes I hear Christians refer to Him as “ it.” This is wrong. The unfortunate use of the word “ itself” in Romans 8:16, 26, in the Authorized Version, is corrected in the Revised Version. Had the translators given us the sense of the pronoun in its true meaning and theo logical correctness, the word would be rendered “Himself” in all versions. Unfortunately they took the neuter noun “Spirit,” which, by the way, is neuter only as a matter of grammar, or syntax, and followed through with a pronoun in the neuter. But the Holy Spirit is a Person, and He must always be referred to and addressed as such. It is possible that people have drawn a wrong inference from His name as translated in the Scrip tures, “Holy Ghost." It is quite natural to associate the word “ghost” with a mere apparition, an imper sonal, shadowy something or other, an intangible phantom. A friend of mine told me that the word for ghost in the old Anglo-Saxon was the same as the
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word for guest. This is exactly Who He is, the Holy Guest. He is one of the three Persons in the Godhead, all three of equal rank and dignity, possessing the essential attributes of Deity. He is the One Who enters the believing sinner's body to take up His residence. He will seek admittance to every heart unbidden, but He will not enter where He is not wanted. He comes as the Holy Guest, waiting for each individual to re ceive Him. But a present tragedy lies in the fact that even in the lives of Christians who have received Him, the Holy Spirit goes unrecognized. The shabby treat ment we sometimes render the Holy Guest in our hearts we would not inflict upon even unholy guests whom we invite into our homes. Some time ago a minister said that he believed the programs in many local evangelical churches could continue as they are now, even if the Holy Spirit did not exist. Whether that be exactly so or not, he has brought to light an existing condition of which many Christians are com pletely oblivious, namely, the neglect of the Holy Spirit. Like the twelve disciples at Ephesus, many in our churches must confess, “We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost” (Acts 19:2). Yet there are few subjects more important and more necessary to the Christian than the biblical subject of the Holy Spirit. Now there is not the remotest thought in my mind that I shall have much to say about the blessed Holy Spirit in this brief series of messages. No finite mind will ever run the gamut of scriptural truth on the sub ject of the Infinite. What I have done is to arrange eight texts, each containing a verb beginning with the letter “s,” to present eight steps in the Holy Spirit's ministry. “And the LORD said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years” (Gen. 6:3). Here we learn two lessons. The first is that the Holy Spirit does carry on a ministry of contention and conviction against sinful men. The second is that God will not indefinitely continue this ministry. These are MARCH, 1970
solemn thoughts. Let us consider them one at a time. Ever since the fall of our first parents in the Garden of Eden, God the Holy Spirit has been striv ing with the sinner against his sin. He is “Holy" as His name states, and therefore He is sensitive to sin. The dove is a well-known symbol of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:16, 17; Luke 3:22; John 1:32). Among the fowl family, the dove is known for its purity. Solomon, speaking of his bride, says, “My dove, my undefiled” (Song of Solomon 5:2). According to nat uralists, the dove is known for its cleanliness. It was one of the animals acceptable as a sacrifice to the Lord. The mother of Jesus, after the days of her puri fication, went to offer a sacrifice according to the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtle-doves” (Luke 2:24 cf. Lev. 12). When our Lord found men in the temple prostituting holy things for their own personal gain, He “overthrew the seats of them that sold doves” (Matt. 21:12; Mark 11:15). John records that the Lord Jesus spoke directly to them that sold doves (John 2:16). Thus the Holy Dove is sensitive to all uncleanness and righteousness and therefore He strives against it. The ministry of the Holy Spirit, in the antedilu vian world that was plunging to its doom, is seen in His striving with the sinful people of that day. He acted to throw restraint about their wickedness as they moved toward Divine judgment. As we shall see a little later on in our study, the Spirit’s striving against sin is sometimes resisted by the sinner, and therefore the conviction does not result in salvation. The instrumentalities used by the Holy Spirit to con vict of sin were the promise of the woman's seed (Gen. 3:15); the witness of death (Gen. 5); the faith ful preaching of Enoch (Jude 14, 15), and the preach ing of Noah (Heb. 11:7; II Peter 2:5). The first work of the Holy Spirit, which is effec tual for salvation, is the conviction of sin. Jesus said, “And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment” (John 16:8). Before a person can be regenerated, his heart must be prepared to receive salvation. This prepara- ii
of the lands” (Neh. 9:30). Ample time and oppor tunity had been afforded them, but all to no effect. “The longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing” (I Peter 3:20), but that too was to no effect. Let the unbeliever beware. He who resists the Spirit’s working in his heart will one day discover to his utter dismay that there is no further conviction of sin within him. When a man persists in his rebel lion and rejection of Jesus Christ, then the Spirit might turn from him, and if the Spirit does not draw him to Christ, he can never be saved. In the Epistle to the Romans we read that “God gave them up” and “God gave them over” (Rom. 1:24, 26). But God did not give up man until first man gave up God. Stephen reviewed the history of Israel before the Jewish authorities and said, “Ye stiffnecked and un circumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye" (Acts 7:51). He reminded them that at every fresh revela tion from God, they had opposed Him. This is a dangerous action on the part of any person. A Prov erb says, “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that with out remedy” (Prov. 29:1). Yes, the Holy Spirit can be resisted to the eternal loss of those who resist Him. He invites men to take the water of life (Rev. 22:17), but He will not force them to drink. To the seven churches in Asia Minor, Jesus says, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Rev. 2 and 3). Let us return to our text for one final thought. When God said, “My Spirit shall not always strive with man," it is possible that He was referring to the end of the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. When the present age of grace comes to its close and the true believers are translated to Heaven, the Holy Spirit too will leave the world. Presently He is the Restrainer Who holds back the floodtide of iniquity until the Wicked One, the antichrist, is revealed (II Thess. 2:7-10). When the Divine Restrainer is re moved, there will be no further striving against sin, and then the world will see the full revelation of the Man of Sin. The power of the Holy Spirit is greater than the power of Satan. Presently He is holding back the forces of evil, striving against them, but at the Rapture of the Church, the Spirit of God Who indwells the Church, will also be taken out of the world. This will mean a reversal of Pentecost. The very removal of both the Church and the Spirit from the earth, the dwelling place of man, will result in no further striv ing against sin. That day is imminent, thus it be hooves all men everywhere to stop resisting God and surrender to Him at once. g EDITOR'S NOTE: This discussion concerning the Holy Spirit is first in a series that will continue for several months. Dr. Lehman Strauss has authored numerous Bible study and devotional books. The most recent one concerns “THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL."
tion is the Spirit’s work. Those of us engaged in preaching the Gospel make the mistake at times of taking His ministry out of His hands. We go about our work as though the results depended upon us. Then if we do not see results, we fret and become impatient and sometimes are critical of others. But the lack of fruit is a challenge to examine our own hearts. The Holy Spirit dwells in every child of God (I Cor. 3:16; 6:19, 20); therefore, if our lives and labors do not produce results, it is because the Holy Spirit is being grieved (Eph. 4:30), or quenched (I Thess. 5:19) by us. On the Day of Pentecost there were added to the Church about three thousand souls (Acts 2:41), but never lose sight of the fact that It is written of that group of workers, “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:4). When we quit our sinning and give the Holy Spirit His way in our hearts, then we can expect Him to use our efforts to convict the unsaved. A book might appeal to the mind of the reader, a preacher might be able to stir up the emotions of his hearers, but none save the Holy Spirit can strive with the spirit and conscience of man against his sins. There is no human explanation adequate to de scribe the work of the Holy Spirit upon the human conscience as He brings conviction to that soul and prepares him to receive the Lord Jesus Christ. But of one thing we Christians can be certain, that is, before the Holy Spirit was to convict the world of sin, He had to come first to indwell Christ’s own and instruct them. Examine the four appearances of the promise of the "Comforter” in the Gospel according to John, and you will see borne out the statement I have just made. Jesus said, “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever” (John 14:16) “. . . teach you all things” (John 14:26) “. . . testify of Me” (John 15:26). And then He added finally, “He will reprove the world of sin” (John 16:8). The Holy Spirit has come to indwell us who have believed, that through us He might reach, others. He can accomplish this work only as we are in perfect communion with Him and in perfect harmony with His will for us. The word "reprove” in John 16:8 means conviction by demon stration, conviction by an unanswerable argument. There is no more convincing démonstration of the Spirit’s power than a Christian under His control. But the awful and solemn truth is that God does not perpetually keep on with this ministry. He said, "M y Spirit shall not always strive with man.” There comes a time when a man wearies God with his obstinate rejection so that God ceases to contend with him. A man is wise when he seeks the Lord “while He may be found” (Isa. 55:6). It is written of the Israelites, "Yet many years didst Thou for bear them, and testifiedst against them by Thy Spirit in Thy prophets: yet they would not give ear: there fore gavest Thou them into the hand of the people
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
T he word Christian is found only three times in the New Testament and each time it is a mark of identification. We read that ‘‘the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch” (Acts 11:26). A CHRISTIAN IS IDENTIFIED WITH A PERSON. A Chris tian is a person in whom Christ lives. Paul said, “To me to live is Christ” and “Christ liveth in me.” He did not say, “To me to live is to live FOR Christ.” He was not identified merely with a cause, but with Christ. He did not say, “To me to live is to live LIKE Christ." It was not a matter of imitation, but of iden tification. He did not say, “To me to live is to put Christ first.” Some think that when they have given the Lord a dime out of their dollar and an hour out of their week, they have put Him first. They have not put Him first; they have only gotten rid of Him! The Christian accepts Christ as Saviour and confesses Him as Lord, but there is something deeper still: Christ is the Christian's LIFE. Our Lord did not come merely to take our part but to take our place. What we call Christianity is simply the outliving of the inliving Christ. Actually, we do not take Christ AS this or that; we take HIM. “As many as received HIM. . . . ” A man marrying a wife does not say, “I take this woman to be my cook or my housekeeper.” He takes HER and they become as one. A Christian MARCH, 1970
is “married to Another” (Rom. 7:4), joined to Christ forever. He is a CHRIST-ian.
We read that Agrippa said to Paul, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian" (Acts 26:28). A CHRISTIAN IS IDENTIFIED WITH A PERSUASION. He is persuaded that God is able to keep what he has committed to Him, that nothing can separate him from the love of God and, knowing the terror of the Lord, he persuades men. He is a persuader because he has been persuaded. God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself and we are ministers of that reconciliation, persuading men to be reconciled to God. We read also: "Yet if any man suffer as a Chris tian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf” (I Peter 4:11). We are told that all who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution (II Tim. 3:12). The early church was a persecuted church. Today it is a prosperous and popular church. The church must get out into the world but in the process of getting the boat into the water, the water has gotten into the boat. Moreover, we have sprung a leak! The community is molding the church more than the church is molding the com munity. On the theory that the end justifies the 13
VOLVEMENT but not IDENTIFICATION, not ISOLA TION but INSULATION, becoming involved with the world’s need but not with its way of life. INSULATED INVOLVEMENT! In the Middle Ages, Florence was a most religious city. The rulers, the Medicis, claimed to be Chris tians. Everything was tolerant and ecumenical. But there was one man, Savonarola, who was narrow and exclusive and intolerant as every prophet of God should be. That fiery preacher stood single-handed against the luxury and debauchery of his time. Of course they killed him. John the Baptist is always beheaded when he reproves Herod, when he clashes with the System and the Establishment. His head is not brought in on a platter these days but he is decapitated with more finesse! We need an Amos in religious Bethel today to the consternation of its Jeroboams and Dr. Amaziahs, the court preachers who resent the prophet when he disturbs the status quo. My Lord met His worst op position from organized, institutional religion. We need a Luther, a Calvin, a Knox, a Wesley, to regain the churches’ lost identity. We need a prophet who will walk into our magnificent sanctuaries and our august conventions, unawed and unimpressed, aflame with the message of repentance. I see no such prophet on the horizon but I pray God that, while four hundred priests bid Ahab go up against Ramoth-gilead, some where a Micaiah will rise to be the lone dissenter. The four-hundred-and-first prophet is always hated both by the church and the world. Somehow the heresy has spread that the church should sponsor the projects of government, of soci ologists, of political reformers, giving a touch of sanctity to unregenerate man’s efforts to build heav en on earth by technology, by education, by legisla tion. God never meant that His church should be the handmaiden of the reforms of this age, riding every bandwagon bound for some man-made Paradise, try ing to bring in a counterfeit millennium. The church is a soloist, not an accompanist, and her program from start to finish is utterly counter to every scheme of this world. When she gets in step with “progress,” she gets out of step with God. Her business is to practice and promote what the New Testament calls “the foolishness of God.” The natural man cannot receive the things of God; they are foolishness to him and all efforts to accommodate them to his under standing is to cast pearls before swine. In doing so, the church does him no good and loses her own dis tinctiveness, swallowed up in the world she was meant to permeate as the salt of the earth. When the salt loses its saltness, it is GOOD FOR NOTHING but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men. Now if our problem is lost identity, then our big gest business is to regain it. If we are to regain it, we must get back to the three marks of identification that establish our identity. First, we must return to IDENTIFICATION WITH THE PERSON OF CHRIST. We become identified with plans and programs and pro-
means, we have become so identified with the world that we have lost the very thing we started out to promote. As Christians and as the church, we have lost our IDENTITY today because we have lost our three fold IDENTIFICATION. There is nothing distinctive about us. We have been assimilated, amalgamated and homogenized into the age in which we live. Black and white have become a smudge of indefinite gray. We are no longer pilgrims and strangers, exiles and aliens on the earth. In Pilgrim's Progress the Chris tian travelers and the people of Vanity Fair seemed as barbarians to each other. Today we have become part of Vanity Fair. We have joined its clubs and endorsed its culture. We are both in the world and of it. The early Christians were different. They were regarded as the scum of the earth and a spectacle to the world for the scandal of the cross. Now we belong to the “ in” crowd; we believe in “getting with it"; we have been brainwashed and streamlined. We are supposed to be able to talk intelligently about modern art and literature, the new music and the latest Broadway plays. But for all our new emphasis on "involvement,” our new beat, our new angles on communication, the world sinks lower and lower in degradation and despair. We are having less effect on our society than ever since we began sipping ginger ale at its cocktail parties. There is a new Gospel abroad giving the impression that God wants us all to be millionaires — a new affluent, de luxe country-club Christianity. Laodicea has become rich and increased with goods, needing nothing, and our Lord is about to spew it out of His mouth. Of course, a rich man can be a Christian but our Lord indicates that heaven will not be overcrowded with the wealthy. Paul gave the same impression about three other categories, the wise, the intelligen- sia; the mighty, people of high position; the noble, the bluebloods. The early church was, like our Lord, despised and rejected of men, but when Constantine became a church member, it became fashionable to profess Christianity and the church lost her simple faith, her pilgrim character and her blessed hope. From that day to this, Christianity has regained pow er only when a faithful minority has come out of Babylon, has gone to the Lord without the camp bearing His reproach, regaining its identity by iden tification with Christ and separation from the world. Even H. L. Mencken said, “Religion has become frankly worldly.” Albert Schweitzer felt that “because religion has joined forces with the spirit of the world, it has lost its purity and authority.” Arnold Toynbee sees the day coming when religion will be "safe" because “harmless.” “ If the Christians commit them selves to making their peace with Leviathan, who can save us?” There is a popular notion that the more like the world we are, the more we can influence it. But the church has moved the world most when least like it. You cannot pull somebody up very well if you are standing on the same level. There must be IN
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motion and propaganda and paraphernalia, but what moves the hearts of men is not a program but a person. I can go to sleep listening to somebody pro mote a missionary or evangelistic program but a live, Spirit-filled missionary or evangelist wakes me up. Our only message is Jesus Christ. Our only re source is Jesus Christ. Our only program is Jesus Christ. Our only business is to know Him and to make Him known. That is how we got our name; we are CHRIST-ians! We must get back to our identification with Jesus Christ, “dead WITH Christ, crucified WITH Christ, risen WITH Christ, hid WITH Christ.” He said, “He that is not WITH me is against me and he that gathereth not WITH me scattereth abroad.” Our Christian activity grows out of our identification; we abide in Him and bear much fruit. It is ABIDING and ABOUNDING! Then, we need to get back to our PERSUASION, back to our persuading business! Our business is to win men to Christ. If we are identified with Him as we ought to be, we will seek to win others. He said, “ Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” When a man starts out to get married, he persuades a woman. When he starts out to sell insurance or automobiles, he persuades men. When he runs for office, he persuades people. The business of the church is to persuade men and women to become Christians but very few church members ever work at it. Finally, we need to get back to PERSECUTION. I do not mean that we are to court martyrdom or seek opposition. We don’t have to seek it; it will come naturally! I do mean that we should take the kind of stand for Jesus Christ that will bring on resistance. It is not our objective but it will be a consequence. I do not mean silly demonstrating, waving placards and getting involved in all kinds of radical upheavals. Our Lord lived in a storm of persecution that ended on a cross. Paul lived in a turmoil all his days. The early Christians faced dungeon, fire and sword be cause they simply preached and practiced New Tes tament Christianity. All one has to do is just be a Christian. But this present-day, watered-down, com promising peaceful coexistence with the world, the flesh and the devil stirs up no opposition. The devil doesn’t bother to fight it because it is not causing him any trouble. We are not stirring up enough com motion to arouse the forces of evil in the community. We have lost our identity and are so affiliated with this age that the world considers us harmless and not worth their attention. Persecution never killed a church. It may scatter it as it did the early Jerusalem church and that is all to the good. When we lose our identification with this world and regain our identification with the PERSON, the PERSUASION and the PERSECUTION, we will regain our IDENTITY as a persecuted minority, scorning the values of this world and living by stringent discipline, willing to be called the scum of the earth and a spectacle to the world for the scandal of the cross. MARCH, 1970
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