THE K I NG ’S BUS I NES S
278
derer pardon from sin. It is right that we should pray for the salvation of the condemned man, and seek to lead him to Christ. David was a mur derer, and he was forgiven. But a sentimental setting aside of God’s governmental law is not to be con doned. Some years ago, Governor Pollock of Pennsylvania refused pardon to a young man who was sentenced to die for deliberately planned murder. Shortly before the execution, this high official, acting as a Christian, sat in that young man’s cell and talked to him about his soul. He said to the condemned youth, “You can not es cape the law of. Pennsylvania, for there is none to die for you. But so far as your relationship to God is concerned, you may escape; for Christ died in your stead.” Governor Pol lock was obeying God’s fundamental law in administering justice, and at the same time was pointing the sin ner to the Saviour who is both just and the justifier of him who believes in Him. QUE.t When were the disciples converted: before or after Christ died? If before, why did they not understand when He told them that He was to be crucified? They were converted before Christ died, Some -through the preaching of John the Baptist when he said, “Be hold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Then, too, Christ told them to rejoice because their names were “written in heaven” (Lk. 10:20). There are several reasons for the failure to understand when He told them He was to be crucified: 11. The human mind is very dull and slow to grasp spiritual things, and the disciples were no exception. 2. They 'there ignorant of the Scriptures. They were so eager for Christ to set up His kingdom pn earth that they overlooked the numerous prophecies that pointed to the cross, hoping rather for the immediate ful fillment of the even more numerous promises "of the reigning Messiah—all found in their Old Testament Scrip tures. The New Testament, of course, was not then written (cf. Lk. 24:25- 27, 44, 45; 1 Pet. 1:10, 11). 3. Again, their personal love for the Lord made them shudder at the thought of His being crucified. However, at the close of His public ministry the disciples did seem to understand, in a measure, for in Mat thew 24:1-3 we* find them asking questions in regard to His return to the earth. When the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost, their.-eyes were fully opened, and they preached salvation through faith in Christ’s death and resurrection.
you will lose a constant friend. Do not request proofs of stories before they appear; these go to proofreaders only. Do not insist that your display of literary genius in college should merit front page for every article; news stories differ vastly from uni versity themes. Do not wear out your welcome. Make your visits count. In Conclusion Through a sincere effort to under stand the newspaper’s problems, Chris tian leaders can gain access to an im portant means of making the work of the Lord known in the community. Let there be friendly conferences be tween men of the church and the local press to discover common ground for community service. Let Christians give emphatic endorsement to publications serving the higher welfare of the com munity. When an awakened church grasps the possibility of cooperative effort in publicizing its gospel mes sage, the emphasis will be upon the message rather than upon the mes sengers. Church leaders and members will learn to commend the press for what is commendable, as earnestly as they condemn it for what is worthy of condemnation. May the day not be far distant when the press, with awak ened conscience, will be found co operating in the dissemination of “the gospel of the grace of God.” No; you were very seriously wrong. The law of capital punishment ante dated the law of Moses by 1,000 years. It was one of God’s fundamental gov ernmental laws, as recorded in Genesis 9:6. This law has never been modified or abrogated. Moreover, it is plainly reiterated in the thirteenth chapter of Romans, where God is speaking of the responsibility of rulers. The state not only has a right to put a murderer to death; it has no right to let him live. God put government in the world to restrain sin. In His sight it is a terrible thing to take a life. To be sure, it is the civil govern ment’s right to exact the extreme penalty, most certaintly not the right of the mob. God will hold govern ments responsible for the administra tion of justice in the world. Every civil officer is “the minister of God to thee for good . . . for he beareth not the sword in vain” (Rom. 13:4). My friend, you must not confuse the rules for Christian conduct with God’s charter of earthly government. God’s Word does not deny the mur- QUESTION BOX [Continued from Page 250] guilty, I voted against capital pun ishment, because I could not see such a course to be in harmony with Christian principles. Was I right ?
PUBLICITY FOR THE GOSPEL [Continued from Page 247] Interesting photo-news copy is pro vided by such events as the appear ance of a prominent person as speaker' on a special program; the reproduc tion in typical costume of some his toric event in the church’s past, in con nection with an anniversary program; the censoring in special holiday mes sages of some particular vice against which public indignation ought to be aroused. What Not to Say In preparing copy for the press, a Christian leader may well heed the following warnings: ■1. Eliminate superfluous words. 2. Avoid vagueness. 3. Do not editorialize. The following are examples of faulty style: “He is an -authority in the field.” (Does Who's Who say so?) “The picnic was the most enjoyable ever sponsored by the church.” (Pure ly subjective.) 4. Do not exhort in a news story. 5. Practice simplicity. 6. Avoid the trite. 7. Use the active voice; it is more emphatic than the passive. More Cautions 1. Do not misspell names. People are more particularly sensitive over the misspelling of their names than over any other avoidable mistake in copy. The Christian minister especial ly ought to avoid such errors. Do not mistake the address; use a city direc tory or telephone book. 2. Do not be incomplete. Often stories of obituaries, weddings, and [other events are omitted entirely be cause not enough facts are submitted, and the newspaper on that particular day had insufficient time to ascertain them. 3. Do not advise editors. Sometimes preachers send in copy with explicit directions that if the story is printed at all, It must appear in full without changes. To this request editors sel dom accede, except to refrain from printing the story. 4. Do not loiter in the editorial rooms. Do not read proofs or copy on an editor’s desk; they are for the eyes of the newspaper family alone. Do not watch over the shoulders of a re porter when he is writing copy; it .not only disturbs him but also shows poor taste. Do not watch an editor'or copy reader edit your copy; if he hesitates to cut your copy while you are pres ent, he \yill cut it when you are gone. Do not complain when your story is cut down. Do not grumble if it was not used at all. Do not threaten to go over the editor’s head to get a story printed. You may once or twice, but
Made with FlippingBook Annual report