February 1931
88
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
b. The greatest of motives—“God so loved.” c. The greatest of numbers—“The world.” d. The greatest of gifts—“That he gave his only begotten Son.” e. The greatest simplicity—“Whoso ever believeth on him.” f. The greatest of deliverances— “Should not perish.” g. The greatest of blessings—“But have eternal life.” 2. Prepare an Outline on one o f the Fol lowing: a. The Grace of God —“For God so loved.” God’s grace expressed. In Eph. 2 :9 Paul says: “By grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works lest any man should boast.” Grace means unmerited favor. Man universally has sinned and done that which is contrary to the will of God. He has willfully chosen to please himself rather than his Creator. Millions are to day knowingly violating God’s laws. “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned ev ery one to his own way” (Isa. 53: 6 ). Man universally has a conscious ness of sin. Lady Macbeth is not the only one crying out with a guilty conscience: “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No!” The law has been broken; the sinner apprehended; the guilt is unquestioned; the judgment is pro nounced. “The wages of sin is death.” Then grace steps in. While “the wages of sin is death, the gift of God is eternal life.” That is grace. We are condemned sinners, but “God so loved the world” that He provided a way of escape. b. The Gift of God—“That He gave His only begotten Son.” Some people have a mistaken idea of redemption. They hold that God, the first party, takes the sins of man, the guilty second party, and places them upon Christ, the innocent third party. The real fact is that Christ is God, and when God punishes Christ for our sins the love is God’s. He so loved that He gave of Himself that guilty man might be saved. “God so loved . . . that he gave.” The cross is the answer to the sin question. c. The Gospel of God —“That who soever believeth on him.” The gospel is good news. It is good news of God’s love which is freely offered to any one who will take it. It is God’s gift of grace given forth to the world. The prophet Isaiah explained what the gospel meant in its essence when he wrote: “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isa. 55:1). It is taking freely of the bread and water of life.
5. Some Excuses for not Joining the Church—and the Answers. a. Those relating to the church. (1) "The church is not perfect."
Connot Do Without It I take a number of church m aga zines, but I prize T he K ing ’ s B usiness as being one of the best published by any or ganization. I cannot do without it. —From Muskogee, Okla.
Christ never said that it would be, but rather: “Let both (the good and the bad) grow to gether until the harvest” (Matt. 13:30). A time of judging is coming. “Judge not 1” (2) “There are too many hypo crites in the church.” This is no argument against Christianity. Do you refuse to take a good dollar because there are counterfeit dollars? Another’s inconsistency does not excuse you from your du ty. (Read Matt. 7 :5.) “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:12). (3) “There are too many denom inations." But they all have the same common denominator—Christ. “One is your master, even Christ, and all ye are breth ren.” Put your allegiance with that church which pre sents to you the best system, the highest standards and worship, and the most of Christ and His truth; then be loyal to your vows, your Mas ter, and His people. (1) “I can live a good life outside the church." A good life will never save you or please Christ. You are running a terrible risk. Is it worth it?
d. Because God’s Word commands us-—“Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together.” e. Because God’s love impelís us— “God so loved us.” 7. Some Characteristics of the True Church Member. (Study carefully and apply personally.) a. On man’s side. (1) Repentance (Lk. 13:3; Acts 11:18). (2) Belief in Christ (Acts 16:31; John 5 :24). (3) Separation (2 Cor. 6:17). (4) Christian life and service (Lk. 6:46; 14:27, 33; John 14:15, 23; Matt. 10:22). b. On God’s side. (1) A new birth (John 3:3, 6, 8). (2) A new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). (3) Made spiritual (Rom. 8:1, 4- 6, 9). — o — March 15, 1931 Christian Service TT IS so comparatively simple to secure J‘ abundant material upon the subject dealt with in this topic that relatively little space will be given to it in these notes. The following are short but suggestive subjects for discussion. 1. The Characteristics of the Effective Servant (2 Tim. 2:1-7, 22-26). 2. Ineffective Christian Service (1 Cor. 9:26, 27). 3. The Basis of Real Service (Rom. 12 : 1 , 2 ). 4. Variety in Christian Service (Rom. 12:3-8). 5. A Summary of Christian Service (1 Thess. 5:14-28). March 22, 1931 Salvation 'T ’HERE are some passages of the ■*- Bible that are powerful in that they present in a brief and terse manner a com prehensive summary of some cardinal doctrine. Such a passage is the subject of this meeting. John 3 :16 has been aptly called “the golden text of the Bible.” Its message is almost inexhaustible. Thousands of ser mons have been preached, and hundreds of books have been written around the theme “God so loved.” Martin Luther called this passage “the little gospel.” In it is contained all that man needs to know to secure admission to the mansions of the glory-land. 1. Study the Superlatives Found in this Verse. In it we discover: a. The greatest of beings—“God.”
b. Those relating to yourself.
(2) “I am not perfect."
You never will be. Christ does not want the self-righteous. The only knowledge necessary to begin school is the knowl edge that you need an educa tion. “If any man will do (is will ing to do) his will tie shall know of the doctrine” (John 7:17). (4) “I fear I could not hold out.” “The Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be con founded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed” (Isa. 50:7). 6. Some Additional Reasons for Join ing the Church. a. Because of what the church is. (1) The best institution in the world. (2) The ordained institution of God. b. Because of what the church does. (1) Gives fellowship with Chris tian people. (2) Gives reverence for worship and fellowship with God. c. Because of what the church stands for. (1) A witness to the world. (2) The oracles of God are en trusted to it. (3) “I do not know enough." , ,
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