August 1930
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K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
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Paul, a Chosen Vessel* “H e is a chosen vessel unto me” (Acts 9:15) B y P. W . P hilpott
EASURED by consequences, next to the resur rection of Jesus Christ, the conversion of Saul of Tarsus is the greatest event of all history. When we read the story of his char acter and ministry we feel ashamed of our own Christian service. His sublime faith, his great courage, his consuming passion for the souls of the lost, his willingness to be anything or nothing in the eyes
privation, yet always sounding this lofty note of triumph: “ This one thing I do.” This man of gigantic intellect and ripest culture found no employment for his imperial ability so congenial as the preaching of the Gospel of the grace of God. And it should not be forgotten that his, the greatest of all min istries of the Christian centuries, including both the preaching of the Gospel and the writing of the inspired
of men, his joy in suffer ing for Christ’s sake, place him in a category by him self. In speaking of his con version, I would have you think of the results that followed, rather than the signs that accompanied it, such as the light which was brighter than the noonday sun or the voice from heaven heard only by Saul. These things were thrilling and it is natural to desire to enlarge upon them, but they are not the important fea tures of that great event. The change in the man him self and the results of that change extending to all sub sequent generations are the things that warrant the statement that his conver sion to Christianity is the greatest event in history since the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The transfor mation was instantaneous and complete. One moment he was breathing out threat ening and slaughter; the next, he was prone on his face crying, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to da?” From that hour, his whole life throbbed with a passion like that of his precious Lord. It ;swayed his pur pose, it commanded his ac tion, it dominated his sac
Epistles, resulted in the con version of hundreds of thousands to Jesus Christ. It was a great day for Asia, for Europe, indeed for all men during the whole Christian era, when Saul of Tarsus fell at the feet of Jesus Christ saying,, “L,ord, what wilt thou have me to do?” And it was a great day for Saul himself, for the world would never have heard of him if he had not thus surrendered himself to the Lord. A T wofold D iscovery First of all, Saul learned that J e s u s of Nazareth, whom he had hated and persecuted, was none other than “ the holy one o f Is rael,” the M e s s i a h , for whom the Hebrew people had been waiting, and that day he accepted Him as his personal Saviour. All Christian experience begins with a definite, per sonal relation to J e s u s Christ. Some time ago a minister who might be classed as a “ liberal,” said to me that one of the objec tions that he had to the brethren who are so strong for the Bible is that we make a “man’s salvation depend upon the acceptance of certain dogma.” I was
God’s Way is Best B y A ustin W . C onklin
I know not where my Lord may lead — O’er barren plain, or grassy mead; Through valley, or on mountain crest; But where He leads, I know ’ tis best. I know not what a day may bring O f perfect health, or suffering; O f rich delights or deep distress ,— Keen disappointment or success. Nor do I khcnv at morning sun I f life shall last till day is done. But this I know—come toil or rest, God always sends me what is best.
God often sends me joy through pain; Through bitter loss, divinest gain. Yet through it all—dark days or bright- I know my Father leads aright.
And when life’s evening shadows fall, And I shall hear the final call, I ’ll lean my head upon His breast, And say, “Dear Lord, Thy way is best!” —Methodist Protestant Recorder.
rifice. He counted not his life dear unto himself that he might prove faithful in his ministry. He made himself, by a remarkable adjustment, “ all things to all men” that he might win some. He warned men night and day. In a mihistry not only in the church but from house to house, he was ever enduring hardship, suffering persecution and ♦Baccalaureate Sermon, Bible Institute o f Los Angeles, delivered in'the Church o f the Open Door, Los Angeles, Calif., June IS, 1930.
greatly surprised to hear him make such a statement and I said to him, “ I do not know any minister of the Gospel who would make a soul’s salvation depend upon the acceptance o f religious dogma. W e believe that the salvation o f the sinner depends upon his relation to Jesus Christ. ‘He that hath the Son, hath life; and he that hath not the Son o f God, hath not life’ ” (1 John 5 :10-12). Secondly, Saul discovered that God had a. plan for his life. He did not know it before, and he never would have
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