with the ethical and spiritual teach ings of our prophets and seers. The mandates and privileges of a covenanted mission remain valid for the Jews in the future as in the past, and for Jews outside of Israel as well as inside: to battle for the spiritual vision of human life and to join with men of good will everywhere for the removal of all bar riers which bar the way of man to his divine patrimony.” It has long been a fact dear to the hearts of Bible students that the promise of God made to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 made certain that through his seed all families of the earth were to be blessed. Not only are the repatriated Jews to be blessed, but some day God intends to use them as a channel by which His immeasurable blessing can cover the earth with His grace. Surely this is another link in the chain of events which will not cease until the King of the Jews, who is also the King of kings, shall personallv sit upon David’s throne and with infinite benevo lence bring righteousness to pass from one .end of the earth to the other. How ever, ere that day dawns the nation of Israel will be spiritually transformed by the Lord Jesus Christ, their Messiah and Saviour. God Has a Wiil For Your Life O F tremendous value to all God’s children and particularly to Chris tian youth is the teaching that God has a definite, directive plan and purpose for their individual lives. What greater quest can there be than the ascertain ment and the fulfillment of this will? It is the goal of life; it is the key to suc cess. Do not think, however, that one must plead with God or by some means try to persuade Him to reveal His will unto His children. Rather, on the other hand, God stands ready, yes, apparently even anxiously awaits the opportunity, to make known His purpose for the in dividual life. The Scriptures are replete with suggestions that we trust in the Lord with all of our hearts and that we commit our way unto Him. The will of God is set before us in the beautiful example of our Lord’s life while here on earth. His “life verse” was, “Not my will, but thine, be done.” In contradis tinction to this, the sin of Satan is shown to be the more heinous because of his insistence upon doing his own will, and having his own way. How then may the will of God be learned? There is no hard and fast rule by which this may be answered. Yet the answer is not difficult for the will of God is always in line with the Word of God and the will of God for the child of God is administered by the Spirit of God. Let one commit himself with abso lute sincerity meanwhile maintaining an active trust and, then, we say reverently, it is God’s responsibility to work out His will in the life. T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
different sins in the twenty-one lists. Perhaps there is room in today’s preaching for a re-emphasis of the way in which God hates sin. Perhaps there would be a corresponding reaction against sin in our national life if our ministers would stand up and boldly condemn it without fear or favor. This is something which merits prayerful meditation on the part of those who speak behind the sacred desk. Establishment o f the Kingdom of God A N interesting series of two articles dealing with the “pro” and “con” of the importance of Zionism appeared in the September issue of The Reader’s Digest. In keeping with its editorial pol icy, the Digest presented the first writer who argued that there was a difference between Judaism, or the religious be liefs of the Jews, and Zionism, which identified the religious beliefs with the repatriation of the ancient land of Israel. The second writer insisted that Juda ism was inseparably bound to Zionism and that such a union was not inconsist ent with a dual citizenship whereby Jews might both be loyal to Israel and to the country of their adoption. But of greater interest to Bible stu dents was the intimation that Zionism, or the reinvestment of the land, was only a step toward the unfolding of God’s great purpose, not only with the history of the Jews, but also with the entire world. Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver declared himself as follows: “As far as the future of Judaism is concerned, the re-establishment of the state of Israel represents the fulfillment of only one of its tenets. It does not represent the fulfillment of the eternal spiritual mandates of prophetic Juda ism. Zionism sought to normalize the status of the Jewish people in the world, to give it what other peoples possess and what the Jewish people once pos sessed— a national center and an inter nationally recognized status in the fam ily of nations. “ But the profound meaning of Jewish history lies not in a re-established state but in Judaism. The destiny of our peo ple is linked with the progressive estab lishment of the Kingdom of God, of the good society on earth, in accordance
. Against Sin T HERE is an oft-repeated story about the late President Calvin Coolidge. Returning home from church one Sunday he was asked by his wife what was the subject of the morning sermon. He laconically replied, “ Sin!” “And what did he say about it?” “Oh, he was ‘agin’ it.” There is no doubt but that the Bible is “agin” sin. Sometimes the accusation is made against grace preachers that they lay too much stress upon the grace of God and not enough emphasis on the sinfulness of sin. Whether or not this be true, there is no question about the New Testament emphasis, where no less than twenty-one catalogs of sins are listed on its pages, and all condemned in no uncertain words. They may be divided into these cat egories: 7 which come from the natural heart and defile, Matt. 15:18-20); 13 which come from the natural heart and defile (Mark 7:21-23); 23 which bring the judgment of God (Rom. 1:29-32); 7 which Christians must not do (Rom. 13:13, 1 4 ); 6 with which Christians must not associate (1 Cor. 5 :9 -11 ); 10 which bar from the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9, 1 0 ); 11 from which Chris tians must turn away (2 Cor. 12:20, 2 1 ); 17 which bar from the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:19-21), the works of the flesh; 9 in which the unsaved live and in which Christians must not live (Eph. 4:17-19); 9 which Christians must put away (Eph. 4:25, 28, 29, 3 1 ); 6 which must not be named as existing among Christians (Eph. 5:3, 4 ) ; 4 which bar from the kingdom of God and of Christ and which bring the wrath of God (Eph. 5:5, 6 ) ; 6 which Christians must mortify, and which bring the wrath of God (Col. 3: 5, 6 ) ; 6 which Christians must put off (Col. 3:8, 9 ) ; 14 for which the law was given (1 Tim. 1:9, 1 0 ); 19 from which Christians must turn away (2 Tim. 3 :1 -5 ); 9 from which Christians are saved (Tit. 3 :3 -5 ); 5 which Chris tians must lay aside (1 Pet. 2 :1 ) ; 7 sins of the flesh in which Christians used to live (1 Pet. 4 :2 -4 ); 8 which condemn to the lake of fire (Rev. 21: 8 ) ; 6 which bar from the tree of life and the holy city (Rev. 22:15). The total is 202. Some are found in more than one list, but there are 103 Page Four
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs