personal, individual, and require the service of a full and sincere heart. Con cerning this service Christ will make inquiry of every Christian at His judg ment seat. America’s Morality T WICE, in the world’s history, God found civilization so immoral that He brought swift and inescapable judg ment upon it. The first instance was in the time of Noah when the earth was filled with violence and its immorality knew no bounds. The 'second was in Abraham’s time when the cities of the plain, including the notorious Sodom, were com p letely overthrown. God’s hatred of adulterous living is plainly de clared time after time in the pages of Holy Writ. But because of the innate sinfulness of the human heart, men will not be restrained from these deeds of evil. Recently an important book on the sexual behavior of human beings has been published. This is a factual account of more than 12,000 case histories. As a result of the tabulated testimony, it is proven that more than 85% of the male population in the United States have lived in sin to a greater or lesser degree. The report gives in detail the various degrees of transgression of which Amer icans are guilty. It makes sad and de pressing reading for those who recognize that God must bring every sin into judg ment. Among all peoples of all ages, none with such vast ability and record of ac complishment as the American people have ever existed. But let America be ware ! Other civilizations have fallen suddenly for sins of which we are guilty. Now is the time to write upon our hearts that “righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” Easter — A Guarantee T HE Lord Jesus Christ made tremen dous claims during His ministry of three and one-half years. He taught that all men needed to be born again. He linked His own life to the story of the serpent in the wilderness by declaring that He was to be lifted up and that He would draw all men unto Him. He promised that even His enemies should see the heavens open and the Son of Man coming in power and great glory. There is no mis take; these were either the words of God or of a demented person. But the resurrection is the guarantee, the proof, the validation of Christ’s claims, and an exhibition of the mighty power of God. The resurrection was God’s state ment that the claims which had been made by Jesus of Nazareth were in reality the truth of the ages. How won derful to rest our confidence in a Risen Saviour! Our past is secure, for He has borne our sins and we shall meet them no more; our present is in His hands, for He ever lives to care for us; and the future is brilliant with the light of His sure promise of eternal life. T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
in which these so-called agnostics dwell provide irrefutable evidence of the mas ter craftsmanship of an Omniscient Creator. The alternative is that the world and all its mysteries have come into being by natural law, but again, what is natur al law? There is no law without a law giver and a law-enforcer. Some will ar gue that blind chance has brought about the wonders of our environment, but there is not one actual demonstration in all of the world’s laboratories that a single integral whole developed of itself. It has been said for a long time, and rightly so, that there are no real athe ists. Those who so profess to be are either ignorant or so filled with pride that they have lost all sense of honesty. J UST where this idea came from we do not know, but it is of great antiqui- - ty. It resides in the hearts of many church members. They have hired a pastor so they can sit back and relax so far as their Christian responsibility is concerned ! It is high time these church members woke up to the fact that because they pay their minister a salary, they can take life easy. God in no way excuses the average Christian from personal participation in the challenges of the Christian life. The only way he can dis charge his responsibility is personally to do the will of God in his own life. It is a strange thing the way that many Christians regard the Christian life. After spending the week feverishly serving themselves and endeavoring to pile up earthly treasure, on Sunday morning they sit through a thirty-min ute message and feel that all their obli gations are fulfilled. Do they not donate to the pastor’s salary, and does he not spend his time in works of charity for them? Such an attitude is a stench in the nostrils of God! Let it be understood that while the pastor has his place as a leader of God’s people, and his salary ought to be suf ficient and commensurate with his needs, there are real and definite responsibili ties which devolve upon every member of the church of Christ, from which no one is excused. These responsibilities are Your Pastor Can’ t Live Your Christian Life
The Basis of Christian Behavior
I T is not possible to understand right ly the principles of Christian life without first having an understanding of the foundation on which it is built. We have no right to deny or to admit anything except the unassailable basis which God Himself has set as our standard. This criterion is to be found in I Corinthians 6:19,20, a vitally im portant passage for all Christians to re member. Why are we to live for Christ? Why is the Christian life to be different? Why must God’s children refrain from many things, including even innocuous things? Well, stated simply, it is that God’s chil dren do not belong to themselves any more. Before we met Christ, we were dead in trespasses and sins and slaves tp our own sinful desires. But we have been bought with a price and our re demption has set us free. However, we are indebted for both time and eternity to the One who has purchased us and, therefore, every hour of our life, every beat of our heart, every ounce of our energy, belong to God, and our job in life is to glorify Him. What a difference it makes in the mat ter of amusements, pleasures, compan ionships, when we wholly subscribe to God’s principles! Everything in the Christian life is then changed, not on the basis of whether we may, without harm, subscribe to something, but wheth er it will contribute to the great stand ard of our lives. The question for us to answer is: “ Will it glorify God?” Is It Possible to Be an Honest Atheist? A RECENT check of public opinion in ten nations reveals that while 34% of France’s population are either atheists or agnostics, 6% of the popula tion of the United States, or over 8,000,- 000 people, profess entire disbelief or doubt in the existence of God. But is it possible to be of normal intelligence and so disbelieve? Has not God placed literal ly millions of evidences of His handi work in our environment? Does not al most everything upon which we lay our eyes cry out that there is a wise and powerful God? Yes, and even the bodies Page Four
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