December, 1941
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
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of the mansion was thrown open, a large throng of people entered and were speedily admitted, /one by one, to audience with the master of the house, until, in an incredibly short space of -time, the waiting room was emptied of philosophers, and dreamers and am bitious ones. Even the Bishop had been courteously sent his way. Only three were left. Three wise/ ones, and two of them were women! / One Was an old woman with a burr upon her tongue and a Bible in her hand; one- was a young girl with blue starry eyes and a bit of a Testament in the folds of her ! gown. The third was John Powers, standing within the shadow of a heavy curtain beside a deep-set window looking out at the great shining of a bright star, with peace upon his fact. He turned about as the door close4 after the Bishop and glanced at the two women. The girl looked up and their eyes met. There was scarcely time to recognize the old woman before the door opened and George K. Hamilton, keen of eye, sharp of feature, eager of expression, walked in and looked from one to the other, searching each face question- ingly. The young man stepped forward to meet him, and Mary saw for the first time that a worn little Bible was in his hand. But John Was spanking in a ringing voice of certainty: “ Sir, I want to tell you first that I have not come for your money. When I began this search it was in hope of the reward, but I’ve found the Star itself, and it led me to the King, and now I’ve brought it to you because I want you to have it, too. You’ll find it in this Book. It has to be searched for, but it’s there. And when you have found it, I’ve been thinking you’ll maybe want to sell all that you have and give to the poor and go and follow Him. But I am not one of those poor any longer, for I have found the King! Come, Mary, shall we g o ? ” Then up rose the old Scotch woman from her place near the door: “I've just one more word to say, an’ ye’ll find it in yon Buik: ‘Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.’ That star isn’t lost, sir, an’ never was! Never Will be! It’s up in the heavens waiting .till the King has need of it again, and some day it will burst upon the world again and they will all know that it has been there all the time!” The Master was left alone in his mansion with the Book in his hand and a Strange awed feeling of the Presence of God in his room. i He looked wonderingly, doubtfully, down at the Book, and then wistfully out through his richly draped window to where a single star shone softly through the Christmas night. “Mary!” “John!”
he cannot see, nor enter into, the king dom of God; And Paul wrote in Gala tians 5:6 that ”in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which work- eth by love” ; and again, in Galatians 6:15, that “in Christ Jesus neither cir cumcision availeth any thing, nor un circumcision, but a new creature [R.V. margin, ‘creation’ ].” “Ye must be born again.” Let us thank God for the gospel, the true gospel, the living gospel, the gospel which “is the power of God unto salvation to every one that be- lieveth”—the proclamation from the throne of God that His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, “was de livered for! our offenses, and was raised again for our justification” (ROm. 4:25). Let us thank God that “ through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts. 13:38, 39). Justification by the works of the law is impossible. The law utterly con demned the best man in the world; but the gospel of grace absolutely justifies the worst man in the world—if he will but accept the sinless Saviour and His work for him. The law said, Do and live; but grace says, Live, and thou mayest do. “Thanks be, unto God for •his unspeakable gift!” THE STORY OF THE LOST STAR [ Continued from Page 459] Before John Powers had gone back to work that night of his return from Bethlehem, he had gone to the bottom o f an old chest and hunted out his mother's Bible. He put the worn Book tenderly on his bed, and following an impulse, dropped to his knees beside it, laying his lips against its dusty covers. Somehow the very look of the old worn covers brought back his child hood days and a sense of sin in that he had wandered so far from the path in which his mother had set his young feet. All that week he gave all the extra time he had to studying about the star. He did not even go to see Mary. He lost sight of the ten thousand dollars in his interest in the star itself. He was now seeking to find that star for himself, not for the reward that had been offered. He wanted to find the King who was also a Saviour. The last night before it came time for him to go to his work, he dropped upon his knees once more beside the little tattered book, and prayed: “ O Jesus Christ, Savioujr of the world, I thank Thee that Thou hast sent Thy star to guide me to Thee. I worship Thee, and I give myself to Thee forever.” * * * On Christmas Eve when the door
WHICH “ GOSPEL” SHALL WE TRUST? [ Continued, from Page 457]
Those who preach the false gospel— that other gospel which is not another —say that it would be wrong for the Lord Jesus to die for us. They say each man should die for his own sips, and that it would be evil and cruel for God to give His Son to be .a Sub stitute for sinners. But let it be under stood that not only the Father, but also the Son, united in the plan of redemption. The Father so loved us that He gave the Son, and the Son so loved us that He freely and gladly gave Himself. God’s Gracious Gift Let no one deceive you. Salvation is the gift of God. We cannot earn it, we do not deserve it, and we can do nothing to merit it, Salvation by works is a criminal doctrine. Salvation is by grace, through faith, plus nothing. “It is of faith, that it might be by grace” (Rom. 4:16). “ And if by grace, then is it no mo*re of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work” (Rom. 11:6). , Let us be sure that we have the true faith, the living faith, the faith that saves, and more than saves—the faith which manifests itself in works. “Faith without works is dead” (Jas. 2:20), and dead faith will save no one. Fire will do more than smoke; it will burn. And faith—the faith that saves—will do more than profess; it will also work. That man had it right who told his friends to inscribe on his tombstone: “I dare not work, my soul to save; That work, my Lord hath done. But I will work like any slave For love of God’s dear Son.” Depending on the True Gospel And let me imploré you to avoid resting your faith upon a false foun dation. Do make sure that your trust is in a Person, even the Son of God Himself. Do not let any one lead you to trust in ordinances, or ceremonies. You cannot be saved by joining some-
t h i n g . It is a good thing for a sa+ed ‘ person to join a c h u r c h , but let not the unsaved suppose that they can be saved by joining a church, or by being baptized or confirmed. No outward a c t . c a n s a v e men’s souls. Our L o r d said em phatically t h a t e x c e p t a man be bom a g a i n ,
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